(Bloomberg) — Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn embark on a whistle-stop tour of key districts, after a hotly anticipated opinion poll showed the Conservative Party’s lead has narrowed ahead of Thursday’s general election.
The YouGov survey of more than 100,000 voters suggested Johnson would win a majority of 28 seats, down from 68 in a similar forecast two weeks earlier, and the pollster did not rule out a hung parliament. The pound fell.
Must read: Boris Johnson’s Lead Cut in Key Forecast Ahead of U.K. Election
Key Developments:
YouGov MRP House of Commons seat forecast: Conservatives 339, Labour 231, Scottish National Party 41, Liberal Democrats 15Johnson campaigns in northern and eastern EnglandCorbyn will travel to Scotland, northeast England and the Midlands before ending the day with a rally in east London at 8 p.m.Liberal Democrats leader Jo Swinson will tour target seats including Esher, where they aim to unseat Foreign Secretary Dominic RaabThe chances of a Tory majority dipped to 75% from 80%, according to Betfair. The odds imply a 26% chance of a hung parliamentThe Voting Tactics That Could Cost Boris Johnson His MajoritySterling fell as much as 0.3% against the dollar on Wednesday
McDonnell: ‘Good Chance of Small Labour Majority’ (9:30 a.m.)
Labour’s Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said that just as in the 2017 general election, opinion polls have underestimated voters’ shift toward Labour and that the party could still spring a surprise on Thursday.
“The trend has been toward Labour throughout this campaign,” McDonnell told Bloomberg TV, referring to the YouGov poll published on Tuesday. “I actually think there’s a good chance of a small Labour majority.”
McDonnell reiterated that Labour would not do deals with other parties or enter into a coalition in the event of a hung parliament, saying instead the party would seek to form a minority government. He also ruled out Labour jettisoning leader Jeremy Corbyn as leader to win the backing of other parties.
Recriminations Dog Last Day of Campaigning (Earlier)
As party leaders embark on a tour of key marginal districts, politicians’ morning broadcast rounds were dominated by recriminations over how the parties’ have conducted their campaigns.
“I just wish we have had the Conservatives being honest with us,” Labour’s economy spokesman John McDonnell told BBC Radio. “I just wish we hadn’t been having this gutter politics, fake websites, lies and smears.”
The Fake News Election: U.K. Faces Overhaul of Campaign Rules
Adam Price, leader of the Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru, published a new draft law which would make lying by politicians a criminal offense.
Boris Johnson’s Tories — and the other main parties — have been accused of using tactics to mislead voters, but Cabinet minister Michael Gove insisted he was proud of the of the campaign his party has run. “I certainly think everyone should tell the truth, yes,” he told BBC TV. “Whether or not we need a law, I don’t know.”
Johnson: ‘Real Risk’ of a Hung Parliament (Earlier)
Boris Johnson began the final day of campaigning with a customary photo op at a workplace, this time loading milk onto a delivery vehicle in West Yorkshire.
“I just say to everybody the risk is very real that we could tomorrow be going into another hung parliament,” Johnson told broadcasters. “That’s more drift, more dither, more delay, more paralysis for this country.”
Asked about the Conservatives’ lead narrowing ahead of the vote, Johnson said the election “could not be more critical, it could not be tighter.”
Earlier:
The Voting Tactics That Could Cost Boris Johnson His MajorityThe EU Hopes Boris Johnson Wins Big to Get Brexit Over WithThe Fake News Election: U.K. Faces Overhaul of Campaign RulesWhat Corbyn Stands For and Why He Spooks Markets: QuickTake
–With assistance from Anna Edwards.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at [email protected], Stuart Biggs, Andrew Atkinson
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