Labour opens up 30-point lead over Tories in London, says new poll
Labour has a 30-point lead over the Conservatives in London with less than two months until a crucial set of local elections, according to a new poll.
A new survey by Deltapoll, and commissioned by the London Communications Agency, has Labour on 54 per cent, the Tories on 24 per cent and the Liberal Democrats on nine per cent.
The Deltapoll figures would lead to a 10 per cent swing to Labour in London from the 2018 local elections. This would be a shocking blow to Boris Johnson and the Tories if this swing was replicated across England.
In a stark warning for the Conservatives, the polling also revealed that the number-one concern for London voters was the cost of living crisis.
Fifty-two per cent said the cost of living squeeze is their biggest concern, 29 per cent said it was housing affordability and 26 per cent said it was the war in Ukraine.
There will be local elections for 200 councils across the UK on 5 May in what is being seen as a major litmus test for Johnson’s premiership post-partygate.
Elections will be held for all 32 London councils, while there will also be key battles in some traditional Tory heartlands in the Home Counties and Labour strongholds in the North East.
Paddy Hennessy, senior adviser at London Communications Agency and former communications chief for Sadiq Khan, sought to play down Labour’s large polling lead in the capital.
“The Tory vote was more resilient in 2018 and 2021 than many predicted,” he said,
“Furthermore, Labour strategists may ignore London, where the party’s success has been priced-in, in favour of seeking a narrative of winning back areas of the ‘Red Wall in’ the Midlands and the North.”