Coventry could see its first Conservative MP in nearly 20 years at the next General Election if a recent opinion poll is to be believed.
Jim Cunningham, current Coventry South MP, is one of five West Midlands Labour MPs who could lose their seat if an election was held tomorrow.
A recent YouGov poll found 42 per cent of voters said they would back the Conservatives if an election was held tomorrow - and just 28 per cent would back Labour .
The poll for the Times found eight per cent would vote Lib Dem and 12 per cent would back UKIP.
It’s a dire result for Labour and would mean the Tories would remain in power with a bigger majority at the next election.
And using website Electoral Calculus, it’s possible to predict which seats are likely to change hands if this was he result.
As things stand Colleen Fletcher who represents Coventry North East would still comfortably hold on to her seat but Coventry North West MP Geoffrey Robinson , if he runs again, is only predicted to cling on by a small margin.
Jim Cunningham is predicted to lose out, if an election was held tomorrow, by half a percent, but a slight bounce in Labour popularity would mean he would cling on.
Other West Midlands MPs predicted to lose their seats based on the poll are Birmingham Edgbaston’s Gisela Stuart, Birmingham Northfield MP Richard Burden, Walsall North’s David Winnick MP and Wolverhampton South West MP Rob Marris.
Critics accused polling companies of getting it wrong in the last general election - but they have tended to over-estimate the strength of Labour support rather than under-estimate.
Labour’s current poor showing in the polls may be partly a result of the rise of new Prime Minister Theresa May , who became Conservative leader in July. New party leaders traditionally enjoy a “honeymoon” period where they are more popular than normal.
It undoubtedly has something to do with the party’s fierce internal battles. Labour is in the middle of a leadership contest as former Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Owen Smith seeks to replace party leader Jeremy Corbyn.
John Butcher, who represented Coventry South West from 1979 until 1997, was the city’s last Conservative MP.
He retired following boundary changes that saw his seat abolished.
All of Coventry's Labour candidates could be deselected by local party members in any case.
