KEIR Starmer’s Labour Party has maintained its lead over the Tories, according to the latest poll.
Any hopes of a “conference bounce” for Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party have been dashed by a YouGov poll carried out on behalf of The Times, which saw Labour continue to lead the Tories by 21-points.
Rishi Sunak’s personal ratings improved marginally by 3-points, with 25% of voters saying he would make the best prime minister compared to 34% preferring Starmer.
Sunak’s decision to scrap HS2 garnered more opposition than support, particularly among voters in the north of England.
While 37% of voters support the plans of ending the HS2 project before it reaches Manchester it drops to just 29% of voters in the north.
Nationwide, 40% of people oppose the plan to drop the major infrastructure project.
In general, however, the polling showed dissatisfaction with both parties – even among their own supporters.
Only 41% of Tory voters said they felt Sunak had a clear plan for the country, while 40% said the same of Starmer.
Overall, Labour still lead with 45% of support with the Tories dragging behind on 24%.
It comes as Scottish Labour hail the victory of their candidate Michael Shanks in the Rutherglen and Hamilton by-election.
But while Anas Sarwar hailed the result as a “seismic” moment, pollster John Curtice said The Times survey highlighted uncertainty as to whether Labour had “sealed the deal with the electorate”.
