Tories facing wipeout as Labour takes 36-point lead in new poll

The Conservatives would face near wipeout in a general election, a new poll suggests, as Liz Truss’s government continues to implode.

The survey, released on Monday afternoon, is the worst yet for the Tories, with Labour now a vast 36 points ahead of the governing party – the highest lead ever recorded by any pollster for any party.

If replicated at a general election, the results would likely see the Scottish National Party become the official opposition at Westminster, with the Tories reduced to a small rump of MPs.

The release of the Redfield & Wilton survey comes after Ms Truss tried to firefight the reaction to her tax-cutting budget by firing her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and U-turning on a whole slate of policies.

The exact number of seats the Tories would be left with would depend on where votes were cast – but on a uniform national swing, they could be left with just one MP, according to the Electoral Calculus website.

Other predictions based on the data suggest they would be left with around 20 seats, still fewer than the number the SNP, or by some calculations the Liberal Democrats, would be expected to win.

The survey suggests that Labour would win 56 per cent of the vote, up three percentage points on the previous survey (13 October), and the Tories just 20 per cent, down 4 points on last week. The Lib Dems would win 11 per cent, the Greens 5 per cent, and the SNP 4 per cent.

The results follow another similar survey by Deltapoll, which earlier today showed the Conservatives 32 points behind Labour, also losing ground on previous polls.

There is some variation between different polling companies, but virtually all are now showing Labour leads of at least 20 points, with several above 30.

Ms Truss skipped a parliamentary scrutiny session on Monday, in which she was to face questions on the government’s record from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. Commons leader Penny Mordaunt took her place.