Rishi Sunak ’s pledge to reintroduce National Service will not help him close the gap on Labour, leading pollsters have warned. The Conservatives announced the policy over the weekend in the hope it would move the dial on terrible polling returns which have them trailing by more than 20 points behind Labour. But while the announcement helped distract from a much criticised start to the election campaign by the prime minister and his inner circle, there are serious question marks over whether it will provide the Tories the poll boost they need.
Professor Sir John Curtice admitted to being sceptical about the effect. Asked if it would shift the polls, he replied: “No. It was designed to appeal to their [the Tories’] base which is older.
” Leading pollster and Tory peer Lord Robert Hayward said: “It will have a limited impact either way. “There will be some extra underlying impact but nothing more amongst white working class voters. In other words those who have left [the Tories] or are uncertain in Red Wall areas.
” He added: “The Tories are already very weak amongst young voters so limited further impact on that vote.” But he noted: “In part the impact will depend how much noise this [policy] continues to have.” Michela Morizzo, chief executive of Techne UK, warned that the policy is more likely to have a negative effect.
She pointed out that the latest weekly tracker poll by Techne shows 18 to 24-year-olds supporting Labour by 53 percent to the 13 percent .