Welsh Tories facing election wipeout, poll suggests

WELSH Conservative MPS would be wiped out in a Westminster election, a new poll has suggested.

If an election were held now, Labour would be projected to take 352 seats, a gain of 150 and giving a majority of 14. The Conservatives would lose all six of their seats in Scotland and all 14 in Wales.

Support for the party has dropped to 2005 levels in the wake of the scandal over Downing Street parties.

The JL Partners poll, published in The Sunday Times, was of 4,500 people and the seat projection was conducted by James Johnson, Theresa May’s former pollster. It put Labour on 45% of the vote, 13 points ahead of the Conservatives on 32%, with the Lib Dems on 11% – enough to win 16 seats, five more than last time.

It would mean Boris Johnson would lose his seat along with 10 cabinet members – Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, George Eustice, Grant Shapps, Alok Sharma,

Anne-marie Trevelyan, Welsh secretary Simon Hart, Alister Jack and Simon Clarke. The model predicts Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, would just hold on in Esher and Walton.

MRP stands for multi-level regression and post-stratification. It is a national poll which allows the prediction of local results from national surveys, using census data, such as the age and income distribution of voters in that area, and puts that into the model with the national survey data. In the 2017 General Election MRP was used for a Yougov poll which was incredibly reliable.

In the 2019 election the equivalent poll projected the Conservatives would win 339 seats (up 22) and Labour would lose 31 (giving them a total of 231).

The Conservatives actually gained 47, taking the party to a total of 365, while Labour lost 59, giving a total of 203.

The Conservatives won 14 seats in Wales in the 2019 General Election, but only 13 of those elected currently sit as Conservatives. Rob Roberts, who represents Delyn, is now an independent. That was a gain of seven seats compared to the previous election and the party’s best result in Wales since 1983.

The party held Aberconwy (Robin Millar MP); gained Brecon and Radnorshire (Fay Jones MP); gained Bridgend (Jamie Wallis MP); held Carmarthen West and south Pembrokeshire (Simon Hart MP); gained Clwyd South (Simon Baynes MP); held Clwyd West (David Jones MP); gained Delyn (Rob Roberts MP - now independent); held Monmouth (David Davies MP); held Montgomeryshire (Craig Williams MP); held Preseli Pembrokeshire (Stephen Crabb MP); gained Vale of Clwyd (James Davies MP); held Vale of Glamorgan (Alun Cairns MP); gained Wrexham (Sarah Atherton MP); gained Ynys Môn (Virginia Crosbie MP).

While some of those were marginal gains in 2019, others are safe Conservative

seats. Where the seats would go to, according to the poll:

Aberconwy (Robin Millar MP): A Conservative hold in 2019, this is projected to go to Labour.

Clwyd South (Simon Baynes MP): A 2019 gain, projected to be a Labour gain. Clwyd West (David Jones MP): A Conservative hold in 2019, it is projected to be a Labour gain.

Delyn (Rob Roberts MP): Mr Roberts won the seat for the Conservatives in 2019 but is now an independent MP. It is projected to go to Labour

Vale of Clwyd (James Davies MP): A seat which has swung between Labour and the Conservatives since 1997, it is projected as a Labour win.

Wrexham (Sarah Atherton MP): One of the 2019 gains, projected to go back to Labour.

Ynys Mon (Virginia Crosbie MP): The seat, won in 2019 by the Conservatives, a Labour gain, according to the poll.