Only opinion poll that matters is the one on election day, says Shropshire MP'

Savanta's latest polling has predicted huge changes to the national landscape – as well as in Shropshire.

Under the current model, four of Shropshire five seats would flip to the Labour Party – The Wrekin, Shrewsbury & Atcham, and Telford, which are all currently Conservative, as well as North Shropshire – held by the Lib Dems after Helen Morgan's 2021 by-election victory.

The predictions would represent a major change if they were borne out at the ballot box, with North Shropshire having never been won by the Labour Party, while Shrewsbury & Atcham was last won by Labour in 2005, the Wrekin in 1997's Tony Blair landslide and Telford in 2010.

Montgomeryshire, held by Conservative Craig Williams, and Ludlow, held by his party colleague Philip Dunne, would remain Tory, according to the pollsters.

Conservative MPs Daniel Kawczynski, who represents Shrewsbury & Atcham, and Mark Pritchard, who holds The Wrekin, have both urged caution with polls so far away from an election, and added they were confident that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak could do what it takes to secure the backing of the public.

Mr Pritchard said: "Having started with a majority of just 942 in 2005, I have never taken a single vote for me for granted.

"Keir Starmer is not tested and has had little scrutiny to date.

"Polls go up and down, but it is important the Conservative Party delivers on the economy, migration and the NHS in 2023, which I believe we will."

Mr Kawczynski said: "Margaret Thatcher taught us that opinion polls are not a measurement to rely on.

"A politician must focus on what is right and the job in hand and not what opinion polls say.

"The only opinion poll that matters is the one on election day."

He added: "In 2017 the Conservatives were 17 points up ahead at the start of the campaign and finished just two points ahead ,so I do not take too much interest in opinion polls.

"What I am pleased about is Mr Sunak has brought discipline into the Conservative Party, which was needed, and I think we have a year and a half now to demonstrate we are the party to earn their respect and votes at the next election."

Telford's Conservative MP Lucy Allan, said the Government has to focus on major issues – such as NHS waits, inflation, and illegal immigration – and not polls or elections.

She said: "2023 is going to be a difficult year, the Government is struggling with looming recession, NHS backlogs, high inflation, illegal immigration and no sign of the war in Ukraine abating.

"We need the Government to focus on these huge challenges and not to be worrying about elections and polls. Going into a General Election in 2024 will be a very tough ask for the Conservative Party.

"Having said that, one thing we have all learned from last year, is that 18 months is a long time in politics.

"The question on the ballot paper at a General Election is not which party do you want to form the next government, it is who do you want to be your MP.

"MPs with a strong track record can defy the polls. Nationally in both 2015 and 2017 there was a swing to the Labour Party, but it was possible for Conservatives to win in Telford."