Rishi Sunak set 'to become first PM to lose seat' in election wipeout with Conservatives down to just 53 MPs, poll finds

19 June 2024, 18:35 | Updated: 19 June 2024, 18:39

Rishi Sunak is on course to become the first sitting Prime Minister lose his seat at the General Election, a poll has found.

The same poll projects that the Conservatives will be down to just 53 seats, a collapse from the 365 MPs they won at the last election in 2019.

Around three-quarters of the current crop of Cabinet ministers would not return to Parliament if the results of the poll, conducted by Savanta and Electoral Calculus for the Telegraph, were borne out at the General Election on July 4.

This is just a single poll, and others have suggested very different levels of support for the Conservatives, but the general direction of travel has been for a large Labour majority and significantly fewer seats for the Tories.

According to the Savanta and Electoral Calculus poll, Labour are set to win 516 seats, up from 202 at the 2019 election.

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LBC's exclusive phone-in with Rishi Sunak

That would give them a huge majority of 382, double that won by Tony Blair in 1997.

Reform would win no seats, according to this poll, while the Liberal Democrats would have 50, up from 11 in 2019. The SNP would drop to eight MPs, down from 48 at the last election.

The pollsters spoke to about 18,000 people between June 7 and June 18.

A separate poll by YouGov, also published on Wednesday, projected that Labour would win 425 seats, while the Conservatives would have 108. According to this poll, conducted for Sky News, the Lib Dems are on course for 67 MPs, the SNP are on track for 20, and Reform are likely to get five.

This would give Labour a majority of 200.

Rishi Sunak responds to former Tory donors backing Labour

The Conservatives have consistently warned recently of the dangers of Labour winning a so-called "super-majority",

But speaking earlier on Wednesday to LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Mr Sunak insisted the "only poll that matters is on July 4" as he defended his party's poor performance in the polls.

Mr Sunak said: "It's for the voters to decide on July 4."

"I'm focused on doing the best job I can, working as hard as I can, talking to as many people as I can about the choice at the election."

"I'm talking to people about the choice for the future, that's what the poll on July 4 is about."

Mr Sunak was also pressed on the growing number of businessmen that are backing Labour, including former Tory donor John Caudwell who gave £500,000 to the Conservatives in 2019.

Manchester United owner and avid Brexiteer Sir Jim Ratcliffe has also backed Labour.

Mr Sunak said: "Their two of Britain's richest men, they can probably afford Labour's tax rises but for tens of millions of people who are working really hard, they can't."

"I want to cut people's taxes," he added.

Meanwhile former Conservative leader Michael Howard, who has been campaigning for his party, told LBC's Tonight with Andrew Marr on Wednesday that most voters he had spoken to had not yet made up their mind.

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