Third of 2019 Tory voting Londoners more likely to back party again if Boris Johnson campaigns

A third of 2019 Tory voters in London say they would be more likely to back the party again if Boris Johnson campaigns for it, a poll released on Monday revealed.

Some 14 per cent of Londoners supporting Labour at the general election also said the former Prime Minster campaigning would increase their chances of voting Conservative on July 4, according to the Savanta survey for the Mile End Institute at Queen Mary University.

Overall almost two in 10 Londoners (18 per cent) said they would be more likely to vote for the Conservatives if Mr Johnson was involved in the push.

This compares to 39 per cent of Londoners who said it would not affect their decision, and another 39 per cent who said this would make them less likely to vote Tory.

Labour has a 33-point lead in the capital amid signs of an “anti-Conservative” mood which will make it very difficult for them to hold onto a string of marginal seats in next week’s election, the poll found.

Some 55 per cent of Londoners plan to vote Labour, 22 per cent Tory, ten per cent Liberal Democrat, eight per cent Reform UK, and five per cent Green, according to the survey.

The Standard has compiled an interactive map of the key battleground seats in London and all the other constituencies in the capital.

Mr Johnson has filmed a series of cameo-style videos for some Tory candidates as the party lags behind in the polls and attempts to fight off the threat from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

Letters asking voters to back Conservatives have also been signed by the ex-party leader and sent to thousands of homes.

But the ex-PM has a tense relationship with Rishi Sunak as it was his resignation as chancellor following a string of scandals in Number 10 which precipitated the quitting of a slew of fellow ministers, leading to Mr Johnson’s defenestration from Downing Street.

Savanta’s poll also revealed a quarter of young Londoners support Conservative plans for National Service, according to the findings.

Only 22 per cent of 18–24-year-old living in the capital were in favour of the proposals.

Overall almost a third (32 per cent) of Londoners said they would support making it compulsory for 18-year-olds to serve full-time in the military for one year or volunteer one weekend per month for a year.

But there was a strong age gradient in favour for the policy, with 43 per cent of those aged 65 and older in favour of the plan.

Savanta interviewed 1,022 adults online between June 10 and 18. Data is weighted.

Londoners can find a list of all candidates for the five main parties in the 75 constituencies across the capital in this new Evening Standard database.