Tactical voting could wipe Tories out at next election

Poll predicts party's worst result in more than a century

- ARCHIE MITCHELL

Widespread tactical voting would see the Tories return their worst election result in more than a century, shock new statistics reveal.

As Rishi Sunak’s party lags Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour by 18 points in the polls, it is on course to win 159 seats, Electoral Calculus predicts – down from the 365 it captured in 2019.

But new figures by the leading forecaster reveal tactical voting would cost the Conservatives an extra 35 seats, leaving them with just 124 MPs.

Polling guru Professor John Curtice told The Independent the Tories were already facing a parliamentary wipeout, but that tactical voting could drive Labour to a win that could eclipse even Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide victory.

“With an 18-point lead, it’s all over, we are just talking about adding to the scale of defeat, which, of course, is what happened in ’97,” Prof Curtice said.

The Electoral Calculus poll, seen by The Independent, is the first major look at how tactical voting could shape the next general election.

It reveals Labour would pick up an extra 26 seats with Green and Liberal Democrat backers switching to the party, taking it to a total of 440.