Polling firm Redfield and Wilton Strategies released a poll yesterday suggesting Labor has a 12-point lead over the Tories, their biggest lead since Boris Johnson resigned.
Labor leads by 12%, the biggest lead since Boris Johnson resigned.
Westminster vote intention (August 21):
Labor 43% (+2) Conservatives 31% (-3) Liberal Democrats 13% (+1) Greens 5% (–) SNP 5% (+1) UK Reform 3% (–) Other 2% (-1)
Changes +/- August 14 pic.twitter.com/jDq52ETFns
— Redfield & Wilton Strategies (@RedfieldWilton) August 22, 2022
The Redfield and Wilton poll suggests that shortly after Johnson resigned, Labour’s lead narrowed, perhaps because, with Johnson out, one of the factors that made the Tories unpopular was no longer there. game But more recently, Labour’s leadership has started to grow again. This could be a consequence of growing alarm over the energy bill crisis and support for Labour’s plan to freeze the price cap (a rare example of a policy announcement that seems to have generated a significant poll boost). And it may be the case that the more people watch the Conservative leadership contest, the less they like the party. Here’s Politco’s UK Polling Survey, which shows how average polling results (based on figures from all the major polling organisations) have fluctuated over the past few weeks.
UK Polling Poll Photo: Politico
Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland, will chair a special summit to discuss what can be done to mitigate the impact of rising energy bills, PA Media reports. PA says:
With warnings that the average amount UK households pay for their gas and electricity could reach £6,000 next year, Sturgeon will meet representatives from both power companies and consumer groups to consider what support can be offered.
Sturgeon has already warned that many families will face “destitution and devastation” if energy prices rise again in October.
The energy price cap currently limits payments for household customers to a maximum of £1,971 a year. But Ofgem regulators are due to announce the revised cap on Friday, when the cap is expected to rise to £3,576, with further rises expected in 2023.
Poverty Alliance director Peter Kelly welcomed the summit, which his organization will attend alongside Energy Action Scotland.
Kelly said: “Across the country, people are increasingly being swept up in a rising tide of hardship. But with the energy price cap set to rise in October, that tide threatens to turn is in a flood. Households up and down Scotland are terrified of what the colder months will bring and, without further action, lives and livelihoods are likely to be at risk. The situation could hardly be more urgent.” .
Energy suppliers Scottish Power, Ovo Energy and E.ON are also due to take part in today’s summit, with Sturgeon already insisting the cap increase in October “cannot be allowed to go ahead”.
Updated at 09.26 BST
Sharon Graham, United’s general secretary, told Sky News she would like the Labor party to be more “up front” in supporting workers. In an interview with Sky News, particularly about the Felixstowe dockworkers’ strike, he said:
I really held a mandate that I wanted unions to go back to what it says on the union tin: focus on jobs, pay and conditions, and that’s what I’ve been doing.
Of course I would like Labor to do more, of course I want them to do more to support workers in a more direct way. But frankly, what I’m focused on is the job at hand.
Join members in a picket line in Felixstowe on Monday. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Updated at 09.24 BST
Good morning. We will hear from Boris Johnson for the first time since returning from his holiday in Greece later today when he delivers a speech at the Crimean International Platform, a virtual conference organized by the Ukrainian government, at 12.30pm. Tomorrow marks six months since the (most recent) Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Tory leadership contest isn’t that long ago (though it may seem like it) and at 7pm tonight Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak will take part in the party’s 10th official call, in Birmingham. Truss remains the front-runner but her bid to present herself to the party as the new Margaret Thatcher was dealt a blow last night when Paul Johnson, head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the much-respected think tank on public spending, he said his policies were more like Edward Heath’s. It’s been nearly 50 years since Heath left office, but he remains a powerful figure of hatred for many on the Tory right (which, given the party’s current make-up, means a lot of Tories).
Cutting taxes and a growing deficit in the face of high inflation has clear echoes of Ted Heath in 1973. It couldn’t be further from Thatcher, who famously took the unpopular decision to raise taxes in 1981 to manage the deficit and the inflation https://t.co/6ULlSfygrE
— Paul Johnson (@PJTheEconomist) August 22, 2022
Johnson is not the first person to make this point about Truss’s policies. In an interview earlier this month, Michael Howard, the former party leader, relived the memory of the “Barber boom” as he explained why he thought Truss’s tax cuts would lead to higher inflation, more debt, recession and a Labor government (as Anthony Barber’s did under Heath).
Truss, of course, disagrees. Ahead of tonight’s action, he has set out his plan for the West Midlands economy. Here is an excerpt from the press release.
Liz’s bold plan for the economy will tackle Treasury orthodoxy and unleash the power of the private sector through lower taxes, better regulation and supply-side reform. It will unleash the private sector and get behind West Midlands businesses, using their growth to boost the UK economy.
Liz’s low-tax and low-regulatory investment zones will allow local leaders to bring new investment to areas that need it most. A Truss government will deliver key infrastructure projects including the Midlands Rail Hub and support Andy Street [the Conservative West Midlands mayor] deliver the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Metro extension in full, and its efforts to secure the necessary funds, including through the new devolution deal. It will also put the full weight of government behind efforts to bring a battery gigafactory to the West Midlands, ensuring the region continues to play a critical role at the forefront of our economic development.
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Updated at 09.02 BST