Fresh blow for Boris Johnson as Tory lead over Labour narrows after Cummings row

Labour has narrowed the Tory lead to just five points, a poll revealed tonight.

Rounding off a dire week for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Keir Starmer has led Labour support to 38% while the Tories have fallen to 43%.

The survey of 2,029 voters was carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday after the Mirror revealed Dominic Cummings ' trip to Durham during the coronavirus lockdown.

The Datapraxis poll with YouGov fieldwork showed a strong Labour lead among 18 to 49 year-olds, but the Tories were well ahead among older voters.

Crucially, Labour now leads the Conservatives among women, with 41% saying they would vote for Mr Starmer's party compared with 40% for Mr Johnson's.

Men would vote Tory by 46% to 35%.

The poll shows Labour has begun rebuilding part of the “Red Wall” – constituencies which were once fiercely loyal to the party across its traditional heartlands.

But it also underlines how far it has to go.

The party suffered heavy losses in the North and Midlands under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership at last December's election.

According to the poll, support for the two main parties in the North East is tied on 47%.

In the North West, Labour leads the Conservatives by 54% to 33%, and by 45% to 42% in Yorkshire and Humberside.

However, the Tories still enjoy a huge advantage in the West Midlands where the party is on 54% compared with 34% for Labour.

Datapraxis chief executive Paul Hilder said of the overall results: “This is the lowest Tory lead we have seen in any poll since October 2019.

“The main factors driving the Conservative decline seem to be the Dominic Cummings scandal, increased negativity toward Boris Johnson and widespread views that the pandemic response has been mishandled.

“While the Government has rapidly lost support, the other side of the story is that Keir Starmer’s Labour is surging strongly, winning back many ex-Labour voters lost in 2019.”

The Lib Dems are mired on just six per cent.