May says six seat loss would see government fall as polls close
● Tory lead of 17 points has been slashed to just one says poll ● PM tells Scots the election is about leadership in Brexit talks
Theresa May has warned Scots that the loss of just six seats will see her ousted from Downing Street on Thursday as a new poll shows Labour has closed the gap down to just one point.
The Conservatives have seen a 17-point lead over Jeremy Corbyn’s party at the start of the campaign whittled down, according to pollsters Survation. The survey for Good Morning Britain puts the Tories on 41.5 per cent with Labour on 40.4 per cent.
Speaking during a visit to a removal firm in Edinburgh, Mrs May admitted that the election could be in the balance.
“The fact is that if we lose just six seats, the Government will lose its majority and that would mean Jeremy Corbyn in number 10 and Nicola Stur- geon pulling the strings from Bute House,” the Prime Minister said.
“That raises another question as well and that is about who do you trust to strengthen the bonds across this United Kingdom.
“Who do you trust to stand up for our precious union? Me, I’m a passionate believer - I want to ensure the United Kingdom stays together and we strengthen those bonds across the whole of the United Kingdom. Or Jeremy Corbyn, negotiating with the SNP for a second referendum which he says is ‘absolutely fine’ by him. I think he’s going to find out there’s a different view from the Scottish people.”
Half of those surveyed in the latest poll thought Mrs May would make a better prime minister than Mr Corbyn, but his personal credibility has increased 15 points to 36 per cent since the first Survation/gmbpollon5-6may.mrs May’s rating has dropped ten points over the same period.
Some 51 per cent of respondents thought Labour has had the best campaign - including 30 per cent of Tory voters - while just 23 per cent thought Mrs May’s party had performed better.
The Scottish First Minister has previously indicated she would be ready to pave Mr Corbyn’s way to Downing Street in order to oust the Tories and said yesterday that the narrowing polls meant such an arrangement is still possible, albeit unlikely.
“If the parliamentary arithmetic post the election supported this, I would want the SNP to be part of a progressive alternative to a Tory government.” Ms Sturgeon’s told BBC Radio 4’s Women hour.
“I’m talking something that would be... on an issue-byissue basis.”
With regards to the prospect of Mr Corbyn as Prime Minister propped up by the SNP, she said “It’s no longer inevitable” that the arithmetic would not support it.
Mrs May used yesterday’s address at Clockwork removals in Granton to call on citizens of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to stand together after the London terror attack.
“We are four proud nations but one united people dedicated to our shared British values of freedom of democracy of human rights and of the rule of law. And while we mourn those we have list and hunt down those responsible, we remain absolutely committed to our democratic process.
“And that is why over the next few days we will all be out campaigning to ensure that we can deliver that strong and stable leadership. That leadership that is needed to build a stronger fairer more prosperous Britain.”
The Prime Minister warned that the Brexit negotiations get underway just 11 days after the election, insisting she will get the best deal as well as forging new global trade links with the rest of the world.
Mrs May said: “What I want to get is a good Brexit deal for the United Kingdom - that’s for Scotland and the whole of the United Kingdom. It’s a good Brexit deal that ensures we continue to trade, we can continue to co-operate and we have that deep and special partnership with the EU in the future. That’s what I’m after. That’s what I’ve got the plan for. The Brexit negotiations start 11 days after polling day. I think there’s only one choice for going into those Brexit negotiations with a plan and vision for the future and that’s me and the Conservative party.”
Scottish Labour’s election campaign manager James Kelly hit out at the Tories over cuts to social security while cutting tax for the wealthy.
“On June 8, Scots can send Nicola Sturgeon a message to abandon her plans for a divisive second independence referendum without endorsing the vile policies of the Tories,” Mr Kelly said. A vote for Labour on 8 June is a vote to end austerity and oppose a divisive second independence referendum.”