Polling puts two MPs at risk of losing seats
LABOUR COULD WIN IN LOUGHBOROUGH AND NORTH WEST LEICS
LATEST polling predicts two sitting MPs will lose their seats in the upcoming General Election.
YouGov said its research suggests Jane Hunt’s Loughborough seat would be taken by Labour, whose prospective candidate is Jeevun Sandhers.
North West Leicestershire independent Andrew Bridgen is also expected to lose out to Labour, where Amanda Hack has been chosen to contest the seat.
Loughborough polling gave Labour 45 per cent of the vote, compared with 27 per cent for Ms Hunt.
In North West Leicestershire, Labour is polling at 36 per cent, compared with 33 per cent for the Tories, for whom Mr Bridgen had held the seat since 2010, before leaving the party.
He was suspended by the Conservatives in January 2023 over a tweet about Covid vaccines.
Mr Bridgen briefly represented Laurence Fox’s Reclaim Party in Parliament, as its only MP, but left it in December, citing a “difference in the direction of the party”.
He will be running as an independent candidate.
Ms Hunt said she was “delighted to be standing again for the constituency that I have lived in since 1995”.
She said she had seen the predictions, but that “the only polling that matters is the vote of the residents on the day of the General Election”.
“In the meantime, I am working as hard as I can to help the people of Loughborough and support the town’s organisations and businesses, as I have done as their MP for four-and-a-half years and in other roles since 2003.”
Mr Sandhers said: “Our country wants change. I hear it on the doorstep day after day after day.
“The only poll that matters is on election day and I’m not taking anything for granted. I’m working as hard as I can to earn the votes of everyone here in Loughborough, Shepshed, and the villages so I can help deliver a prosperous, greener future for all.”
Mr Bridgen did not respond to a request for a comment.
However, Ms Hack said: “The YouGov MRP poll is good news for Labour locally and nationally and has given the team a real boost.
“However, the only poll that will determine the outcome of the next General Election is in the hands of voters.
“What people are saying in North West Leicestershire day in day out is that they have had enough of this government and the current sitting MP and they want change.
“We will continue to work hard for every vote by offering a sensible, credible and costed alternative for North West Leicestershire.”
Leicester could also be set for a new MP.
The Leicester East seat won by Claudia Webbe in 2019 for Labour is predicted to be held by the party, with 53 per cent of the vote.
Ms Webbe is sitting as an independent member and has not yet confirmed whether she will be running for her seat again.
Labour has put forward deputy mayor of London Rajesh Agrawal as its prospective candidate for the constituency.
A new seat has been created in the county – Mid Leicestershire. This is predicted to be narrowly won by the Conservatives, whose prospective candidate is Peter Bedford.
The latest survey suggested he would get 37 per cent of the vote, compared with 35 per cent for Labour.
The remaining seats are not predicted to change party. Hinckley and Bosworth; Harborough, Oadby and Wigston; and South Leicestershire are all expected to remain in Conservative hands.
The newly named Melton and Syston seat is also predicted to be Conservative, with Charnwood MP Edward Argar running for it.
The new constituency takes a number of areas from his current seat, while taking Melton from what is currently Alicia Kearn’s Rutland and Melton area. Rutland is instead moving over the Lincolnshire border to join with Stamford. The remaining Charnwood areas will be incorporated into Mid Leicestershire.
In the city, Liz Kendall and Jon Ashworth look set to remain MPs for Leicester West and Leicester South respectively.
Ms Kendall is polling at 55 per cent of the vote and Mr Ashworth at 68 per cent.
Our country wants change. I hear it on the doorstep day after day after day.
Labour prospective candidate Jeevn Sandhers