Boris Johnson’s Conservative party has 14-point poll lead after Covid vaccine roll-out

Boris Johnson’s Conservatives open up a 14-point poll lead off the back of the vaccine roll-out as Keir Starmer’s Labour slumps to its worst vote share under his leadership

  • The Conservatives now have a 14-point poll lead going into May’s local elections
  • The Tories were up 2 per cent on 43 per cent in the survey by YouGov 
  • Labour in contrast had slumped 5 per cent to 29 per cent
  • It’s the lowest figure since Sir Keir replaced Jeremy Corbyn a year ago

Labour suffered a pre-election blow today as a new poll saw the party slump to its lowest popularity under Keir Starmer.

The Conservatives now have a 14-point poll lead as they appear to continue to reap the rewards of the coronavirus vaccine roll-out and lockdown easing.

The Tories were up 2 per cent on 43 per cent in the survey by YouGov carried out this week after Monday’s reopening of shops, pubs and other essential services.

Labour in contrast had slumped 5 per cent to 29 per cent, the lowest figure since Sir Keir replaced Jeremy Corbyn a year ago.  

The Tories were up 2 per cent on 43 per cent in the survey by YouGov carried out this week after Monday’s reopening of shops, pubs and other essential services.

Mr Johnson continues to lead Sir Keir when people were asked who would be the better prime minister, by 34 per cent to 26 per cent.

Mr Johnson continues to lead Sir Keir when people were asked who would be the better prime minister, by 34 per cent to 26 per cent.

Mr Johnson continues to lead Sir Keir when people were asked who would be the better prime minister, by 34 per cent to 26 per cent.

But more than a third of the electorate (36 per cent) were still undecided, a figure which could allow for some limited optimism at Labour HQ. 

The poll comes less than a month before Scottish Parliament, local and police and crime commissioner elections take place across the UK on May 6.

The vote, which is larger this year because it takes in those votes postponed last year, is the first acid test of Sir Keir’s leadership. 

Yesterday a separate YouGov poll revealed that one in three Labour members believe Sir Keir Starmer is doing a bad job as party leader. 

Some 64 per cent of members believe Sir Keir is doing well but 34 per cent said the opposite. 

Meanwhile, almost a quarter of members said they believed the party leader had changed Labour for the worse.

The numbers paint a picture of a divided party, with Sir Keir apparently struggling to win over certain factions. 

The YouGov poll of 1,073 Labour members showed that overall 64 per cent believe Sir Keir is doing well as leader and 34 per cent believe he is doing badly. 

But when the responses are split based on who members voted for in last year’s leadership contest, the numbers suggest the current leader is facing fierce resistance from some on the left wing of the party.   

Of the members who voted for Sir Keir, some 81 per cent said they believe he is doing well versus just 17 per cent who said he is doing badly.

The numbers were not too dissimilar for those members who voted for Lisa Nandy, with 69 per cent saying Sir Keir is doing well and 28 per cent said he is doing badly.

A new YouGov survey showed one third of Labour members believe Sir Keir Starmer is doing a bad job as party leader

A new YouGov survey showed one third of Labour members believe Sir Keir Starmer is doing a bad job as party leader 

But the numbers were the opposite way around when members who voted for Rebecca Long-Bailey were asked the same question.  

Just 17 per cent of those members said they believed Sir Keir is doing well versus 82 per cent who said he is doing badly. 

Ms Long-Bailey was viewed in the leadership contest as being the closest politically to former leader Jeremy Corbyn.  

Despite the split in the party illustrated by the numbers, Sir Keir still appears to be doing better than his predecessor after one year in the job. 

In August 2016 a poll showed 53 per cent of Labour members believed Mr Corbyn was doing well while 45 per cent believed he was doing badly.