Theresa May is on course to win over two million UKIP voters in major boost to election hopes
THERESA May is on course to coax two million UKIP voters over to the Tories in a major boost to her election hopes of staying in No10, a poll for The Sun has revealed.
In a redrawing of the political landscape, almost half - 48% - of all who backed the anti-EU party in 2015 now say they will vote for the PM on Thursday instead.
In February, the same figure stood at just 20%.
The exclusive ComRes survey also reveals Mrs May has connected with UKIP voters far better than David Cameron did, leaving her SEVEN times more popular with them than her predecessor.
Winning over wavering Kippers is seen as central by election strategists to who will win the general election in two days time.
But despite the polls narrowing between Labour and the Tories as polling day approaches, our poll reveals UKIP votes for Mrs May have held solid.
Just 23% of UKIP’s 3.9 million voters in 2015 say they will vote for the party this time, 11% will defect to Labour and 2% to the Lib Dems.
The survey also reveals the number of UKIP defectors to the Tories could soar even higher.
More than a million – 35% - are either still to make up their mind or say they may still change their vote.
Tory election bosses have targeted them hard with pro-Brexit messages.
As well as the EU referendum result, the Tory party’s change of leadership 11 months ago appears to have been crucial in winning them over.
In the poll of only 2015 UKIP voters;
- Three in five (59%) say they are more likely to vote for the current PM than her predecessor David Cameron (8%)
- Two thirds (66%) say they prefer Mrs May’s policies to Mr Cameron’s (12%)
- More than half (54%) think Mrs May has a better vision for Britain than Mr Cameron’s (5%)
ComRes Chairman Andrew Hawkins said: “Theresa May’s appeal to former UKIP voters is worth almost 6% points on her poll lead over Labour, which might make all the difference between a workable majority and a landslide on Thursday”.
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In the race for the overall vote, opinion polls continue to vary widely on the size of the Tories’ lead.
New polls yesterday and this morning put it between one point and 11 points.
On the negative end, the latest projection by YouGov yesterday put the Tories as the largest party, but failing by 21 seats short of an overall majority.
In that scenario, Labour could join forces with MPs from the Lib Dems, Greens, the SNP and Plaid to form a government with a majority one 1.
The poll also revealed Mrs May is more trusted by Kippers than even UKIP leader Paul Nuttall to deliver a successful Brexit, by 79% v 54%.
It also reveals Jeremy Corbyn is political kryptonite for them.
Almost seven out of 10 - 69% - say that they don’t like the veteran Socialist or the Labour Party.