Politics

New ‘more accurate’ polling methodolgy puts Labour on top – but only just

A new polling methodology introduced by Opinium has handed Labour a slender lead over the Conservatives.

Changes to how ‘Conservative undecided’ voters are processed puts Sir Keir Starmer’s party on 37 per cent in the polls ahead of the Tories on 34 per cent.

The Lib Dems are on 11 per cent, Greens on 6 per cent, SNP on 3 per cent, Plaid on 1 per cent, and others on 8 per cent.

Adam Drummond, Head of Political and Social research at Opinium, said although the new methodology makes the headline vote share look closer than it did, “the Conservative should not take false comfort from this”.

“The other numbers in the poll show a deeply unpopular prime minister and the opposition ahead on multiple measures,” he added.

Boris Johnson’s approval ratings remain at net -34 per cent, with only a quarter of Brits (24 per cent) approving of the job he’s doing while 58 per cent disapporve.

Keir Starmer’s approval rating is net 0, with 32 per cent approving and 32 per cent disapproving.

When it comes to who would make the best prime minister, Starmer narrowly leads Johnson by 26 per cent to 24 oer cent, however over a third (35 per cent) say neither and 14 per cent say they don’t know.

When asked which government they would prefer, 43 per cent say “A Labour government led by Keir Starmer” while 34 per cent say “A Conservative government led by Boris Johnson”.

Labour is also seen as the party that is best for “Spending government money efficiently” (29 per cent to 24 per cent), “Improving your financial situation” (28 per cent to 21 per cent), and “Improving public services” (39 per cent to 20 per cent).

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Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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