- Thursday, March 20, 2025
Three surveys have shown the opposition party having a lead, nullifying the Tories’ hope of a bounce since the PM announced the election on May 22.
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE first opinion polls following prime minister Rishi Sunak’s announcement of the UK general election last week indicate no significant alteration in the electoral landscape in the initial days of campaigning.
According to a survey conducted by JL Partners, there has been a marginal reduction in the lead maintained by Keir Starmer’s Labour Party over Sunak’s Conservatives, from 15 points earlier this month to 12 points now, Bloomberg reported.
The pollster noted a change among older voters and individuals considering the right-wing Reform UK party, with a greater number now supporting the Tories following the prime minister’s unveiling of several policies targeting their core supporters.
Another survey, published by Survation, saw Labour taking a lead at 23 points, up by four percentage points compared with what it was a week ago.
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“The Conservatives have not received the bounce they were hoping for since calling the election,” it said, the Bloomberg report added.
In a broader survey conducted by Redfield and Wilton, encompassing 12,000 voters, the Labour maintained a 23-point lead. This marks a one-percentage-point increase compared to the previous week. The company stated that there has been “no narrowing” of the lead since the snap election was announced.
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The polls indicate that it’s challenging to make definitive conclusions from the initial stages of the election campaign, although all three suggest that Labour under Starmer is positioned for potential victory. The opposition party has maintained a steady lead of approximately 20 points in most polls over the past year.
Following Sunak’s announcement of the July 4 vote last week, he has unveiled attention-grabbing policies such as the mandatory National Service and tax cuts for pensioners.
According to an earlier report by Bloomberg, the Tory strategy has focused on reclaiming support from older voters and Reform party supporters to reduce the gap with Labour during the initial two weeks of the campaign.
The Tories will believe that their strategy is working if the polls narrow further in the days to come. However, if there’s no change in public opinion, it would intensify pressure on the governing party’s campaign.
