Tory 'project fear' tactic has driven voters away, poll says

But survey offers PM glimmer of hope through postal voting

- DAVID MADDOX ALICJA HAGOPIAN

The Conservatives' "project fear" tactic, deployed to scare voters with the threat of a Labour "supermajority", has spectacularly backfired, new polling reveals.

According to findings from Techne UK for The Independent, twice as many people are “more likely” to vote Labour (26 per cent) than are more likely to vote Conservative (13 per cent) as a result of the warning used by Rishi Sunak and senior Conservatives about handing Sir Keir Starmer too much power.

The tactic was also used to try to prevent Tory voters defecting to Reform, but almost one in 10 (9 per cent) said the warning had in fact made them “more likely” to vote for Nigel Farage’s party.

The survey’s findings appear to confirm warnings by former chancellor George Osborne – whose own project fear tactics were blamed for defeat in the EU Brexit referendum – that Mr Sunak and the Tories were “fighting the wrong campaign”. He had warned they were too focused on Reform and letting Labour “run rampant” in so-called blue wall safe seats.

But the polling by Techne has offered the Tories a glimmer of hope with postal voting. While just under a quarter of those voting have said they will vote by post, the results break much