Opinion poll shows drop in support for Conservatives following botched exam results

The Conservatives’ lead over Labour has fallen to its lowest level since Boris Johnson became prime minister in the wake of this year’s botched exam results.

A YouGov study for The Times on Westminster voting intention – carried out after a U-turn over A-level and GCSE results on Monday – shows the Tories are now just two points ahead of Labour.

The Conservatives are polling at 40 per cent, down from 44 per cent the week before.

Meanwhile Labour are up to 38 per cent, a three-point rise in the past seven days.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer now has a four-point lead over Johnson on the question of who would be the preferred prime minister.

Johnson has slipped from 32 per cent who say he is their preferred PM to 31 per cent, while Starmer's ratings have climbed from 32 per cent to 35 per cent.

The poll result marks the lowest Conservative lead in a YouGov study since 25 June last year, a month before Johnson took over from Theresa May at Number 10.

The results are a far cry from the UK Government’s popularity at the height of the pandemic, where the Conservatives had a 24-point advantage on Labour in early April. 

The YouGov study was carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, and after Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced that a controversial algorithm used to award GCSE and A-level results would be ditched in favour of teacher-assessed grades.