Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Tanveer Mann

Tories on course for majority but Labour set to launch final election push

As the general election campaign enters its final few days, the parties are ramping up their canvassing for every last vote.

Boris Johnson is set to target Labour heartlands to appeal to Leave voters, while Labour will again hope to drive home their messages on the NHS and the economy.

The PM is due to make campaign visits to the east of England, the North East and South West while in Scotland, Tory leader Jackson Carlaw will launch an ad van in Newton Mearns.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will also be campaigning in the South West, while shadow chancellor John McDonnell will give a speech on the economy in London.

According to a polling expert, Tories are on course for a majority, but the last three days of the campaign will still be crucial.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will be campaigning in the South West (Christopher Furlong)

Professor Sir John Curtice, speaking on BBC Radio 4 Westminster Hour , told Carolyn Quinn: “We are looking at a 10-point Conservative lead over the Labour Party, 43 to 33, Liberal Democrats now down to 12, the Brexit Party down to 3 and essentially the story of this election campaign is Tories up 5 points, Labour up 5 points, net effect still a Tory lead of 10, which probably means if it transpires in the ballot boxes, something around 345-350 Tory seats and Boris Johnson being able to pursue Brexit.

"But the Tory lead of 10 points is not that far ahead of the 6-point figure, which is the point at which you say there’s a 50% chance of a hung Parliament.

"It’s held steady so far and the Tories have managed to retain their position but those last three days could still make a difference.”

The last few days are crucial (Christopher Furlong)

Asked about tactical voting, he said: “It’s certainly true that in the 345-350 seats scenario, a lot of the crucial seats that the government needs to pick up would be picked up quite narrowly and there is no doubt that one of the reasons for uncertainty for those of us standing outside and concern for central office about what will happen on Thursday is the extent to which voters do vote tactically.

"I’ve done one exercise in which I’ve simulated, given the current position in the polls, where you then add to that the amount of anti-Conservative tactical voting in line with what happened in the 1997 general election , which is the first time and the one real time we saw anti-Conservative tactical voting on a fairly extensive scale.

PM Boris Johnson is due to make campaign visits to the east of England, the North East and South West (WPA Pool)

"If you do that I can knock 13 seats off the Tory tally so I can get them down to about 337-332 but probably on its own it won’t be enough, It either will have to be more than in 1997, which it might be, or the lead of the Conservatives over Labour will have to come down as well before it’s likely to be that effective."

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard will be at Edinburgh's Royal Hospital for Sick Children where he will outline party plans to "invest in and revive" the health service.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.