LONDON – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is on the verge of losing his own seat and neither of the two major political parties is likely to win an absolute majority in the next general election, which is not expected until 2024, according to a new poll .
This is the first detailed survey of public perceptions of Johnson’s treatment of recently concluded Brexit talks and the COVID-19 pandemic after reversing plans to allow families to get together for Christmas. in some parts of the south of England to combat the spread of the virus.
More than 22,000 people were surveyed in a surveillance poll of constituency by constituency over a four-week period in December, which was conducted by research data company Focaldata and published by the Sunday Times.
The so-called multilevel regression and post-stratification (MRP) survey found that ruling Conservatives would lose 81 seats and end up with a majority of 80 seats. That would leave the Conservatives with 284 seats, while the Labor Party opposition would win 282 seats, according to the poll.
The Scottish National Party, which wants to secede from the rest of the UK, is expected to win 57 of the 59 seats in Scotland, meaning the party could play a leading role in forming the next government.
The prime minister risks losing his own headquarters in Uxbridge, west London, according to the poll.
Johnson won a resounding election victory last year that allowed him to pull Britain out of the European Union’s orbit on New Year’s Eve after nearly half a century of close ties.
But Johnson’s presidency can be increasingly defined by the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has already killed more than 74,000 people and crushed the economy.