Conservatives have lost the upper hand in the polls over opposition Labor, with reports spreading Christmas parties at the residence of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson last year, when the country was severely restricted.
According to a poll commissioned by The Times, YouGov, 33% of respondents are now ready to vote for Johnson-led tories, down three percentage points from the December 2 poll.
In turn, support for Labor has increased by four percentage points, reaching 37%.
According to another survey conducted by the company “Survation”, interviewing 1,178 respondents on Wednesday and Thursday, Labor support 40% of Britons, which is one percentage point more than before. Meanwhile, support for the Conservatives has fallen by two percentage points to 34%.
Johnson announced on Wednesday new measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 in England. A few hours earlier, he publicly apologized for a video of his office staff laughing and joking about a Christmas party on Downing Street last year when the gathering was banned in Britain.
Downing Street has denied that such a party took place.
The BBC reports that John Doils, Johnson’s deputy director of communications, addressed 20-30 people on Downing Street on 18 December. Downing Street declined to comment.
Three-quarters of those surveyed said they had a Christmas party that violated the government’s own assembly restrictions. 68% of those surveyed said Johnson was not telling the truth by denying the party, according to The Times.
Dozens of Conservative MPs are expected to vote against Johnson’s measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 next week.
In the 2019 extraordinary parliamentary elections, the Johnson-led Conservative won 365 out of 650 seats, the most convincing party since 1987, with Margaret Thatcher in the lead.
The next parliamentary elections in Britain are scheduled for May 2024.
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