Rishi Sunak has received a boost in the polls after a week where he has had to endure criticism from the right of his party.
According to the latest Techne UK tracker poll the Conservatives have reversed four weeks of going backwards in public opinion and gained a point taking them to 29 percent.
Labour are now 16 points ahead with their support remaining fixed at 45 percent for the second week in a row.
The Lib Dems are down one point on 10 percent, Reform UK unchanged on 5 percent and the Greens down one on 4 percent.
The cut in the polls comes after Mr Sunak told journalists in Japan that he is confident he can win the next election.
READ MORE: Rishi Sunak confident to stay Prime Minister as he promises ‘progress’
Asked if he thought he could win he said “yes” adding: “I’m confident we can deliver for people. I know things are tough right now. But I think we’ve made good progress in the 6 months that I’ve had the job. I’ll just keep at it.”
The Prime Minister though still has a long haul to overcome Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s lead despite halving it since taking over from Liz Truss last year.
According to the prediction website Electoral Calculus, this poll would still give the Tories a historically low number of seats with 158.
Meanwhile, Labour would have a majority of 184 putting Starmer in 10, Downin g Street with a free hand to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the EU and start the process of rejoining if he wants.
The poll boost has come in a week where the Prime Minister has been forced to endure criticism from the right of his own parties.
The Conservative democratic Organisation (CDO) conference of Tory grassroots last weekend saw complaints about the coup which installed him as leader and demands for party reform to allow members to get the final say.
The keynote speaker former Home Secretary Priti Patel accused Sunak’s leadership of failing to listen to the grassroots and blamed them for losing more than 1,000 seats in the local elections making Labour the biggest party of local government for the first time in two decades.
Then the National Conservatism conference in westminster this week saw a succession of high profile speakers including Lord Frost, Jacob Rees-Mogg and chairman of the powerful Common Sense Group Sir John Hayes demand changes in policies including a push to leave the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights, abandoning Net Zero policies and cutting taxes.
However, Mr Rees-Mogg was one of a number of high profile critics to warn discontents in the party that it would be catastrophic to attempt to replace Mr Sunak before the election.
