Poll predicts Lib Dem Gideon Amos set to win Taunton & Wellington at next election

The most detailed survey in five years has predicted that Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate Gideon Amos is set to defeat the Conservative Party in Taunton and Wellington at the next General Election.

But Mr Amos has urged caution, saying: “This is just one poll.”

The MRP poll by YouGov, reported by The Telegraph at the weekend, finds that Rebecca Pow would lose her seat if an election were held now.

More widely, the Liberal Democrats are predicted to win 48 seats at the next election, most of them from the ‘Blue Wall’ in which Taunton and Wellington sits.

This follows four unprecedented by-election wins in formerly safe Conservative seats in the past two years, as well as hundreds of gains in local elections across the ‘Blue Wall’ since 2019.

The Liberal Democrats say they have made constituencies like Taunton and Wellington the centrepiece of the party’s General Election campaign, vowing to ‘tear down the Blue Wall’ and capitalise on the thousands of voters ‘who are sick to their back teeth with the Conservative government’.

The local party are running major campaigns against the Government focused on fixing local health services which have been run into the ground.

They are calling for the right to see a GP within a week or 24 hours if in urgent need, a legal guarantee to start cancer treatment within two months of an urgent referral and ensuring people can get an NHS dentist appointment when they need one.

Responding to the poll, Mr Amos said: “The poll shows that change is a real possibility in Taunton and Wellington.

“It's up to voters to decide, but I'm encouraged it shows that hard work from the Lib Dem team could deliver the change we all so desperately need.'

“This is just one poll and things can change - so what matters most to me right now is the work I’m doing to stand up for our NHS and vital local services.

“But what’s beyond doubt from The Telegraph’s poll is that thousands here in Taunton and Wellington are crying out for real change after being taken for granted by this Conservative government.

“We shouldn’t be in a situation where local families can’t get a GP appointment, government social care cuts mean councils are going bankrupt around the country, water companies dump sewage in our river Tone, and people can’t afford the basics.

“We need a change - and this poll confirms that in this area voting for the Liberal Democrats in the General Election is the one way to deliver it.

“While Conservative MPs are too busy fighting with themselves to care. I’m already working to stand up for our local community.

“The Conservative Party could not be more out of touch but we in the Liberal Democrats are campaigning hard for people to get a fair deal.

“As our area's next MP, I would stand up for Taunton and Wellington and give local people the strong voice in Parliament they want and deserve.”