U.K.’s Labour Party Takes Lead in Poll on Tory Sleaze Fallout

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. opposition Labour Party edged ahead of the Conservatives in a new poll, the latest sign that a parliamentary lobbying scandal is eroding support for the ruling Tories. 

Forty percent of respondents said they would vote for Labour, a five-point increase from the week before, while support for Conservatives fell four points to 34%, according to the survey, taken Nov. 11-12 by Savanta ComRes and commissioned by Daily Mail. 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is struggling to contain the ongoing fallout over Tory MP Owen Paterson’s paid lobbying activities The furor escalated after the British leader moved to rewrite parliamentary rules rather than accept his friend’s suspension. 

While Johnson was ultimately forced to make a U-turn, he refused to apologize, fueling days of negative headlines. 

Johnson’s personal approval rating plunged to a record low in an Opinium survey for the Observer newspaper. Separately, a Nov. 10-11 survey conducted by YouGov and the Times showed support for Tories falling to match Labour’s 35%.  

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