Labour edges up in polls despite May’s lead over Corbyn

Labour received a ray of hope for the New year when a new poll showed the Tories lead cut had been cut significantly .

The poll, by Opinium, puts Westminster voting intention at 38 per cent support for the Conservatives, a drop of three points, and at 31 per cent for Labour, a rise of two points.

The Lib Dems are at six per cent support and UKIP at 13 per cent – a loss of one point and a gain of one point respectively.

The Conservative lead being at just seven points, is an unusually slender lead for the governing party amongst recent polls – with one last week from Ipsos MORI putting the Tory lead at 11 points.

On who would be preferred as a prime minister, Theresa May still enjoys a substantial lead over Jeremy Corbyn: with 42 per cent favouring May and 16 per cent opting for Corbyn.

Last week Diane Abbott, a close ally of Corbyn, said that the Labour leader would turn around the poor polls within 12 months.

Corbyn has explained the poor polling performances by pointing to the summer’s leadership campaign, which his supporters described as a “distraction”.