The Conservative Party is at risk of losing its majority at the election according to a shock projection by a leading pollster.
A YouGov constituency-by-constituency survey commissioned by the Times indicates the Tories could lose 20 of the 330 seats they hold, and Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour gain nearly 30 MPs.
The new modelling by one of the country’s leading pollsters suggests the Conservative Party would fall short of an overall majority by 16 seats, meaning a hung parliament and potential coalition talks.
Since May called the election to strengthen her mandate when her party was set for a landslide, that outcome would be a disaster.
The poll is the latest sign of the gap between Labour and the Conservatives narrowing since a ‘dementia tax’ on social care was floated in the Tory manifesto.
The Times offers a health warning with the polls: it has big variations and suggests that the Tories could get as many as 345 seats on a good night, up 15 MPs.
The newspaper reported a top Tory saying that the party was still expecting a majority of 50 or more. An ICM poll earlier in the afternoon had the Tories on a 12-point lead, down by two points.
Sterling fell after the poll suggested the Conservatives might not win an outright majority in the election.
The pound was down 0.3% at $1.2816 after falling as low as $1.2791 earlier, Reuters reports.
It also slipped to a low of 0.8738 pound per euro, near Friday’s eight-week low of 0.8750.