Mel Stride has appeared to effectively concede defeat ahead of tomorrow’s general election, suggesting the Labour Party was “heading for an extraordinary landslide” result and the “largest majority ever”.
The close ally of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appeared on the BBC’s Today programme, and said Sir Keir Starmer was likely to win the “largest majority any party has ever achieved” ahead of the final day of campaigning before the country goes to the polls on Thursday.
“I have accepted that where the polls are at the moment – and it seems highly unlikely that they are very, very wrong, because they’ve been consistently in the same place for some time – that we are therefore tomorrow highly likely to be in a situation where we have the largest majority that any party has ever achieved,” the work and pensions secretary said.
He also told GB News: “If you look at the polls, it is pretty clear that Labour at this stage are heading for an extraordinary landslide on a scale that has probably never, ever been seen in this country before.”
Stride also warned voters could will “regret” it if Labour wins the kind of landslide that means it has “untrammelled” power without an effective Tory opposition.
The cabinet minister has played a key role in the election campaign, making frequent TV and radio appearances as the Conservative spokesperson.
But asked for his response, Sir Keir hit back at Stride’s comments, claiming they amounted to “voter suppression”.
He told broadcasters in Wales: “I think the Tories have run a very negative campaign and they’re failing to answer the question of what positive change they bring for the country.”
The Labour leader added: “It’s more of the same, it’s really voter suppression, it’s trying to get people to stay at home rather than to go out and vote.
“I say if you want change, you have to vote for it. I want people to be part of the change.”
Starmer also insisted he was “not in the slightest” rattled by Boris Johnson’s intervention in the Conservative campaign, which saw the former party leader speak at a rally in Chelsea last night.
It comes as voter intention surveys throughout the campaign have suggested Labour are on a lead of around 20 points, while detailed constituency level MRP polls indicate a major win.