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Sat, 5 July 2025
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Tory poll lead sinks to lowest level since Boris Johnson became PM amid exam results crisis

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer (PA)

1 min read

The Conservatives’ poll lead over Labour has fallen to its lowest level since Boris Johnson became prime minister in the wake of this year’s botched exam results.

A YouGov study for The Times — carried out after a U-turn over A-level and GCSE results on Monday — shows the Tories are now just two points clear of Labour.

The Conservatives are polling at 40%, down from 44% the week before.

Meanwhile Labour are up to 38%, a three-point rise in the past seven days.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer now has a four-point lead over Mr Johnson on the question of who would be the preferred prime minister.

Mr Johnson has slipped from 32% who say he is their preferred PM to 31%, while Sir Keir's ratings have climbed from 32% to 35%.

The poll result marks the lowest Conservative lead in a YouGov study since June 25 last year, a month before Mr Johnson took over from Theresa May at Number 10.

The results are a far cry from the Government’s popularity at the height of the pandemic, where the Conservatives had a 24-point advantage on Labour in early April. 

The YouGov study was carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, and after Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced that a controversial algorithm used to award GCSE and A-level results would be ditched in favour of teacher-assessed grades.