Exclusive: Tory 'Super-Majority' Warnings Backfire As Voters Say It Makes Them More Likely To Vote Labour

Large numbers also say it will make no difference to who they back on July 4.
Keir Starmer laughs with celebrity potter Keith Brymer Jones during his visit to Duchess China in Longton near Stoke-On-Trent.
Keir Starmer laughs with celebrity potter Keith Brymer Jones during his visit to Duchess China in Longton near Stoke-On-Trent.
Stefan Rousseau - PA Images via Getty Images

Tory warnings about the dangers of a Labour “super-majority” following the general election have backfired spectacularly, according to a new poll.

The Techne survey showed that they have made a quarter of voters more likely to back Labour on July 4, with a third saying it will make no difference at all.

Defence secretary Grant Shapps was the first senior Conservative to float the possibility of a huge Commons majority more than a fortnight ago.

He said: “You want to make sure that in this next government, whoever forms it, that there’s a proper system of accountability... you don’t want to have somebody receive a super-majority.”

It has since been repeated by numerous top Tories, most recently party chairman Richard Holden.

He told Basildon radio station Gateway 97.8: “It is a difficult election. And I think there is that danger as some of the polls are pointing to a supermajority for the Labour Party.

“And I don’t think any party in power with those sorts of levels of majority. You know, that that can be a bit of a problem for the democratic process.”

However, the Techne poll showed the warnings actually made 26% people say they were more likely to vote Labour, compared to just 13% who said they were now more likely to back the Tories.

A further 9% said they were more likely to vote Reform UK, while 36% said they were “indifferent”.

Overall, the poll put Labour on 42%, a staggering 23 points ahead of the Tories, who are on just 19%, just 2 points ahead of Reform UK on 17%. The Lib Dems are on 12% and the Greens are on 5%.

The poll also suggests that some of the major controversies of the election campaign will have little bearing on how people vote next Thursday.

Just 8% of those surveyed said Rishi Sunak’s decision to leave commemorations for the 80th anniversary of D-Day early has changed how they might vote, with 6% choosing the Tory betting scandal and 2% picking Nigel Farage’s claim that the West “provoked” Vladimir Putin into invading Ukraine.

Meanwhile, fewer than half (42%) say they will vote for the best party fit to govern the country, with nearly a quarter (24%) will opt for “the least worst option” and 9% voting tactically to get rid of the government.

Close

What's Hot