UK Conservatives polling lower than under Liz Truss - YouGov

Britain's Conservatives are currently polling lower than under Liz Truss, the latest data from YouGov has revealed.

The latest YouGov/Times voting intention poll finds the Tories on 18%, down two points since April 24.

This is the lowest Conservative vote share of this parliament, lower than under Liz Truss, when it sank to 19%.

By contrast, Labour are on 44% of voter intention, down one point since the end of April.

The last time YouGov recorded a lower vote share for the Conservatives was during 2019, in the run-up to the European Parliament elections of that year.

It also matches the lowest share Labour ever received under Jeremy Corbyn in the summer of 2019.

The lull in Conservative fortunes follows what was considered to be a successful week for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in which the Safety of Rwanda Act passed into law, a 2p (2.5 US cents) national insurance cut came into force, and Sunak set out ambitions to raise defence spending by 2030.

Sunak is braced for a slew of defeats in Thursday's local elections, and while reports suggest this could lead backbench Conservatives to challenge his leadership, senior government figures including Kemi Badenoch and Penny Mordaunt have rushed to his defence.

According to YouGov, only 43% of those who backed the Conservatives at the 2019 general election currently say they intend to do so again at the next general election.

Some 31% of over-65s, often considered the most likely demographic to use their franchise, intend to vote for the Conservatives.

Conservative support among pro-Brexit voters has also dropped, the polling firm says, leaving them fractionally behind Labour's 28% of Brexit backers, at 27%.

Reform UK are picking up the most voters from this group, at 32%.

The party, seen as a challenger to the Conservatives on the right, is on 15%, the Lib Dems are on 10%, and the Greens are on 8%.

Keir Starmer, meanwhile, leads in polling on who would make the best prime minister, with 34% choosing the Labour leader.

Sunak is at 18%, his joint-lowest score, having achieved the same several times since last year.

YouGov polled 2,010 UK adults between April 30 and May 1.