Prime Minister Boris Johnson was handed a boost after the latest poll results saw him push further ahead of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn as Brits prepare to vote in the December 12 General Election. The poll results come on the same day Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said he would stand down MPs challenging seats in which the Tory party won in the 2017 election. In the ICM opinion poll for Reuters, Mr Johnson’s Conservatives rose a point to 39 percent, while the Labour Party held its current support at 31 percent.
The poll also showed the Liberal Democrats, vowing to “stop Brexit” were unchanged on 15 percent, while the Brexit Party dipped with its support, down a point to eight percent.
The survey took place online between November 8 and November 11, and quizzed 2,035 people.
It comes following a turbulent day, after Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage announced his party would not stand in the seats the Tories won in the 2017 General Election.
Speaking to supporters in Hartlepool Mr Farage explained he made the decision because he feared that if they had run it would have led to a hung Parliament with critical gains for the Liberal Democrats, who are trying to stop Brexit.
He said: “The Brexit Party will not contest the 317 seats the Conservatives won at the last election.
“But what we will do is concentrate our total effort into all of the seats that are held by the Labour Party, who have completely broken their manifesto in 2017.”
Mr Farage claimed “our action prevents a second referendum from happening”, before adding: “We will also take on the rest of the Remainer parties.
“We will stand up and we will fight them all.”
READ MORE: Farage rubbishes Beth Rigby’s election warnings in tense stand-off
While SNP leader and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wrote: “Any form of Brexit that is acceptable to Nigel Farage will be deeply damaging for Scotland.
“Makes it all the more important to get rid of Boris Johnson’s Tories, escape Brexit and put Scotland’s future into Scotland’s hands.
“The Tory party has now effectively become the Brexit party. The SNP is the main challenger in all of their Scottish seats.
“Defeating the Tories here will help deprive Boris Johnson’s increasingly extreme and right wing party of the majority they crave.”
But, Prime Minister Boris Johnson released a statement on Twitter saying he “welcomed” the decision.
The statement read: “We welcome Nigel Farage’s recognition that another gridlocked hung Parliament is the greatest threat to getting Brexit done.
“If we have another hung Parliament it would lead to two more chaotic referendums next year.
“The Conservatives only need nine more seats to win a majority and leave by the end of January with a deal.
“We can then finally move on as a country, and focus on the priorities that matter to you and your family.”
