PA
The pre-election squeeze of smaller parties has led to substantial gains for Labour in London.
According to a YouGov poll for the Queen Mary University of London’s Mile End Institute the Labour lead in the capital has increased to 17 points in less than a month.
That’s largely at the expense of fringe parties such as the Liberal Democrats, which have seen their share of the vote dwindle to just 15 points.
The Brexit Party are also down three points, as are the Greens.
Prof Philip Cowley of Queen Mary University of London said there had been a “dramatic turnaround” in the fortunes of the parties during the campaign so far, but the big picture was of Labour down compared with 2017.
“In reality, the picture is more complicated than this – especially in Kensington, where the Liberal Democrats appear to be mounting a challenge as well as in seats such as Finchley and Golders Green,” he said.
“We are therefore now at a position in the polls where any seat changes are likely to be minimal, and the result of specific local factors rather than any London-wide swings.”
The results chime with figures released yesterday that show a Remainer surge has pushed Labour to 35 per cent in polls for first time.
According to Survation just 39 per cent of Remainers were supporting Jeremy Corbyn’s party in mid November, but that total now sits at 49 per cent.
By contrast support for the Liberal Democrats and Greens from Remain voters has dropped as tactical voting appears to start to make an impact.
The Lib Dems were supported by 24 per cent of Remainers in the middle of November, that now sits at 21 per cent.
The Greens had 6 per cent of Remain support in the middle of November, it is now just 4 per cent.
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