Pollster’s doom-laden warning for the Tories has actually handed Rishi Sunak some hope

Rishi Sunak clashes with Laura Kuenssberg over inflation When the famous US pollster declared that every Tory MP with a majority of less than 8,000 should be looking for a new job it rather seemed to confirm the doom-laden view that the Conservatives do not stand a chance in the next general election. Yet amazing as it seems, Luntz’s observation should give Rishi Sunak a surge of hope as he prepares for a potentially difficult week with a party conference where his opponents will be demanding he changes policy on tax, immigration and human rights. Without necessarily intending to, Luntz has confirmed that Conservative fortunes are beginning to turn. The polls which week in, week out have given Labour a 20 plus point unassailable lead are beginning to look a bit more palatable. How so? Rishi Sunak warms up for a difficult conference Well just a few weeks ago Luntz was in Parliament with a very different prediction. He told Conservative MPs then that any of them with a 15,000 majority or less should forget it and they had already lost their seats. So put quite simply, Luntz’s vision of a Tory Armageddon has been relegated to a plague on Tories – he has almost halved the point where political careers are ended from 15,000 to 8,000. While the prediction is bad still and the polls are not exactly great, it does reflect a genuine change in the political weather. Margaret Thatcher still popular among Tory members SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info