Work's lead over the Tories has fallen to just 12 points, according to a shocking new poll Rishi Sunak makes a surprising recovery from its blunders-plagued opening week.
Sir Keir StarmerThe country's party is at 40 percent, while the Tories are at 28 percent, up two points since early May.
Labour's lead has fallen from 18 points in April and 15 points in early May, according to JL Partners polls conducted on Friday and Saturday.
The pollster said the main reason behind the tightening of polls was a shift among those over 65 Conservatives going from a 10 point lead over Labor to a 20 point lead in the age group.
It comes as Diane Abbott may no longer be a party candidate at the upcoming general election – with even Keir Starmer's allies calling him 'disgraceful' for 'humiliating' the veteran MP.
Ms Abbott was suspended from the Labor parliamentary party for more than a year during the election an investigation into her comments about Jewish people in a letter to the Observer newspaper in April 2023.
Rishi Sunak celebrated after delivering a bowl to the green at a bowls club in Market Bosworth
Labor leader Keir Starmer (pictured today at a campaign event at Airbus Defense and Space in Stevenage) has agreed to debate Rishi Sunak on ITV next week
Mr Sunak was mocked by Labor for his sodden speech from Downing Street on Wednesday afternoon announcing the July 4 general election.
Mr Sunak, drenched in rain, pauses as he delivers a speech announcing the Fourth of July
Rishi Sunak faced Tory anger over his gaffe-laden start to the general election battle, with the Prime Minister saying Conservative candidates 'deserve better'
Diane Abbott (pictured) may not be a party candidate in the upcoming general election
Fewer Tory voters – 23 percent – now also say they would consider voting in favor Nigel Farage's Reform UK – down 10 points since early May.
While the poll results will be welcomed by the Tories, who have long hoped Sir Keir's lead would narrow once the election was called, they still point to a decisive Labor victory.
The survey also found that six in ten voters (60 percent) think it is time for a change of government, with Sir Keir leading by 12 points when voters are asked who would be the best Prime Minister.
The poll found the biggest emotion for a Rishi Sunak win would be 'disappointed', with just nine per cent saying they would be 'happy'.
Labor and the Tories declined to comment on the findings, but a Labor source pointed to Sir Keir's previous warnings against “complacency”.
The poll was conducted by JL Partners for the Rest is Politics podcast, on May 24 and 25 – after the election was called.
JL Partners' James Johnson said of their findings that it was “just one poll, so let's see if the trend continues.”
He added that 'the cause of this tightening since April is the Tories going from an 8 point lead to a 20 point lead over the over 65s, and said that 'the pressure on pensioners is ongoing .'
While the JL Partners poll will be a welcome ray of hope for the Tories, it comes as two polls put Labor comfortably ahead over the bank holiday weekend.
Mr Sunak visited Belfast's Titanic Quarter with Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, prompting reporters to ask the Prime Minister if he was 'captain of a sinking ship'
Sir Keir Starmer faced anger from Labour's left wing after it was previously revealed the racing inquiry had ended months ago – but there was still no clarity over Ms Abbott's future
Rishi Sunak bowls a ball during a Conservative election campaign event at the Market Bosworth Bowls Club in Market Bosworth on May 28
Keir Starmer speaks to staff during a question and answer session at the end of a visit to the Airbus Defense and Space facilities, as part of Labour's general election campaign, in Stevenage on May 28
Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron poured a dodgy pint during his visit to the Flower Pot pub in Macclesfield – where punters greeted him with rapturous applause
Pollsters Survation and Redfield & Wilton Strategies suggested a bleaker outlook for Sunak, both finding Labor ahead by a total of 23 points.
A Deltapoll survey of 1,517 British adults online, conducted from May 23 to 25, put Labor on 45 percent, the Conservatives on 23 percent, Reform on 10 percent, the Liberal Democrats on 9 percent and the Greens on 9 percent. 6 percent, with the SNP at 3 percent, Plaid Cymru at 1 percent and other parties at 2 percent.
Opinium's latest poll, conducted on May 23 and 24 among 2,050 British adults online, put Labor at 41 percent, the Conservatives at 27 percent, Reform at 10 percent, the Lib Dems at 10 percent and the Greens at 7 percent. the SNP at 2 percent, Plaid Cymru at 1 percent and other parties at 1 percent.
A simple average of all polls taken in the seven days to May 28 puts Labor on 45 percent, 21 percentage points ahead of the Tories on 24 percent, followed by Reform on 11 percent, the Lib Dems on 9 percent and the Greens on 5 per cent.
This is largely unchanged from the averages of the previous seven days to May 21, when Labor was on 45 percent, the Conservatives on 24 percent, Reform on 11 percent, the Lib Dems on 10 percent and the Greens on 6 percent. .
The averages are based on polls published by Deltapoll, Ipsos, More in Common, Opinium, Redfield Wilton, Savanta, Survation, TechneUK, WeThink and YouGov.
Labor MP Dawn Butler told BBC Newsnight it was important Ms Abbott received her “due respect”.
“Basically Diane was the first elected black female MP in our country and that's something to be proud of,” she said.
'When I entered Parliament in 2005 there were two of us, just me and Diane. They couldn't tell us apart, but that's another matter, but there were two of us.
'I think it's important that the whip comes back to Diane. She went through the process, I think it was very important that the whip was given back to her, and fundamental in everything you've talked about today […] is that we are a team, and I think the PvdA should act as a team.'
Ms Butler added: 'I feel like there are people around Keir, and not Keir himself, who may have watched a little too much Scandal […] or the West Wing and guess that's the way politics is done. Politics doesn't work that way.
“It's important that someone like Diane gets her respect.”