Boris Johnson’s former top aide warns election race is tighter than polls suggest

Dominic Cummings resigned from role after Parliament was dissolved, report says

Dominic Cummings, special advisor for Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, leaves his home in London, Britain, August 14, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s former top adviser has warned the general election result is likely to be closer than expected, despite many polls predicting the Conservatives will win a majority.

In a post on his blog on Wednesday, Dominic Cummings warned that if Mr Johnson didn’t secure a majority, then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon would win the keys to Downing Street.

The SNP policies, which were launched on Wednesday, said that if the party were to win power, it would ask the newly formed UK government for a second Scottish independence referendum before the end of the year.

The Conservatives and Labour are against a second Scottish independence referendum, after Scots voted to remain in the union five years ago.

Mr Cummings resigned as Mr Johnson's special adviser after Parliament was dissolved 25 days before polling day this month, a Cabinet Office source told The Guardian on Wednesday.

But he is known to be passionate about Brexit, having led the Vote Leave campaign that saw Britain vote to leave the EU.

“You will see many polls in the coming days. Some will say Boris will win," Mr Cummings said in the post.

"Trust me, as someone who has worked on lots of campaigns, things are much tighter than they seem and there is a very real possibility of a hung parliament.

“Without a majority, the nightmare continues. All other MPs will gang together to stop Brexit and give EU citizens the vote. It’s that simple."

He urged people who voted for Brexit to get family and friends to vote Conservative.

Despite imploring people to vote for the Conservatives, Mr Cummings said he had never been a member of any political party.

A new poll on Wednesday, conducted by YouGov for The Times, suggested that the Conservatives are on track to win 359 seats, a majority of 68 and a gain of 42 compared to the 2017 election.

Labour is predicted to win 211, the SNP 43 and 13 are forecast to go to the Liberal Democrats.

Although Labour has narrowed the gap with the Conservatives in polls in the last week, Mr Corbyn’s failure to apologise to the Jewish community for his party’s handling of anti-Semitism has damaged its election prospects.

Brits go to the polls on December 12.