UK Labour Party Records Largest Lead Over Ruling Conservatives Since 2019 Amid Series of Tory Rows

LONDON (Sputnik) – The UK Labour Party has recorded its largest lead over the ruling Conservative Party since 2019 general election, largely because most voters seem to take a serious view of allegations that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s staff held a Christmas party in Number 10 Downing Street last year, during COVID-19 restrictions, poll showed.

The survey conducted by the global market research and political polling company Redfield & Wilton Strategies showed that 38% of the people sampled on Wednesday said they would vote Labour if there was an election, compared to 34% who would vote Conservative.

“The poll’s results mark Labour’s third lead in the past month and its largest lead since our firm began tracking voting intention following the 2019 General Elections,” Redfield & Wilton said.

The polling firm claimed that the scandal surrounding the alleged Christmas party at Downing Street last year has taken its toll on the support for the Conservative Party, as 69% of respondents said the Metropolitan Police should investigate the allegations and a further 63% believed Johnson should resign if it is confirmed that the gathering took place.

On Wednesday, the prime minister “unreservedly” apologized in Parliament after a video clip showed his staff joking about the alleged Christmas party and pledged to take disciplinary action if rules were broken, after stressing that he had been repeatedly assured that no such gatherings had taken place.

Later on, Johnson’s former spokesperson Allegra Stratton, who is one of the persons seen joking in the leaked footage, announced her resignation and offered her “profound apologies.”

Last month, the Conservative Party found itself in the middle of a sleaze row after Tory MPs - encouraged by Prime Minister Boris Johnson - voted to save ex-minister Owen Paterson from a 30-day suspension from the House of Commons, as well as create a new Conservative-dominated committee to rethink parliament's disciplinary processes. Paterson was found guilty of breaking lobbying rules.

After after a barrage of criticism, the Johnson government performed a U-turn, scrapping the proposed reforms. The prime minister then admitted that Paterson had breached lobbying rules.