Theresa May would win 34-seat majority in snap general election, new poll suggests

Polling suggests Theresa May would win a 34-seat majority in a general election
AP
Patrick Grafton-Green25 February 2019
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Theresa May would win a 34-seat majority if a general election was held tomorrow, a new poll has found.

Research by Deltapoll for The Mail on Sunday suggested the Conservatives would win 39 per cent of the vote, with Labour behind on 31 per cent.

It comes after a week of resignations from both parties, with eight Labour MPs and three Tories joining the newly formed Independent Group.

The poll indicated the Independent Group would win 11 per cent of the vote, with the Liberal Democrats on 5 per cent and Ukip on 4 per cent.

The survey also suggested that if Jeremy Corbyn was not the Labour leader, 40 per cent of people would vote for the party, giving it a three per cent lead over the Conservatives.

A total of nine MPs quit Labour this week, eight of them to join the Independent Group, amid anger over the party's position on Europe and anti-Semitism within its ranks.

One of the defectors, Chuka Umunna, said this morning that Labour has "become unbearable".

He told Sky News' Sophy Ridge On Sunday: "After really soul searching on this issue can I in all conscience say that I want to make Jeremy Corbyn prime minister and the team around him, put them in charge of our national security... in all conscience I can't do that.”

He added: "If you look at what has transpired in the party, the awful appalling culture which is illustrated vividly by the disgraceful anti-Semitism in the party, a visceral hatred of people of other opinions, a refusal to accept that actually it might be OK not to necessarily think that everything that Jeremy Corbyn says is golden, it's become unbearable and I think ultimately that is what has driven people to leave the party."

Yesterday Mr Corbyn hit out at the ex-Labour Independent Group MPs for working alongside former Tories.

He said the MPs, who fought the last election on a Labour manifesto opposed to Conservative austerity, were now working with the likes of Anna Soubry, who supported the cuts.

Speaking at a rally in Ms Soubry's Broxtowe constituency, he said that he was "sad" some had left but had no intention of changing the policies which delivered the biggest increase in the Labour vote since 1945.

"I'm obviously very sad at some of the things that have happened and very sad at some of the things that have been said," he said.

"Walking away from our movement achieves nothing. Not understanding where we have come from is a bad mistake.

"So, when the media talk about the bravery of those who walk away, Anna Soubry voted for austerity and said it was a good thing.

"I tell you what, the Labour Party believes in equality and justice. That is what was the centre of our manifesto and that is what will be at the centre of the next manifesto whenever that election comes."

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