Tory lead slashed
The Tory lead has dwindled down to single figures, a new YouGov poll revealed today.
The figures indicate a stabilisation of Labour’s performance, with party support staying relatively stable.
The poll, done in connection with the Telegraph, puts the Tories on 42 points, down three, and Labour on 33, up two. The Liberal democrats are on 15 points.
If the results were translated into a general election result, David Cameron would come into power with a slim majority of 22.
Analysts are starting to recognise a consolidation of the new political landscape. Labour seem unlikely to overtake the Conservatives, but the Tories may have to get used to their reduced lead.
Mike Smithson, at Political Betting, said the poll represents a “new normality” in British politics.
“There’s little doubt that the last month and a half has seen a step change in public opinion and what we are getting is a ‘new normality’ where there has been enough of a Labour recovery to suggest, on a uniform swing, only a bare Cameron majority,” he said.
Labour’s lowest point came in May when it lost the Crewe and Nantwich by-election. At that point the governing party lagged 24 points behind the Tories with just 23 per cent.
The lead dropped to 20 points just before the financial crisis hit, then hit 14 just after the party conferences before standing at its current nine points.
