Labour's lead has fallen to its lowest level since June last year, according to a new poll.

It's been a torrid fortnight for Sir Keir Starmer and the Labor Party. Photo: Getty Images/Eddie Keogh

Labour's lead over the Tories has fallen to its lowest level since June last year as Sir Keir Starmer endures one of his most difficult periods in leadership.

Savanta poll conducted via days after Sir Keir Starmer radically downgraded his flagship green spending pledge, Labor won 41 per cent of the vote, down five points from two weeks earlier.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives achieved a small gain of two points, resulting in the party receiving 29 percent. .

This is Labour's smallest lead in any Savanta poll since June 2023, while its share of the vote is its lowest since September 2022.

The results mark a dramatic change in Sir Keir's views on the £28bn commitment The much-derided Tory pound may have broken through to the wider public, spooking his supporters.

Sociologist Chris Hopkins said it showed Labour's leadership was not «infallible» but warned against investing » too much in one survey – for now.” .

It comes as Sir Keir is in damage control mode for the second week running, forced to make yet another U-turn in the deepening antisemitism crisis.

On Tuesday he suspended Graham Jones, who was due to stand for Labor in Hyndburn, after it was revealed he had spoken at a public meeting about “bloody Israel” and said British volunteers in the IDF should be “locked up”.

< p>Sir Keir was forced to make the decision less than a day after he withdrew his support for Azhar Ali, the Labor candidate in the Rochdale by-election this month, whose own “disgusting” statements about Israel provoked the latest scandal.

The first key test of the impact of both controversies will come on Thursday when voters in Kingswood and Wellingborough go to the polls in twin by-elections that were expected to deal a blow to Rishi Sunak.

Savanta poll accepting involving around 2,000 UK adults, was carried out between 9 and 11 February and differed from the results of the last survey, conducted between 26 and 28 January. If the results were repeated in a general election, Labor would have won a majority of 92 votes, according to seat modeling website Electoral Calculus.

Mr Hopkins, the firm's director of political research, said: “This significant fall in the Labor Party's leadership may well be a response to a torrid couple of weeks for Keir Starmer's party and part of a wider trend. It could also be something completely different, and I would caution people not to read too much into one survey—yet.

“But this survey is still as useful a reminder as it was any other, that the Labor Party's leadership — although consistently high for many months — is not infallible. Voters have not yet quite made up their minds about Keir Starmer's Labor Party, and doubts may well creep in again.

“One thing is for sure: if this drop in poll results is a consequence of their recent problems, it does not bode well for the short term. campaigns. With the Conservative machine in full swing and the inevitable increased media scrutiny, this could well be very uncomfortable for the Labor Party.»