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Corbyn within one point of May: UK election Poll

Sunday, 04 June 2017 6:20 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 05 June 2017 2:51 AM ]

UK Prime Minister Theresa May (L) and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn

UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has cut down the gap between his party and Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party to only one point, raising the stakes in the June 8 general election, according to a new poll.

The poll commissioned by The Mail on Sunday put Labour behind the ruling Conservatives 39 to 40, hinting at a 6-point drop in support for May’s party from the same poll two weeks ago.

Following the two main contenders were the Liberal Democrats, who remained unchanged at eight percent. UK Independence Party (UKIP) was next with five percent, one point up from the previous poll.

With only five days left until the Election Day, the new scores show a lot more is at stake for the Tories, who were initially viewed as the winners.

In mid-April, when May called for a snap vote to strengthen his position in the talks with the European Union (EU) over Britain’s exit from the bloc, her party held a 20-point lead over Corbyn’s.

However, Labour mounted a strong comeback by introducing a set of popular policies including the nationalization of railways and better public services as well as a series of security-oriented reversals on May’s foreign policy.

May’s campaign, on the other hand, suffered a series of blowbacks and was forced to withdraw a number of social care pledges that failed to appeal to voters.

Her management skills underwent extra scrutiny in the wake of the recent terror attacks in London and Manchester.

Corbyn and other party leaders have blamed May’s foreign policy and her cuts on security budgets as the main reasons for the UK’s vulnerability to such attacks.

A YouGov poll showed earlier in the week that a hung parliament was likely in this general election since the Tories could lose 20 seats and Labour could gain almost 30.

That means Tories could ultimately win 310 seats at the election, falling short of an absolute majority of 326 seats. The Conservatives held 330 seats in the now dissolved parliament while Labour trailed them with 229.

May’s approval ratings fall

Meanwhile, another poll by ComRes showed Sunday that May was only regarded unfavorably by 42 percent of the voters, up 10 percent from February.

May’s many u-turns on unpopular policies as well as her refusal to take part in head-to-head debates with Corbyn and other rivals were the major reasons for the declining approval rating, according to the pollster.

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