Opinion polls predicting 'Starmergeddon' should make voters think twice of handing Labour huge majority by voting Reform, Transport Secretary Mark Harper warns

 Senior Tory Mark Harper says voting for Reform will hand Labour huge majority Leading elections experts say Tories are at their lowest ebb in polling history Robert Jenrick said the country is 'sleepwalking' into a 'very dangerous future'

Opinion polls predicting 'Starmergeddon' should make voters considering Reform think twice, a senior Tory has warned.

Mark Harper said that Conservatives toying with the idea of backing Nigel Farage's new party should 'reflect' on the fact it will only hand Labour a huge majority.

He raised the alarm as the country's leading elections expert said support for the Tories was at its lowest ebb in polling history, while another huge survey suggested the party may end up with just 72 seats after the General Election.

It comes after Boris Johnson wrote in the Mail that Labour is on course for a landslide and that the ensuing 'Starmergeddon' would mean a 'sharp left turn', with higher taxes for all and the reversal of Brexit.

Told by LBC radio that the Tories are facing apocalypse at the ballot box and should talk to Reform leader Nigel Farage, Transport Secretary Mr Harper replied: 'I think we do need to appeal to people currently thinking about voting for Reform, but the way we do that is to set out the choice for people.'

Mark Harper said that Conservatives toying with the idea of backing Nigel Farage 's new party should 'reflect' on the fact it will only hand Labour a huge majority

Boris Johnson wrote in the Mail that Labour is on course for a landslide and that the ensuing 'Starmergeddon' would mean higher taxes for all and the reversal of Brexit

He said that voting for Reform would deliver 'a Labour government with a large majority and a blank cheque'.

He added: 'It will literally do the opposite of the things that they care about.

'And I hope that when they reflect on that, they'll see that if they vote Conservative, they get a Conservative government that will do the things they want to see: Lower taxes and reduced immigration.'

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Key seats where just a handful of votes for Reform would hand Labour a 'super-majority'

Latest analysis by pollsters Survation put Labour on course for a 262-seat majority, with the Tories having only 72 MPs.

A separate study by Savanta put Labour on 46 per cent, a 25-point lead over the Tories on 21.

In his weekly analysis of overall polling trends, Professor Sir John Curtice told the BBC: 'Standing at just 20 per cent, Conservative support is now at its lowest ever in British polling history.

'Mr Sunak, whose own personal ratings have clearly fallen, must be beginning to doubt his decision to call the election early.'

Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick said he shared the frustrations of those drawn to Reform.

But he warned that the country is 'sleepwalking' into a 'very dangerous future'.

Writing in the Telegraph, he said: 'A Labour Party with an elective dictatorship will be equally unrestrained on raising taxes.'

This came as Jeremy Hunt also warned, in an interview with the Sun, that Sir Keir Starmer will plunge Britain into 'taxtopia' if he gets the keys to No 10.

Jeremy Hunt warned that Sir Keir Starmer will plunge Britain into 'taxtopia' if he gets the keys to No 10 at the general election

He said that voting for Nigel Farage's Reform would hand Labour a landslide victory and 'unchecked power'.

But he also aimed fire directly at Reform. He said Reform would fail in its mission to destroy the Tory Party and it would still be here 'in 100 years' time'.

He dismissed talk that the Tories would do 'dodgy deals' or merge with Reform.

Last night Mr Jenrick stepped up his attack on Reform, asking former leader and current candidate Richard Tice – who is standing in Boston and Skegness – on social media: 'Are you a Labour Party sleeper agent? Your only political legacy can be a Labour supermajority that delivers precisely the opposite of everything you claim to stand for.

'Higher taxes. Higher immigration.'

Sir Keir Starmer's ­proposed ban on new North Sea oil and gas drilling would lead to a huge drop in tax receipts over the next decade, Tories claim

 '£4.5bn black hole' in Keir's energy plan

Labour's 'reckless' energy policy will create a £4.5billion budget black hole, the Tories have warned.

Sir Keir Starmer's ­proposed ban on new North Sea oil and gas drilling would lead to a huge drop in tax receipts over the next decade, they claim.

Over the lifetime of the untapped reserves, the Tories said the full losses could reach as high as £12.4billion.

The shortfall could mean higher taxes for working families to balance the books and the plan would risk up to 200,000 jobs and deter investment in the UK, they claimed.

Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho said: 'Labour's energy policy will be a triple whammy on the UK: Jobs lost, higher taxes and investment destroyed.'

Labour said the Tory claims were 'desperate nonsense from a party that has lied throughout this campaign'.

A spokesman added: 'Labour will bring in a proper windfall tax on the oil and gas companies making record profits, and raise billions more in tax revenue which we would use to invest in home-grown clean energy.'