Poll finds Westminster blamed for Brexit deadlock as support for Conservatives and Labour falls

Welsh voters overwhelmingly blame Westminster for the state of the current Brexit negotiations.

That is according to the latest poll commissioned for ITV Wales and Cardiff University.

The YouGov barometer poll found that opinion is split between 39% of people who hold Theresa May and her government responsible - and 39% who think MPs as a whole are to blame.

Eight per cent said the European Union and other European governments are more at fault.

  • Who's most to blame for the current state of Brexit negotiations?

MPs have voted down the prime minister's deal three times Credit: PA Images

  • Theresa May and the UK Government - 39%

  • MPs in Parliament - 39%

  • The EU and other European Governments - 8%

  • Other/Don’t Know - 13%

It seems this view is feeding through into how people feel about the two major parties at Westminster - with combined support for the Labour and Conservative parties now below 60%.

This was the first poll in Wales to include the Change UK and Brexit parties.

Here's what YouGov found - with changes from the previous Barometer poll, in late February, in brackets.

  • Labour: 33% (-2)

  • Conservative: 26% (-3)

  • Plaid Cymru: 15% (+1)

  • Change UK: 9% (+9)

  • Liberal Democrats: 7% (+1)

  • Brexit Party: 4% (+4)

  • UKIP: 3% (-3)

  • Others: 3% (-5)

Credit: PA Images

The poll also suggest five seats would change hands at a general election. Given Labour’s domination of current Welsh MPs, and the large decline in their support since the general election suggested by this poll, the five projected changes are all Labour losses: with Cardiff North, Gower, Vale of Clwyd and Wrexham all projected to be gained by the Conservatives, and Ynys Mon by Plaid Cymru.

The barometer poll asked for people's voting intentions in both assembly and general elections Credit: PA Images

Professor Awan-Scully’s analysis gives the following overall outcome in terms of seats at Westminster:

  • Labour: 23 seats

  • Conservatives: 12 seats

  • Plaid Cymru: 5 seats

YouGov also asked about voting intentions in an assembly election. Here are the findings for the constituency ballot - with changes from the February Barometer poll once again in brackets:

  • Labour: 31% (-1)

  • Plaid Cymru: 24% (+1)

  • Conservatives: 23% (-3)

  • UKIP: 7% (no change)

  • Liberal Democrats: 6% (-2)

  • Change UK4% (+4)

  • Others:6% (+1)

In the regional list vote, YouGov produced the following results - with changes from April’s poll once again in brackets.

  • Labour: 28% (-1)

  • Plaid Cymru: 22% (-1)

  • Conservatives: 20% (-4)

  • Brexit Party: 6% (+6)

  • Liberal Democrats: 5% (-1)

  • UKIP: 5% (-1)

  • ChangeUK: 5% (+5)

  • Greens: 3% (-1)

  • Abolish the Assembly: 3% (-1)

  • Others: 2% (-2)

Allowing for the constituency results already projected, and once more assuming uniform national swings since 2016, our new poll projects the following overall results for the Assembly’s regional list seats:

  • North Wales: 2 Plaid, 1 Conservative, 1 Brexit Party

  • Mid &West Wales: 2 Labour, 1 Plaid, 1 Brexit Party

  • South Wales West: 2 Conservative, 2 Plaid

  • South Wales Central: 2 Conservative, 1 Plaid, 1 Brexit Party

  • South Wales East: 2 Conservative, 1 Brexit Party, 1 UKIP

So there would be the following overall result for the National Assembly:

  • Labour: 23 seats (21 constituency, 2 regional)

  • Plaid Cymru: 16 seats (10 constituency, 6 regional)

  • Conservatives: 15 seats (8 constituency, 7 regional)

  • Brexit Party: 4 seats (4 regional)

  • Liberal Democrats: 1 seat (1 constituency)

  • UKIP: 1 seats (1 regional)

Professor Awan-Scully told ITV News, "This poll gives a broader insight into the current state of party politics in Wales, and indeed across Britain. And what the poll says, above all, is that our traditional two leading parties are in some trouble."

Labour and the Conservatives have less to lose in Wales from the European Parliament elections, if they go ahead across the UK. These are elections where smaller parties, notably UKIP, have done well in the past.

Here are the poll’s finding about how people would vote in a European election on May 23, compared with the actual result in 2014:

  • Labour: 30% (+2)

  • Conservative: 16% (-1)

  • Plaid Cymru: 15% (no change)

  • UKIP: 11% (-17)

  • Brexit party: 10% (+10)

  • Change UK: 8% (+8)

  • Liberal Democrats: 6% (+2)

  • Green Party: 5% (no change)

  • Others: 1% (-2)

On these figures, Labour would have two Welsh MEPs, instead of the present one. The Conservatives and Plaid Cymru would remain on one each. The sitting MEP who would lose out is Nathan Gill. He was elected for UKIP five years ago but now represents the Brexit party. If he could combine their vote, he would be re-elected comfortably.

Similarly, the split in support between the two most pro-EU parties - Change UK and the Liberal Democrats- means that neither of them are currently on course for victory if the European elections go ahead.

  • YouGov interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,025 adults in Wales online between 2-5 April 2019.