Second by-election poll puts Labour 19 points ahead in Heywood and Middleton

Labour still has a 19 point lead in Heywood and Middleton as we approach polling day, according to a poll of the seat conducted by Lord Ashcroft. That follows a Survation poll last week that also showed a 19 point lead for Labour over UKIP in the Greater Manchester seat.

Ashcroft has Labour on 47% (up 7 on 2010) to UKIP’s 28%. The Tory vote has collapsed to just 16%, down 11 points since 2010.

Seemingly UKIP and Labour have been the most active in the seat – with nearly 70% of voters polled saying that they’d had contact from Labour and UKIP. The Tories and Lib Dems by contrast have reached less than a third of voters.

Polling day is this Thursday – and Conor Pope will be in Heywood and Middleton tomorrow reporting for LabourList on the campaign.

In other polling news, the weekly Ashcroft poll follows YouGov in putting Labour 2 points behind the Tories, but Populus has Labour 6 points ahead..