Miliband’s ‘Paxo bounce’ gone as Tories draw level

Four-point lead was just a blip, says The Sun: but Labour are polling way ahead in London

Columnist Don Brind

The Sunday Times YouGov poll giving Labour a four-point lead over the Conservatives – suggesting voters liked Ed Miliband’s feisty performance opposite Jeremy Paxman – has now been written off as a “blip”.

A new YouGov survey for The Sun shows Labour and the Tories tied on 35 per cent. "Ed Miliband's Paxo 'bounce' was actually a blip; level pegging yet again,” tweeted the paper’s political editor, Tom Newton Dunn.

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Two other new polls also show a tight race. Populus have Labour and Tories tied on 34 per cent: Con 34 (up 3), Lab 34 (down 1), Lib Dems 8 (down 1), Ukip 15 (up 1), Greens 4 (down 1).

The new Ashcroft national poll released yesterday gives the Tories a two-point lead over Labour. Con 36 (up 3), Lab 34 (up 1), Lib Dems 6 (down 2), Ukip 10 (down 2), Greens 7 (up 2).

So, the national picture remains neck-and-neck. But Labour are doing particularly well in the key battleground of London, according to a ComRes poll for ITV.

It puts Labour 14 points ahead of the Tories, by 46 to 32 per cent. That’s a six per cent swing since 2010 and according to ITV: "Six Tory seats could fall to Labour with another three on a knife-edge.”

The poll suggests there’s been a collapse in Lib Dem support in the capital, which would see boith Labour and the Tories picking off Lib Dem MPs – “leaving Business Secretary Vince Cable as the sole MP".

is a former BBC lobby correspondent and Labour press officer who is watching the polls for The Week in the run-up to the 2015 election.