Tories’ 17-point poll lead is even bigger than Maggie’s over Foot

THERESA May stormed into a 17-point lead over Labour yesterday as female voters deserted Jeremy Corbyn’s party.

The post-conference advantage is bigger than Margaret Thatcher’s 1983 victory margin over Michael Foot, which left Labour out of power for a generation.

The poll result would translate into a 114seat majority if an election was held tomorrow, dwarfing the 12-seat victory achieved by David Cameron last year.

Mrs May’s lead has been fuelled by a remarkable shift in female voters toward the Conservatives. The ICM survey for the Guardian found that they now lead Labour by 52 points to 32 among women voters.

An identical poll 12 months ago put Labour ahead among female voters by 38 points to 35.

The shift appears to have grown since Mrs May became Britain’s second female prime minister, when ICM had the Tories ahead of Labour among women by 37 points to 34. For men, they are ahead by 39 points to 26.

Among all voters, the Tories were on 43 per cent, Labour on 26, Ukip on 11, the Lib Dems on eight and the Greens on six.

The dramatic swing to the Tories among female voters adds weight to the claims that David Cameron had a ‘women problem’ – something he always denied.

The former Prime Minister was accused of failing to promote women to senior roles in government and of making sexist remarks.

It will also fuel concerns in Labour that sexist abuse against moderate female MPs on social media is repelling women voters.

The only section of society where Labour enjoys a lead is among those aged 18 to 24 – the group least likely to vote.

At the other end of the age spectrum, the Conservatives lead among those aged over 65 by 63 points to 15.

ICM said the overall Tory lead was the second highest it had ever recorded since it began the regular survey in 1992. The only exception came at the height of the financial crisis in June 2008, when Gordon Brown’s unpopularity was at its peak.

The findings will pile pressure on Mrs May to reconsider the idea of a snap election to take advantage of Labour’s disarray.

The Prime Minister has said repeatedly that she does not plan to hold an election before 2020, warning last week that it could cause ‘instability’ at a time when the Government is focused on Brexit.

But some senior Tories are warning her privately that she might never get a better opportunity for an electoral mandate.

Some Labour MPs are also urging Tory colleagues to call an election as the only way to oust Mr Corbyn.

The poll came as Mr Corbyn’s attempt to reshuffle his top team entered its fifth day with dozens of posts still empty.

Despite his victory in a second leadership contest last month, leading Labour moderates are refusing to work with him, forcing him to promote allies and untested MPs.

Yesterday, he raised eyebrows by promoting a female MP who angered the Jewish community in 2014 by suggesting Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians was ‘the same’ as the Holocaust. Yasmin Qureshi, who was forced to apologise at the time, was made shadow justice minister.

Last night, Mr Corbyn’s official spokesman tried to blame the poll results on his leadership rivals, saying: ‘There is no doubt the effects of events of the last few months on public opinion and political polls have been significant.’