It appears Laura Sandys has made the right decision to stand down at the next election. A new poll from Survation targeting her South Thanet constituency suggests that if a general election took place tomorrow, the Tories would fail to hold onto the seat.
In the constituency once represented by Jonathan Aitken, the Conservatives have dropped 20 points since the last general election, pushing them into third place. Labour would take the seat with 35 per cent of the vote but most worryingly for some, Ukip’s vote has risen hugely, shooting into second place with 30 per cent:
Constituency level polling is quite rare, so it’s always interesting to see how national trends filter down to a seat-by-seat basis. This poll confirms that Ukip’s tanks really are sitting on Tory lawns. As well as taking a bite out of their vote, 78 per cent of Ukip voters in South Thanet said they wouldn’t vote Conservative, even if there wasn’t a Ukip candidate standing.
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