Fresh poll sees Labour closing in on Tories to just a three point gap

The gap between Labour and the Tories has narrowed to just three points, a new poll suggests.

Labour posted 39 per cent support while Theresa May’s party is on 42 per cent. This is a considerable drop from the 24 point lead recorded by the pollster YouGov at the start of the campaign.

The poll, conducted by YouGov for The Times, is a campaign low for the government. Just a week out from the general election, Labour’s support has risen three points, to a high last repeated in February 2014, whilst the Tories have dropped one point.

The Liberal Democrats are on seven per cent, down two points, and UKIP on four.

May’s lead over Jeremy Corbyn is also down, at 13 points, from 17 points at the end of last week. Just under a third – 30 per cent of people say they would prefer the Labour leader as prime minister to 43 per cent backing May.

The lead handed by YouGov to the Tories is the slimmest of the major pollsters and is due to their turnout predictor. If higher than usual numbers of the young turnout to vote then the election is expected to be closely fought, but if youth turnout remains similar to usual, then  the Tories are likely to benefit.

If the poll is accurate and the swing were uniform across the country, the Tories would be 17 seats short of an overall majority.