Shock poll puts Liberal Democrats in first place

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable. (Photo by Ken Jack/Getty Images) - Credit: Getty Images

A new shock poll from YouGov has put the Liberal Democrats in first place – ahead of the Brexit Party.

The party came second in the European elections and the new YouGov poll for The Times suggested its popularity has increased even further.

The Lib Dems were on 24%, ahead of the Brexit Party on 22% and the Tories and Labour neck and neck on 19%.

It is the first time the Lib Dems have been in the top spot in a question on how people will vote in a general election since the heady days of Nick Clegg’s popularity in 2010.

YouGov were the most accurate pollster at the European elections.

Leadership candidate Sir Ed Davey said: “This is definitive proof that Lib Dems are back in the game.

“Our campaign to stop Brexit and fix Britain is resonating with millions of voters who have been let down by the two main parties.”

The party has revealed that 6,000 people have joined the party in the last week – a total of 11,000 in the last month.

YouGov cautioned against the Lib Dems getting too carried away with the bounce, pointing out that the first-past-the-post system is still a hindrance for outsider parties, which favours Labour and the Conservatives.

Chris Curtis from the pollster said: “The Cleggmania of 2010 faded fast, with the party falling back in the final weeks of the campaign and ending up with just 1% more of the vote than they had won five years prior.”