Party leaders were on Wednesday making their final appeals to Londoners on on why they should back their party as a Cabinet minister said Labour was heading for an “extraordinary landside” victory on a scale probably never seen before in Britain.
The Tories all but conceded defeat some 24 hours before the polls opened from 7am to 10pm on Thursday. For the first time at a general election voters in Britain will need to show photographic ID before receiving a ballot paper at polling stations.
Many of the traditional polls were still pointing towards a Labour lead of 15 to 20 points, but there were some signs that they may be closing slightly ahead of polling day.
MRP surveys, which involve interviewing thousands of voters from different social groups and then matching them with constituencies’ profiles, showed Labour winning a historic majority, with the latest one from Survation concluding that Sir Keir Starmer’s party getting more than 418 seats, the number which the party took under Sir Tony Blair 27 years ago, is “99 per cent certain”.
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride told GB News: “If you look at the polls it’s pretty clear that Labour at this stage are heading for an extraordinary landside on a scale that has probably, never been seen in this country before.”
But he said that if about 130,000 people in around 100 marginal seats who might be considering voting Reform or Liberal Democrat instead gave their vote to the Tories, it would help to give Parliament a more robust opposition.
“I’m really worried about an untrammelled Labour Party in power, and that really needs to be checked, and people will regret it if we don’t have that, I think,” Mr Stride told LBC.
His words appeared to be a bid to limit the scale of a Tory defeat. Before even a single vote had been cast, former home secretary Suella Braverman said the election was “over” for the Tories.
As candidates were already jockeying to succeed Mr Sunak as Tory leader, she told the Telegraph: “The fight for the soul of the Conservative Party will determine whether we allow Starmer a clear run at destroying our country for good, or have a chance to redeem it in due course. Indeed, it will decide whether our party continues to exist at all.”
The party leaders were embarking on a final day of campaigning, after Boris Johnson upped his support for the Tory efforts, speaking at the National Army Museum in Chelsea on Tuesday night.
He told the Standard: “London faces a big choice on Thursday. If the Tories win — and they could — Britain will remain stuck in their low growth, high tax, declining public services doom-loop. On the other hand, vote Labour and the work of change begins. We will launch a new national mission to create wealth in every community. We’ll get to work repairing our public services with an immediate cash injection and a new reforming zeal.”
Rishi Sunak, who has been more upbeat than many of his Cabinet ministers, was continuing his party’s attempts to persuade voters not to trust Sir Keir’s party on tax and the economy. The Prime Minister stressed: “The truth is where Labour govern they raise taxes, reduce safety and govern badly.
“If they have unchecked power with no accountability, nationally they would do untold harm to our country. We Conservatives will stand up for Londoners, cut your taxes and make sure your voice is heard.
“We have a record of taking the bold action this country needs and a clear plan for the future.”
“Conservative incompetence and infighting have weakened our economy, left our public services crumbling, and diminished our standing in the world. Tomorrow that can start to change.”
Nigel Farage, whose Reform UK party has been hit by a storm over racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments by some of its candidates and campaigners, said: “Reform UK has made this election a referendum on the corrupt political establishment.”
Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said: “The Tories are toast but there’s little enthusiasm for a Labour government. The country needs a group of Green MPs to help Labour be bolder.”
