Labour is getting crushed in the opinion polls – YouGov says the Tories have a 24 point lead

Labour's chances of winning the general election are looking slim after a YouGov poll gave the Conservatives a 24 point lead.

The survey, of more than 1,700 voters between 18 and 19 April, put the Tories on 48% (+4) and Labour on 24% (+1). The research also found that the Liberal Democrats were on 12% (unchanged), while Ukip had dropped three points to 7%.

The latest poll comes after ComRes and ICM gave the Conservatives a 21 point lead, suggesting Theresa May could win a triple-digit majority at the general election on 8 June.

But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will hit back at claims that the election is a "foregone conclusion" in his first major speech of the campaign in Westminster on Thursday 20 April.

"They think there are rules in politics, which if you don't follow by doffing your cap to powerful people, accepting that things can't really change, then you can't win," he will say.

"But of course those people don't want us to win. Because when we win, it's the people, not the powerful, who win. The nurse, the teacher, the small trader, the carer, the builder, the office worker win. We all win.

"They say I don't play by the rules – their rules. We can't win, they say, because we don't play their game. They're quite right I don't. And a Labour Government elected on 8 June won't play by their rules."

With MPs backing a snap general election in the House of Commons on Wednesday, it is now just seven weeks before polling day. Corbyn has refused to say whether he would resign as Labour leader if he loses the election.