Conservatives Take 11-Point Poll Lead After Creation Of Brexit Government

The Conservatives have opened up an 11-point lead in the first opinion poll published since Theresa May became Prime Minister and installed a government focused on Brexit.

A YouGov poll puts the Conservatives up by a massive 10 points to 40 per cent since their last poll in April, while Labour, Britain’s troubled opposition party, languishes on 29 per cent, down four points.

There is also evidence that the creation of a government dedicated to taking Britain out of the European Union (EU) is having an effect on the UKIP vote, with the party dropping eight points to 12 per cent.

The party is still Britain’s third largest political force, however, with the pro-EU Liberal Democrats stuck in single figures on 9 per cent.

Westminster voting intention:
CON: 40% (+10)
LAB: 29% (-4)
UKIP: 12% (-8)
LDEM: 9% (+3)
GRN: 3% (-)
(via YouGov / 17-18/07)
Chgs. from April

— Britain Elects (@britainelects) July 20, 2016

Theresa May became Prime Minister last Wednesday, promising that “Brexit means Brexit”. She immediately set up a Department for Exiting the EU, headed by veteran Tory right-winger David Davis.

She also appointed Liam Fox, another seasoned campaigner on the right of the Conservative Party, to the key position of Secretary of State for International Trade, a role that will be essential for negotiating new trade deals once Britain has left the EU.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party has been riven with brutal infighting as MPs attempt to remove Jeremy Corbyn as party leader. Mr Corbyn is accused of not campaigning hard enough for Britain to stay in the EU, and subsequently overwhelmingly lost a non-binding vote of confidence.

A leadership election has now been triggered, but the Labour leader is hanging on, with a recent poll suggesting over half of party members still support him.

If Mr Corbyn is re-elected, observers are raising the prospect of the Labour Party formally splitting, with the majority of MPs breaking away to form a new party.

The result of the leadership vote is not expected until late September, however.