Rishi Sunak Fails To Dent Labour's Huge Opinion Poll Lead As General Election Looms

Rishi Sunak is failing to dent Labour’s opinion poll lead with the general election just months away.

The prime minister has carried out announced a series of relaunches and new policies since taking over from Liz Truss in October 2022.

But the latest poll by Techne UK revealed that Labour is still 20 points ahead of the Tories - enough to give Keir Starmer a healthy Commons majority.

Sunak revealed last week that the election is likely to take place in the second half of this year, with November 14 thought to be the most likely date.

The Techne UK poll puts Labour on 44%, up one point on a month ago, with the Conservatives also up a point to 24%.

Both the Lib Dems and Reform are on 10%, with the Greens on 6% and the SNP on 3%.

The poll also showed that just 34% of the public have confidence in the government to deal with the country’s problems, compared to 59% who do not.

A separate poll by YouGov earlier this week gave Labour a 24-point lead, up 5 points on last month.

Sunak is also braced for double by-election misery on February 15 when voters in Kingswood and Wellingborough go to the polls.

Meanwhile, the prime minister’s promise to grow the economy this year is in serious doubt after new figures revealed it shrank in the three months to November.

Although GDP grew by a higher-than-expected 0.3% in November itself, economists warned that the UK remains on the brink of a “technical recession”.

Lib Dem Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney said: “Sunak’s talk of turning a corner has not survived contact with economic reality.

“This no growth prime minister has no plan and no idea how to get the economy moving again. Everything the Conservative party has tried has either led to an economic meltdown or an economy stuck in the mire.

“If the prime minister knew what was best for the economy, he would call a general election so the public can boot him out of Number 10.”