Polls show Theresa May's Tories now at similar level of support to John Major in 1997 as voters 'ditch party'

Theresa May’s failure to deliver Brexit has caused the Conservatives to haemorrhage support, with the Tories now polling at a similar level to John Major in 1997, new data suggests. Opinion polls showed support for the Conservatives had crashed eight points in the space of a month as voters seemed to swing behind Nigel Farage’s new party and Ukip. Polling conducted by BMG Research in March had the Tories on 37 per cent but the latest data for April had the party on 29 per cent. The Tories were polling in the high twenties in the run up to the 1997 election which saw the party win just 165 seats and secure 31 per cent of the vote as Tony Blair’s New Labour crushed the Conservatives.