PM fails to rule out tax raids

THERESA May is on course for an astonishing 50 per cent of the vote and a huge Tory landslide victory on June 8.

In a sensational Sunday Mirror ComRes poll today the PM’s party has pulled a further four points ahead of Labour since last Sunday’s survey.

If that was mirrored on election day it would give Mrs May a thumping majority of more than 200, while Jeremy Corbyn would lose at least 90 MPs.

If Mrs May pulls that off, she would beat the 418 seats Tony Blair won in his 1997 landslide. And, in another blow to Labour – which only polled half of the Tories’ support – 45 per cent of its own voters say it can’t win with Mr Corbyn.

Mr Corbyn’s chances are rated worst in East England with seven in ten voters giving him the thumbs down, followed by more than six in ten in the East Midlands and Wales.

He even seems to have lost the support of young people who once rooted for him with 41 per cent of 18-24 year olds saying Labour cannot win with him.

This is the first time since April 2002 that any UK political party has achieved 50 per cent of the vote when Labour did under Tony Blair. The last time the Tories hit such stratospheric heights was January 1991.

More than six in ten voters say Mrs May would make the best PM after the election with only a quarter opting for Mr Corbyn. Even one in five Labour voters say she’d be best.

She even outperforms him in Labour’s North of England heartlands and SNPcontrolled Scotland where she scores 51 and 57 per cent respectively.

Mrs May’s leadership score is higher than Jeremy Corbyn, Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, and UKIP’s Paul Nuttall combined.

And she is 12 points ahead of her predecessor David Cameron as the people’s choice for better PM.

Six in ten women prefer Mrs May compared to two in five who say Mr Cameron was better, while younger voters preferred Mr Cameron.

Half of 2015 UKIP voters now say they will turn to the Tories, up from fewer than a third last weekend.

Even though Mrs May broke her word not to go to the polls before 2020, 55 per cent of those questioned support TAX rises could be on the horizon as Theresa May refused to rule them out after the general election. Earlier reports said she could abandon a 2015 Tory manifesto pledge not to raise income tax, National Insurance or VAT. And when asked yesterday if she would rule out increases, the Prime Minister replied by talking up her party’s record on tax. Speaking in Dudley, West Mids, Mrs her decision. Only one in five say it was a mistake. Over 65s are keenest to see another election with seven in ten welcoming June’s poll. But nearly half of voters accused the PM of misleading the country by insisting she would not call an early election, including almost one in four Tory voters. Two thirds of voters aged 18-24 feel the PM misled them. Six in ten voters say that she has only forced a poll to exploit Labour weakness. That rises to 73 per cent among Labour voters and 83 per cent among Lib Dems. Four in ten do not think she has their best interests at heart – though six in ten of over 65s reckon the PM is their champion with 64 per cent of them saying they will vote Tory. Only a quarter May insisted her Tories “always has been, is, and will continue to be”a party that believes in lower taxes.

She also refused to guarantee the triple lock on state pensions. But the PM said pensioners had become £1,250 better off under the Tories, and that past Labour governments had offered much smaller increases.

At a separate campaign event, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he would protect the triple lock, adding: “Our tax burdens will not fall on those with low incomes. They will fall on those with the broadest shoulders who can bear the greatest burden.” of those in the North East thought Mrs May had their best interests at heart, compared to 43 per cent in the South East and 49 per cent in the South West.

One crumb of comfort for Mr Corbyn is that seven in ten voters think the NHS, on which Labour is strongest, should be the top election issue. That rises to 85 per cent among Labour voters.

Yet 47 per cent of all those questioned expect the Tories to win a landslide.

ComRes boss Andrew Hawkins said: “While no party could object to breaching the 50 per cent barrier the first time this century, this spectacular headline result masks a real danger for the Tories.

“The fact six in ten voters believe Labour cannot win under Corbyn brings a huge threat of complacency among Tory voters who may be tempted to sit at home on June 8.”

But 65 per cent of these questioned still say they are certain to vote on June 8th. That drops to 53 per cent in the 18-24 age group. In further bad news for Mr Corbyn, one in ten fewer Labour voters say they are certain to turn out this time round at the polling stations.

And nearly one in ten adults in the North East are adamant they will not vote in this election.

Brexit is the second most vital issue to voters after the NHS, followed by 54 per cent who say it should be the economy. In the 45-54 age group Brexit matters more than the health service.

Four in ten cite immigration as the key issue, a quarter think terrorism is and 16 per cent say Tory austerity.

Lib Dems are still polling just 11 per cent – the same as last week – but UKIP is down two points to seven per cent.

Our results show the Tories putting on eight points in a month with Labour remaining static. Labour’s vote is strongest in the North East where 45 per cent say they back Mr Corbyn’s party.

ComRes interviewed 2,074 adults online between April 19 and April 20.