A Tory minister has been mocked on Twitter after claiming the result of the next general election is still “wide open”.
Andrew Mitchell made his comments despite Labour continuing to enjoy a huge opinion poll lead and the Conservatives losing two previously-safe seats in by-elections last week.
He said his party’s narrow victory in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, where they saw their 7,000 majority reduced to just 495, showed the next election is still all to play for.
The result plunged Labour into a civil war over London mayor Sadiq Khan’s decision to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which proved deeply unpopular with voters in Boris Johnson’s old seat.
Speaking on Sky News, Mitchell said: “I think it shows that the ULEZ scheme that the Labour mayor had put in place was the wrong scheme. It was the wrong time and it was conducted in the wrong way.
“But I think overall what Uxbridge shows is that those who have written off this government at the next election have done so prematurely and that the next election is wide open.”
But his remarks sparked a backlash on Twitter, with many poking fun at his prediction.