POUND LIVE: Sterling PLUMMETS over jitters at Corbyn’s debt plan as Tories drop in polls
THE pound has tumbled after a poll showed Theresa May's lead over the Labour party has fallen to just five points only two weeks before the election.
Sterling reacted to the news by sinking around one per cent against both the euro and the dollar to 1.1461 and 1.2818 respectively.
It is the smallest lead the Conservatives have had over Jeremy Corbyn since he become Labour leader in September 2015.
And the heightened uncertainty ahead of voting in the election is now hammering Britain's currency.
Markets have realised that Mrs May's victory is no longer guaranteed and after June 8 Britain could be led by the more unpredictable Mr Corbyn.
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Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, said: "Sterling fell again overnight after a poll showed the gap between Theresa May’s Conservatives and Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party has narrowed again.
"The lead – which only a few weeks ago stood at around 20 points – has fallen dramatically to just five according to this YouGov poll.
"With this kind of momentum and almost two weeks to go until the vote, not only is this not going to be the breeze that May anticipated when she called the snap election last month, it could yet turn into a humiliating defeat for the Conservative leader and her party."
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Defence expert blasts Corbyn for blaming terror on foreign policy
Campaigning in the general election has resumed today after it was stopped following the Manchester terror bombing.
The prime minister and Mr Corbyn are now expected to step up their rhetoric ahead of the vote on June 8.
The Labour leader is today set to say that UK foreign policy would change under him to reduce the threat of terrorism.
However, the FTSE 100 appeared to brush off the election news to push to new record highs of 7,549.
