The Tories have hit their lowest vote share yet in a weekly tracker poll after voters apparently turned away from the party after Rishi Sunak called a snap election.
According to Techne UK, the Tories are now stuck on a mere 19 percent, the first time the company’s weekly tracker has had them below 20 points.
It puts them a huge 26 points behind Labour who are now on 45 percent.
Techne chief executive Michela Morizzo has warned of “a bleak result” for the Conservatives unless they can change the narrative in the next six weeks before the election on 4 July.
She said that the improving economic data appears to have come too late to save the Tories.
After Richard Tice said that Reform UK would stand in 630 seats splitting the vote on the right, Conservative campaign chiefs will be worried to see their share jump two points to 14 percent.
The Lib Dems are still on 12 percent and the Greens drop one to 5 percent.
According to Electoral Calculus, this result would leave the Conservatives with only 34 seats, the third party in Parliament behind the Lib Dems with Labour holding a majority of 388.
The findings come as five more Conservative MPs have decided to quit taking the total number to 70 and Mr Sunak was mocked for his rain drenched election announcement, two gaffes on his first day of campaigning and having to admit his flagship Rwanda deportation policy for illegal migrants will not happen before the election.
Ms Morizzo said that the polling suggested the Tories are on course for less than 100 seats.
She said: “Westminster and the whole country are still in shock that Rishi Sunak called the general election yesterday for 4 July. Our regular tracker poll today, the first after the announcement, delivers a bombshell immediate assessment for the prime minister and his party.
“If these polling figures were delivered on General Election day Sunak’s party would record less than a 100 Conservative MPs and Starmer’s party would have a considerable majority. Things look very bleak for the Conservatives indeed and it seems very difficult to think anything other than a strong Labour victory on 4 July.
We have to consider that these interviews reflect the shock of the public opinion and we will see only in the coming weeks if this scenario will be confirmed or the gap between the two main parties will shorten. Data on economy, inflation and scenario seem to be improving but – unfortunately- it seems now too late for the Conservatives to use them as a ‘campaign tool’.
“I mean, as I have always said, economy rules, but people have to perceive a real strategy and effort behind these results. Otherwise, the risk is to be only perceived as the cyclic up and downs of economy with no need to reward the government activity at the coming general election.”
According to the findings only a little over one third of 2019 Tory voters (36 percent) would still support them with 19 percent going to Reform, 14 percent to Labour and 19 uncertain.
Labour leads in every age, socio-economic and education category.
