Transport minister George Freeman has warned the Labour Party could be set for significant losses in the next general election, due to the party’s confused Brexit stance. He said Jeremy Corbyn has made the mistake of “riding two horses” – by trying to appeal to both Remain and Leave voters across the country. Mr Freeman’s comments come after a recent YouGov poll showed Prime Minister Boris Johnson is winning over voters with a nine point lead over the Labour Party.
The transport minister told HuffPost UK’s Commons People podcast that a general election is on the way and the Labour Party could be set for a devastating defeat.
He said: “The Labour Party is deeply split, and successfully riding two horses, as a remain party down south and leave party up north.
“I think they are about to have a date with destiny.
“I suspect the Lib Dems are going to take a lot of seats off Labour in London and the south east and the Brexit Party and maybe hopefully the Conservative Party will take some seats up north.”
JUST IN: Labour crisis: Johnson makes astonishing surge in new poll
The latest voting intention figures puts the Tories nine points ahead of the Labour Party on 31 percent.
Labour achieved a 22 percent voting share, with the Lib Dems coming in a close third with 21 percent.
Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party are set to secure just 14 percent of the vote.
The poll surveyed 1,628 adults from August 5-6 and also found Mr Johnson was twice as popular than Mr Corbyn.
When asked who they would prefer to be prime minister, 39 percent backed Mr Johnson, with just 19 percent voting for the Labour leader.
The Tories could be set to take advantage of their current strength in the polls, as the Government looks to be preparing for an early vote.
Yesterday, Chancellor Sajid Javid announced a fast-tracked spending review to give Government departments “financial certainty” and to ensure the Prime Minister’s multi-million pound pledges can be fulfilled.
Mr Javid said: “This will clear the ground ahead of Brexit while delivering on people’s priorities.”
But shadow chancellor John McDonnell has criticised the spending review, saying it “smacks of pre-election panic measures by the Government.”
He said: “Boris Johnson is splashing a little bit of cash as a publicity stunt, but keeping the door open for even more austerity if a no-deal Brexit breaks the economy.”
The Prime Minister has pledged more money for schools and the NHS as well as ensuring funds are available immediately for 20,000 extra police officers.
