Election poll halves Boris Johnson’s majority to 28 to raise spectre of hung parliament as he pleads for ‘every vote’

BORIS Johnson's lead has been slashed by more than half to a 28-seat majority with just two days to go until the general election, a major new poll has revealed.

Last night's YouGov MRP poll for The Times, which correctly forecast the election results in 2017, has revealed Boris will need every vote in tomorrow's ballot.

This is despite the projected majority meaning the Tories will have clinched 339 seats - 22 more than the general election two years ago when they received 317.

With just 24 hours to go, the detailed seat-by-seat analysis means every vote will make all the difference if Brits want to avoid another hung parliament - with just 28 seats currently in it.

Boris yesterday hammered home his warning of a "clear and present danger" of a Corbyn government if Brits don't check the Conservative box on their ballot paper.

The Tories are concerned a Labour victory is “much closer” than their supporters think due to tactical voting for Remainers.

Issuing his rallying cry to the public, Boris insisted that he would need  “every vote” to triumph - and Brits shouldn't assume he is a shoo-in for No.10.

He said: "I'm sorry to say this but you remember what happened in 2017 – polls can be wrong. We need to be fighting for every vote.”

Mr Johnson said the general election was "in the lap of gods" as he admitted he was "genuinely worried" that tactical voting could hand Corbyn the keys to N010.

The previous version of the poll - based on 100,000 interviews - carried out on November 28 showed Boris was on course for a comfortable 68-seat majority.

Labour's Jeremy Corbyn still appears poised for a disastrous election result with 231 seats - 31 less than 2017 - while Lib Dems look on course for 15 and the SNP 41.

But Anthony Wells, YouGov’s director of political research, told the newspaper: "Based on the model we cannot rule out a hung parliament."

Boris yesterday smashed through a Styrofoam brick-wall, with ‘Gridlock' emblazoned on it, in a Union Flag digger at the JCB factory in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire.

Responding to a question from a journalist that he was “home and dry” for an election win, he said: “Absolutely not.

"This is a very close fought election and we need every vote. As I say, the only mathematical alternative to a working majority Conservative government is a real risk of another hung parliament.

“That's another five years of confusion, chaos, dither, delay and division. We cannot go down that route."

According to the latest poll, environment secretary Theresa Villiers is heading for defeat in Chipping Barnet.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and ex-party leader Iain Duncan Smith also appear to be clinging to very narrow leads.
Tory chiefs are now worried Corbyn could win the election without gaining a ­single extra seat.

A party memo, issued on Saturday, said a coalition led by the Labour boss is possible with only 40,000 tactical votes against Boris.

Just 12 extra seats won by other ­parties — such as the Lib Dems or the SNP — would result in a hung parliament, according to the document.

Meanwhile, Boris is planning to axe the £14million foreign aid department if he wins the election.

It has been accused of wasting cash since it was launched by Labour in 1997.

Meanwhile, 15 ex Labour MPs have launched a shock advertising campaign urging voters not to back Corbyn tomorrow.

They warn the Labour leader will deliver the opposite of a "safer, fairer society" amid a anti-Semitism storm and security fears.

In the 2017 election, a similar YouGov poll predicted the Conservatives would win 42 per cent of the vote, with Labour on 38 per cent.

The figure was almost perfect, with Theresa May winning 43.5 per cent of seats, and Jeremy Corbyn 41.

Crucially it also forecast a hung parliament when every other survey predicted a Tory majority.

YouGov said of its methods: “YouGov’s official MRP model accurately forecast the hung parliament in the 2017 General Election.

“Even correctly projecting that seats such as Kensington & Chelsea and Canterbury would be won by the Labour Party.”