Conservatives overtake Labour in Scotland and London, poll shows

Conservatives have taken the lead over Labour in its traditional strongholds of Scotland and London, a new poll shows.

It suggests a surge for the Tories in Scotland, with 27 per cent of support against 16 per cent for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour. The Scottish National Party (SNP) remains well ahead of both parties.

In the 2015 general election, Labour received 24 per cent of the vote, leaving the Conservatives in third place with 15 per cent.

The poll by ORB International for The Sunday Telegraph also shows Theresa May’s Conservatives is appealing to voters in other traditional Labour areas, with the Tories now ahead in London.

While Labour won 44 per cent of the votes in the capital in the last general election, the poll suggests the party will receive just 32 per cent of votes on 8 June, with 43 per cent for the Conservatives.

It comes after Ms May made her first appearance in Scotland as part of the election campaign on Saturday.

Addressing party activists in Aberdeenshire, the Prime Minister said the SNP was seeking to “disrupt our Brexit negotiations by disrupting this election.” She repeated “now is not the time for a new vote”.

Instead, she said that, if elected, she will be able to adopt a strong position in the Brexit negotiations, which will also benefit Scotland.

“My message to the people of Scotland is clear – every vote for me and my team will strengthen my hand in the Brexit negotiations.

“That will strengthen the Union, strengthen the economy and the UK and Scotland together will flourish because if Scotland is flourishing the rest of the United Kingdom is flourishing too,” she said.

Research by YouGov for The Times echoed the ORB poll, putting support for the Conservatives in Scotland on 28 per cent, behind the SNP on 41 per cent.

The research also shows the proportion of Scots intending to vote Conservative is almost double the proportion that voted for them in 2015, pushing Labour back to third place with 18 per cent of voting intentions.

Projections indicated the Conservatives could win eight seats in Scotland, up from one at the moment.

The number of SNP MPs could also fall from 56 to 47 with the party’s deputy leader Angus Robertson's own seat under threat.

YouGov expects Labour’s sole MP in Scotland Ian Murray to retain his Edinburgh South constituency.