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.