SNP would OVERTAKE the Tories if snap election called now - damning poll

Stephen Flynn, leader of SNP would be the Leader of the Opposition in a snap election according to a new poll
House of Commons
Georgina Cutler

By Georgina Cutler


Published: 09/02/2023

- 16:20

A poll has revealed that Conservatives would slump to 23 per cent of the vote

The Tories would be beaten by the Scottish National Party in a snap election, a damning poll has found.

A poll of 28,000 people revealed that the Conservative Party would be relegated to Westminster’s third party if an imminent general election took place.


The figures report Labour winning 49 per cent of the vote and the Tories down to 23 per cent, according to pollsters Find Out Now and experts Electoral Calculus.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to meet Ukrainian troops being trained to command Challenger 2 tanks at a military facility in Lulworth, Dorset, during his first visit to the UK since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Picture date: Wednesday February 8, 2023.
The damning poll revealed that Rishi Sunak would lose his seat in a snap election
Andrew Matthews

According to the polling forecast, Stephen Flynn, leader of SNP would be the Leader of the Opposition and Labour would gain 306 seats – taking its total number of MPs to a record 509 out of 650 seats available.

The Liberal Democrats would see their numbers more than double from 11 to 23, while Plaid Cymru and the Greens would remain unchanged with four MPs and one respectively.

Figures also revealed that Reform UK, a party seen as a protest to the Right of the Tories, would win six per cent of the votes but is left without an MP.

Based on a seat-by-seat estimate, a total of 15 ministers would lose their seats including Rishi Sunak, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.

Chris Holbrook, the chief executive of Find Out Now, said the forecasts made “shocking reading for Conservatives”, adding: “Mending perceptions of corruption may be their best hope.”

Martin Baxter, the chief executive of Electoral Calculus, told the Telegraph: “The Conservatives have been far behind in the polls for the last four months, with little sign of improvement.

Conservative Party MP Iain Duncan Smith speaks in the chamber of the House of Commons, Westminster, as MPs gather to pay tribute to Conservative MP Sir David Amess, who died on Friday after he was stabbed several times during a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.
Iain Duncan Smith has suggested that voters are 'less certain about Labour'
House of Commons

“They have lost support across the country, particularly in traditionally strong Conservative areas, which bodes very badly for the next general election. That election could be a near-wipeout and worse than 1997, with the Conservatives not even being the main opposition party.”

But senior Conservatives including Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader pointed out that if the survey questions are about an election next year, voters are less certain about Labour.

He said: “It is still quite a soft lead for Labour. It is not over yet by a long way. The Government can influence the vote by sorting out the small boats issue, dealing with the NHS crisis and cutting taxes to get growth going.”

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