Theresa May's Conservatives slump to fifth place in European elections poll

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Theresa May

• Support for the Conservative party is at an historical low following Theresa May's decision to delay Brexit.
• Nigel Farage's Brexit Party is heading for a major victory in the European elections according to a new YouGov poll.
• A separate YouGov poll suggests that support for both major parties is collapsing as voters switch to smaller parties.
• Visit Business Insider's home page for more stories.

LONDON - Theresa May's Conservative party has slumped to fifth place in a national poll for the first time in its history, as Nigel Farage's Brexit party heads for victory in the upcoming European elections.

The latest YouGov poll puts May's party on just 10%, as former voters desert the party in wake of the prime minister's decision to delay Brexit.

The collapse in support for the party comes as voters switch in increasing numbers to smaller parties in the wake of the decision to delay Brexit and the ongoing political stalemate in the UK.

YouGov European elections poll

• The Brexit Party: 34% (+4)
• Labour: 16% (-5)
• Liberal Democrats: 15% (+5)
• Green Party: 11% (+2)
• Conservatives: 10% (-3)
• Change UK: 5% (-4)

(Changes since YouGov poll 30 April)

The YouGov poll also finds support for Jeremy Corbyn's Labour party in sharp decline, with just 16% planning to vote for them in the European elections.

The shift in support towards smaller parties appears to go beyond the European elections. A separate general election poll conducted by YouGov finds support for both major parties down in the low 20s, with support for the both the Brexit Party and the Liberal Democrats continuing to grow in the wake of their gains in this month's local elections.

YouGov general election poll

• Conservatives: 24% (-5)
• Labour: 24% (-5)
• Brexit Party: 18% (+3)
• Liberal Democrats: 16% (+3)
• Greens: 7% (+2)

(Changes since YouGov poll 30 April)

The findings come as the government's negotiating team meets again with the opposition Labour party for more talks on passing a Brexit deal through parliament.

Prospects for an agreement between the two parties currently look low with both sides coming under growing pressure to abandon the process.

In an interview with the Guardian over the weekend, the Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer said that Labour MPs would be unlikely to accept any deal without a second referendum attached - something which the Conservative government is highly unlikely to allow.

Cabinet ministers are also expected to call on the prime minister to abandon talks when the cabinet meets on Tuesday.

May's own future will come under question later this week when she is due to address backbench Conservative MPs at the 1922 Committee on Thursday.

The Chair of the committee, Sir Graham Brady, has told the prime minister that she must set out a date for her resignation or risk MPs changing party rules in order to force her departure.

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