YP Comment: Conservatives under pressure

The unique dynamics of this election campaign have resulted in different polling companies forecasting everything from a hung parliament to a 100-seat Conservative majority this week. The unpredictable state of affairs means the Prime Minister and Mr McLoughlin are correct to a large extent when they say the only poll that matters is the one on election day itself.

However, although polls must be approached with caution, it is clear there is concern within Conservative ranks at findings showing the party’s lead over Labour has narrowed from more than 20 points at the start of the campaign to less than half of that now.

Mrs May called the snap election in April with a clear ambition that the campaign would be centred around who the country wants to lead Brexit negotiations. But instead the headlines have been dominated by her U-turn on the so-called ‘dementia tax’, Jeremy Corbyn’s well-honed skills on the campaign trail and awkward questions over the current funding available to the NHS and schools.

Mrs May hoped this election campaign would deliver her both a commanding majority and an overwhelming personal mandate from British voters. But with just one week to go until voters head to the polls, it remains to be seen whether her calculated risk of calling an election will prove to have been a gamble worth taking for the Prime Minister and her party.