A former cabinet minister has forecast that Labour will win 50\u2013100 seats as Brexit supporters shift to Sir Keir Starmer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to recent polling, voters in Brexit-supporting coastal areas have switched back to the Labour Party after endorsing Boris Johnson’s Conservatives in 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following this year’s election, Lord O’Donnell, who oversaw the civil service under Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and David Cameron, predicted that Labour’s majority may reach up to 100 seats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you look at the evidence the polling says there\u2019s been a consistent Labour lead of 18 points, roughly, for a long time now,\u201d he told the BBC\u2019s Today podcast. \u201cI\u2019m in the 50-100 seat majority if I had to put on it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Lord O\u2019Donnell urged his civil service colleagues to \u201cprepare for all possible outcomes\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo not assume\u2026 one of the reasons I think the prime minister is deciding to wait is that things could change,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His remarks coincided with a poll by think tank Labour Together indicating that voters on the coast prefer Labour to the Conservatives by a 44 percent to 24 percent margin, with the Liberal Democrats coming in at 11%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coastal areas, those within five miles of the sea, have disproportionately backed winning causes during the last 40 years, with three-quarters supporting Margaret Thatcher in 1987 until Tony Blair increased Labour\u2019s share of seaside seats in 1997.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most coastal seats supported Brexit and around 70 per cent voted Conservative in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, it looks as though the roles have reversed once more, with Labour having a net favorability rating of 7% among voters in the coastal regions and the Conservatives falling to minus 32%.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A former cabinet minister has forecast that Labour will win 50\u2013100 seats as Brexit supporters shift to Sir Keir Starmer. According to recent polling, voters in Brexit-supporting coastal areas have … <\/p>\n