Could Theresa May benefit from the Tories' wobbly weekend?
Has the Conservatives' social care pledge harmed them on the doorstep or are Labour picking up support from their manifesto?
Sunday 21 May 2017 15:09, UK
Remember this, we don't trust the polls... 2015, Brexit, we don't trust the polls!
But let's talk about those polls, because four of them for the Sunday newspapers suggest that, while the Conservatives retain a big lead, support for Labour is on the way up.
One has Theresa May's lead down to single figures. So what is going on? Is this a significant shift? Should Theresa May be worried?
Well it does seem the Tories are having a wobbly weekend, far from strong and stable on the issue of , the party is taking a lot of heat. Ministers are now talking about consultations and broad thrusts, on a manifesto pledge made only three days ago.
Opposition MPs are talking about how the policy is coming up on the doorstep, that recent Tories supporters are now re-thinking their voting intentions.
Even if this is true, gauging how widespread is difficult and it's certainly too early to ascertain the impact on the polls. In fact the momentum towards Labour began last weekend, tying in with the leaking of their . A manifesto that contained many popular policies.
It seems the more people focus on policy and not the Labour leader the better they do. With the opposite increasingly true for the Conservatives.
Expect the Tories to refocus on leadership over the next few days. Ultimately though the narrowing in the polls is not bad news for the Conservatives.
Firstly, if they won by 9 points, it would still hand them a healthy majority. Secondly, throughout this election they have been trying to portray this as a genuine contest, that Mr Corbyn is on the verge of becoming Prime Minister, to compact possible apathy.
It was a strategy that simply didn't wash, well until this wobbly weekend.