UK poll shows support for Tories falling

Conservatives send mixed message on tax as Thursday’s snap election nears

LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister Theresa May is on track to win 308 seats in Britain’s Parliament in an election on Thursday, 18 short of a 326seat majority, according to a projection by polling company YouGov on Saturday.

May’s Conservatives had 330 seats when the snap election was called in April.

On Friday, YouGov suggested the Conservatives were on course to win 313 seats, 13 seats short of a majority, indicating a downward trend.

The opposition Labour Party is likely to win 261 seats, YouGov’s model showed on Saturday, up from 257 on Friday.

Meanwhile, an ally of May has said income taxes will not rise for higher earners, in an apparent new promise to voters.

The comments from Defense Minister Michael Fallon to a newspaper, which May sought to play down, looked like the latest mixed message from the ruling Conservatives.

Fallon told the Daily Telegraph that the Conservatives would not hike the top rate of income tax, striking a contrast with the main opposition Labour Party.

The Telegraph said it asked Fallon if high earners could be sure their taxes would not go up, to which he replied: “Yes. You’ve seen our record. We’re not in the business of punishing people for getting on. On the contrary we want people to keep more of their earnings.”

“The only way they can be sure their taxes won’t rise is to vote Conservative,” he said.

But May, asked by reporters whether Fallon’s comments meant the Conservatives were shifting their position on tax, said there had been no change.

“What people will know when they go to vote on Thursday is that it is the Conservative Party that always has been and is and always will be a low-tax party,” she said during a campaign stop.

May called the snap election in April when opinion polls were showing she had a lead of more than 20 points over Labour under the leadership of left-winger Jeremy Corbyn.

The decline in support for the Conservatives coincided with a surprise announcement by May last month that she would make elderly people pay more for their social care, despite concerns that it could undermine support among aging, wealthy homeowners – a core source of Conservative votes.

May later softened the proposal by saying there would be a limit on the amount that people would have to pay.

When May unveiled her election policies last month, she left open the possibility of higher income taxes by only promising no rises in value-added tax and dropping a Conservative pledge under predecessor David Cameron – made in the 2015 election campaign – not to raise income tax, national insurance contributions or VAT.