Support for Tories in London hits just 17%, new poll shows with Labour ahead even among pensioners
Support for the Tories in London has hit just 17 per cent, a new poll reveals, with Labour ahead even among pensioners.
The YouGov survey for the Mile End Institute at Queen Mary University of London put Labour on 52 per cent in the capital, 35 percentage points ahead of the Conservatives in voting intentions for the Westminster Parliament.
The Liberal Democrats, Greens and Reform UK are each all on ten per cent, with the latter a jump from four per cent in October last year which is likely to alarm Tory MPs in some Outer London and other marginal seats.
In Inner London, the Conservatives are on just 14 per cent as they face a battle to hold onto their three remaining seats of Cities of London and Westminster, the new constituency of Kensington and Bayswater, and Chelsea and Fulham.
In Outer London, the Tories are on 19 per cent.
Labour is ahead of the Tories among all age groups including those 65 and over, by 34 per cent to 31 per cent for the latter.
For Londoners aged 18-to-24 the respective split is 65 per cent to 13 per cent, 25-to 49 it is 58 per cent to 12 per cent, and 50 to 64 it is 49 per cent to 18 per cent.
A 1,000-strong poll has a margin of error of some three per cent, so the 17 per cent is on a similar level.
The collapse in support for the Tories in the capital was laid bare by the fact that they were ahead of Labour by 39 per cent to 33 per cent in April 2010, in the dying days of the Gordon Brown government.
Professor Patrick Diamond, director of the Mile End Institute, said: “The Conservative party have slipped to among their lowest ever poll ratings in London as their popularity plunges amid voters’ anger over rising taxes, lack of affordable housing, rising crime and difficulties accessing the NHS.
“They face the very real prospect of a wipeout in London at the next general election.”
The fieldwork for the latest poll was carried out before Lee Anderson sparked outrage by claiming that Sadiq Khan and London were in the “control” of Islamists.
In recent years, the Tories have sought to appeal to voters in the former Labour “Red Wall” seats they won in the 2019 General Election which was dominated by Brexit.
Just six per cent of Londoners who voted Remain in the 2016 referendum now back the Conservatives, according to the poll, compared to 36 per cent of Leavers.
The weighting methodology for the latest YouGov poll was slightly tweaked to more accurately reflect turnout patterns in the city where fewer people vote in mayoral elections than in national elections.
So, its latest findings are not directly comparable to its previous polls.
However, the new figures would have been expected to show a slightly smaller Labour lead.
* YouGov interviewed 1,113 adults in London online between February 12 and 19. Data are weighted.