Rishi Sunak winning back 2019 Tory voters after announcing snap election

Voters who backed the Tories in 2019 are now more likely to have a favourable opinion of Rishi Sunak after he called the snap election, new polling shows.

The first YouGov poll since Mr Sunak triggered the July 4 vote found those who backed the Conservatives at the last election have become more favourable towards the Prime Minister.

It will come as a boost for Downing Street following a damp start to Mr Sunak’s campaign and will add to hopes that the polls could narrow significantly between now and polling day.

Forty per cent of 2019 Tory supporters had a favourable view of the Prime Minister between May 10 and 12, with 54 holding an unfavourable view.

However, a survey conducted on Thursday and Friday, the two days after Mr Sunak announced the election, showed the same group now has a more favourable opinion of him, by 49 per cent to 47 per cent.

The same group of voters is also more favourable to the Conservative Party, with the favourability score of the Tory brand among its backers at the last poll rising from 40 per cent to 55 per cent.

Forty per cent have an unfavourable view of the Tories, down from 54 per cent a fortnight ago.

The YouGov survey also found that the Conservatives had risen by one point in the national opinion polls, to 22 per cent, while Labour was down two to 44 per cent.

The poll would still give Sir Keir Starmer a significant majority if translated to the election.

But it suggests that, as with previous national votes, the gap between the two major parties is likely to narrow between now and polling day.

Meanwhile, Richard Tice’s Reform closed the gap on the Tories to eight per cent as it rose to 14 per cent.

The Liberal Democrats are on nine points, the Green Party on six and the SNP on three.

The same survey also found that almost three in five voters said they were “absolutely certain to vote”.

Sixty-six per cent of those aged 65 and over are certain to vote, as are 62 per cent of those aged 50 to 64 and 54 per cent of people aged 25 to 49.

The number of 18-to-24-year-olds saying they were certain to vote is up by 17 percentage points to 52 per cent.

Labour is in need of a 12-point swing in the polls in order to win a national majority, having recorded its worst defeat since 1935 at the 2019 general election under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.

‘Country is crying out for change’

Asked on Friday whether his party’s double-digit poll lead and a number of gaffes affecting Mr Sunak made a Labour victory inevitable, Sir Keir said: “I have to say the spectacle of Prime Minister standing in the pouring rain without an umbrella, pretending that he’s the only person in the country with a plan is, how should I say it, farcical.”

He added: “I hope people vote for the change I think is desperately needed. But I’m humble. I know we’ve got to earn every vote and the polls don’t predict the future.

“We’re making a positive case. We’re pleased that the election has been called because I think the country needs it. The country’s crying out for it. And we will continue to campaign positively.”