Labour support could be on the rise in Yorkshire ahead of election day, according to exclusive survey

Labour's backing in Yorkshire and the Humber may be on the rise to give them a bigger lead over the Conservatives, according to an exclusive nationwide survey of voting intentions.
Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, on his campaign trail in Beaumont Park, Huddersfield. (James Hardisty)Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, on his campaign trail in Beaumont Park, Huddersfield. (James Hardisty)
Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, on his campaign trail in Beaumont Park, Huddersfield. (James Hardisty)

Across the region, 43% of people who took part in the survey said they are planning to vote Labour later this week, compared to 35% who said that was their planned vote at the start of the election campaign. The proportion of respondents backing the Tories is at 22%, compared to 25% backing the party at the start of the campaign.

A similar survey at the start of May found 34% of respondents in the region said they were planning to vote Tory on June 8 compared to the 30% who said they voted for the party in 2015, while the Labour vote was at 41%, the same as the proportion who said they had voted for the party in 2015.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Despite a string of more positive polls for Labour in recent days, Conservative activists in Yorkshire remain confident the party is heading for victory on Thursday.

According to the survey, other parties have seen their vote share squeezed by the contest between Labour and Conservatives - the Lib Dem vote was 4%, compared to 5% saying they supported the party at the start of the campaign, UKIP was 3%, down from 5%, and the Greens were on 2%, down from 3%.

Seven in 10 of people who planned to vote Conservative at the start of the campaign are still backing the party (73%), but 10% have switched to Labour, and 11% say they are no longer sure who they will vote for.

Labour on the other hand seem to be picking up support from all sides, while 93% of those who planned to vote Labour at the start of the campaign are sticking with their party, 29% of people who previously planned to vote Lib Dem said they have switched to Labour, as have 32% of those who had been planning to vote Green, and 9% of those previously backing UKIP.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A quarter of respondents who said they were not sure what their vote would be at the start of the campaign are now behind Labour, 26%, compared to 4% who have decided to vote Conservative, although 59% still have not made up their minds.

Labour's potentially improving prospects may be down in part to Jeremy Corbyn's performance, 61% of respondents in the region think he's had the best general election campaign.

While 91% of those planning to vote Labour think Corbyn has been having the best campaign, so do 61% of Lib Dem voters, a bigger proportion than think Tim Farron is doing best. Of those planning to vote Conservative, 76% think Theresa May has had the best campaign, while a fifth, 19%, think Jeremy Corbyn's has been better.

Missing the leaders' debate on BBC1 last week may not have helped the perception of May's performance, as 62% of respondents said it was the wrong decision, including 89% of those planning to vote Labour, 74% of those backing the Lib Dems and even 16% of Tory voters, although 59% of this group think she was right to skip the debate.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

However, the survey suggests the debates had only a limited impact on how people are planning to vote, with just 7% of respondents saying it had caused them to change their vote. People now planning to vote Green were the most likely to say they had changed their vote as a result of the debates, 18%.

Labour voters were the most likely to feel more fired up as a result of the debates, with 46% saying they had made them even more determined to vote for their party, compared to 18% of Conservative voters saying the same.

Most respondents said the party they were voting for (62%) was most important, rather than the party leader, 22%, or the local candidate, 16%. Party was particularly important for those planning to vote Labour, 67% put it top compared to 58% of those planning to vote Conservative. Theresa May's campaign, which has more strongly focused on her seems to have had an impact, with 33% of those planning to vote Tory saying the leader of the party was the most important thing to them.

Social care and the NHS are the issues most likely to determine how more than a third of respondents are planning to vote, 37%, including 54% of those planning to vote Labour and 39% of Lib Dem voters, followed by Brexit, the key issue for 22% of respondents, including 51% of Conservative voters and 68% of UKIP voters.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Three-fifths of respondents in the region (59%) said they have had candidate's leaflets sent in the post, and 12% said they has seen a candidate or campaigner locally and 10% said a campaigner had knocked on their door. However, a third, 31%, said they have not seen candidates, campaigners or received leaflets.