Labour takes eight-point lead over Tories after PM hit by Christmas party allegations

Labour has taken an eight-point lead over the Tories after the party faced criticism over the past few weeks over allegations of Christmas parties held during Covid restrictions, a new poll has revealed.

Commissioned by The Sunday Times and completed by almost 25,000 people, the poll suggests the Tories’ popularity has taken a hit since the claims of lockdown-busting parties held last December emerged earlier this month.

The results of a constituency-by-constituency poll, conducted in December, suggested that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer would have won a general election with a 26-seat majority. It also found Mr Johnson would have lost his seat in Uxbridge & South Ruislip.

Cabinet ministers including Alok Sharma and George Eustice would also have lost their seats, the newspaper reported.

During the three weeks that the poll was conducted, the Tory party faced a number of allegations of Christmas parties held in Downing Street and elsewhere – including a Christmas quiz and drinks held by London mayor candidate Shaun Bailey in the Tory HQ.

Mr Johnson also faced a backbench rebellion over the rollout of new restrictions to curb the spread of Omicron – including Covid passes as part of his “plan B” measures – and a by-election defeat in the once Tory stronghold of North Shropshire.

The poll suggests Labour would win a 40 per cent share of the vote and the Tory Party on 32 per cent, with 338 seats and 237 seats won respectively.

According to the poll, Labour would have also seen a surge in support in the capital, claiming another 10 seats from the Tories.

It comes after Sir Keir branded Mr Johnson “dishonest” as he said the prime minister was now being seen for “what he really is” by voters.

Sir Keir said “I don’t think many people believe him, I certainly don’t” over his response to the allegations about lockdown-busting Christmas parties in Downing Street.

In a Times Radio interview, the Labour leader signalled that he would not enter into formal pacts with rival parties to defeat the Conservatives, but indicated he would target resources at seats most likely to vote Labour.

The Liberal Democrats picked up by-election wins from the Tories in North Shropshire and Chesham and Amersham in 2021, and are more likely to present a threat to Mr Johnson’s party in some of its southern heartlands than Labour.

Sir Keir said: “I do think we should have a Labour candidate that people can vote for wherever they live. And depriving them of that is not the right thing to do.”

But “given the size of the task that we face, given my utter determination that we are going to get this over the line at the next general election, I am very clear as to what our target seats are”.

He said the likes of North Shropshire and Chesham and Amersham were “not on my list of target seats” and “I have to sort of take an approach, given the situation we’re in, which is very clearly focused on the route for the Labour Party to win power at the next general election”.

Winning back seats in Scotland is also a key challenge for Labour if it wants to win the next election.