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Liberal Democrats almost level with Labour in election, poll shows

Leader of the Liberal Democrats Jo Swinson
Leader of the Liberal Democrats Jo Swinson (Picture: Getty Images)

The Liberal Democrats are closing in on Labour in the latest polls.

The Lib Dems (20%) are now only 4% behind Labour (24%) when it comes to Westminster voting intention, according to the The Kantar TNS poll.

The Tories were out in front with a comfortable 38% and the Brexit Party was growing with 7%.

Both the Conservatives and Labour lost four points, while the other parties gained or remained the same in relation to the previous numbers from August 15-19.

The new poll shows results from September 5 - 9.

Lib Dems have also been gaining new MPs recently with former Conservative Philip Lee surprising everyone when he crossed the floor to sit with his new party during Prime Minister’s Questions on September 3.

Former Labour politicians Chuka Umunna, Angela Smith and Luciana Berger, who were also members of the Change UK party, joined the Lib Dems in the last few months.

The party has also positioned itself firmly as the no Brexit party after it emerged this week members would campaign to revoke Article 50.

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Libe Dems leader Jo Swinson admitted she’d cancel Brexit if she was elected prime minister with a majority.

She told the Guardian: “Whenever the election comes, our position is clear and unequivocal.

“A majority Liberal Democrat government would not renegotiate Brexit; we would cancel it by revoking Article 50 and remaining in the European Union.”

There are likely to be further shifts in the polls in coming weeks.

The Prime Minister has said he plans to remove the UK from the EU on October 31 despite legislation that states he needs to delay the withdrawal date.

The Tories are also heading to the UK Supreme Court to challenge a ruling from Scottish judges Boris Johnson’s decision to prorogue Parliament was “unlawful”.

A panel of nine justices will hear the case, led by Lady Hale, president of the Supreme Court, and they are likely to make a ruling next week.

The Supreme Court is also expected to consider a similar case brought in England by businesswoman Gina Miller, in which High Court judges said it was not a matter for the courts.

And it may also consider a legal challenge in Belfast that argued the Government’s Brexit strategy will damage the Northern Ireland peace process.

The ruling will be delivered on Thursday morning and would have to be heard by the Court of Appeal in Belfast, possibly over the weekend, before potentially being heard at the Supreme Court on Tuesday.