Onwards and upwards: Labour inches forward in polls after single-market shift

Labour has notched up a new poll lead as the Tories tread water amid faltering progress on Brexit.

Jeremy Corbyn’s party posted a three-point advantage over Theresa May’s government, which has been beset by more fighting over free movement after the prime minister left the country for her summer holiday.

Labour’s previous confusion over its stance on the single market appears not to have hit its ratings as it reached 44 per cent in the latest YouGov survey for The Times, which was carried out on 31 July and 1 August. Key figures are now taking the position that continued membership of the single market is an option.

The Tories were unchanged, on 41 per cent, since the previous survey on 18 and 19 July.

Times/YouGov poll 

Labour: 44 per cent (+1)

Conservatives: 41 per cent (no change)

Lib Dems: 7 per cent (+1)

Others: 9 per cent (nc)

Survey carried out on 31 July and 1 August.