- Tory strategists say Labour do not need to gain a single seat to turf the Prime Minister out of Downing Street
- Jeremy Corbyn could use increased SNP and Lib Dems to springboard himself into Number 10 by coalition
- Mr Johnson on Monday used a Love Actually recreation to dispel complacency and warn of a tight election
- He was quickly mocked on social media for playing a character trying to sleep with his best friend’s wife
- Mr Corbyn released his own spoof video, reading mean tweets about his ‘commie hat’ and spending pledges
Boris Johnson’s chances of winning Thursday’s crunch election are balanced on a knife-edge, according to Conservative strategists who fear Labour do not need to gain a single seat to turf the Prime Minister out of Downing Street.
Tory private polling warns that losing just 12 of their constituencies to the SNP and Lib Dems could deprive them of a majority and allow Jeremy Corbyn to springboard himself into Number 10 with the support of minor parties.
Worried that Mr Johnson’s position as the clear frontrunner will make his supporters complacent and not bother to cast their ballots, the party is cranking up their ‘fight for every vote’ and warning the election is tighter than people think.
At the same time the Conservatives are blitzing voters with their ‘Get Brexit Done’ slogans in the final campaign sprint before polling day.
This two-pronged strategy was deployed in the party’s final election broadcast, where the PM recreated a famous scene from Love Actually and used a slideshow of billboards to hammer out his core messages.
Urging viewers to ‘vote Conservative actually’ in the clip that aired Monday night, Mr Johnson unveils placards that read: ‘Your vote has never been more important. The other guy could win.’
‘So you have a choice to make. ‘Between a working majority. ‘Or another gridlocked hung parliament.’
Labour has this week started to eat into Mr Johnson’s once comfortable poll lead, narrowing the gap to just six points.
Despite this, campaign gurus in Conservative HQ have said Mr Corbyn’s prospects of becoming prime minister have been ‘seriously underestimated’.
A leaked memo between Tory pollster Michael Brooks and chief strategist Isaac Levido seen by the Daily Telegraph says ‘as little as a 1 to 2 per cent movement in the current vote in a handful of seats’ could result in a hung parliament.
Mr Brooks goes on to caution that complacency a Conservative victory is in the bag poses a ‘major risk’ to the party maintaining its grip on government.
Although Mr Corbyn’s chances of clinching a majority himself are wafer-thin, it is feated a coordinated and highly-effective tactical voting operation could deprive Mr Johnson of his majority and lead to a coalition of Remain parties coalescing around the Labour leader.
Pro-EU campaigners have wargamed that a mere 40,000 voters scattered across roughly 30 marginal seats could decide the outcome of the election and throw Britain into hung parliament territory, paving the way for a Prime Minister Corbyn
Polling suggests that more voters than ever before are prepared to vote tactically in this election, which the Conservatives worry could claim some large party scalps such as ex-leader Iain Duncan Smith and one-time Mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith, whose chief rivals have been bolstered by Remain candidates standing aside.
The woman is relaxing on the sofa with her partner when the doorbell goes in the unconventional election broadcast
A Conservative election broadcast which aired in Wales tonight starred the Prime Minister as one of the movie’s hopeless romantics who uses a slideshow of placards to tell a woman he loves her
The skit opens with Boris telling the woman to pretend it’s carol singers at the door
The Tory two-pronged strategy ran through the party’s final election broadcast, where the PM recreated a famous scene from Love Actually and used a slideshow of billboards to hammer out his messages
Key point: The PM insists Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour could still gain power if tactical voting isn’t taken sufficiently seriously
One by one he turned over the cards – which each only had a few words on – addressed to a woman he was trying to woo from across the threshold
In a bid to counter ‘TnT’ – tactical voting and turnout complacency concerns – Mr Johnson’s Love Actually-themed broadcast underscored the possibility of a Labour election upset.
Clutching a pile of billboards and a stereo playing carols, he emulated the famous scene between Andrew Lincoln and Keira Knightly.
One by one he turned over the cards – which each only had a few words on – addressed to a woman he was trying to woo from across the threshold.
They read: ‘With any luck, by next year. We’ll have Brexit done. If Parliament doesn’t block it again. And we can move on.
‘But for now let me say. Your vote has never been more important. The other guy could win.’
In the 2003 rom-com Andrew Lincoln tells Keira Knightly he loves her over the threshold of her home while her boyfriend is inside
Jeremy Corbyn also shared an online video of him reading out ‘mean tweets’ people have posted insulting him
‘So you have a choice to make. ‘Between a working majority. ‘Or another gridlocked hung parliament. ‘Arguing about Brexit. ‘Until I look like this.’
He then showed a picture of a scruffy blonde sheepdog which prompted a snort of laughter from the redhead woman.
Mr Johnson continued: ‘It’s closer than you think. We only need nine more seats to get an election. And on 12th December. Your vote will make all the difference. Merry Christmas.’
Love Actually is widely regarded as one of the nation’s favourite Christmas films and is often re-watched by families on December 25.
But the star of the 2003 rom-com, Hugh Grant, who plays the prime minister, is an active Remain activist and has been leafleting with pro-EU Lib Dem and Labour candidates.
Boris Johnson poses holding a cod during a general election campaign visit to Grimsby Fish Market as he cranks up his campaigning
Tory private polling reveals a swing of just 12 constituencies to the SNP and Lib Dems could deprive them of a majority and allow Jeremy Corbyn (pictured in Bristol on Monday) to springboard himself into Number 10 with the support of minor parties
The PM (pictured during a visit to Gardiner Bros in Hardwicke) will say on Tuesday will warn there is a ‘clear and present’ danger of another hung parliament if voters do not back the Conservatives
This latest Conservative broadcast asking people to ‘vote Conservative actually’ comes after Mr Johnson deployed another film reference to steer people away from Labour.
He said voters should swing behind the Tories to avoid waking up in Friday the 13th to see the ‘Nightmare on Downing Street’ – Prime Minister Corbyn.
Although a Labour surge is closing the gap, Mr Johnson is still the frontrunner which the Conservatives hope does not lure their supporters into a false sense of security that he is certain to win.
And in the first December ballot since 1923, they are pinning their hopes on their elderly voters flocking to polling stations in what may be grim weather.
The PM will double down his anti-complacency messaging on Tuesday on a campaign trip to Staffordshire.
Reiterating the memo’s concerns that opposition parties only need 12 seats to put Mr Corbyn in power, he will warn there is a ‘clear and present’ danger of another hung parliament if voters do not back the Conservatives.
He will tell supporters: ‘The danger of another hung parliament is clear and present. There are sophisticated and well-financed attempts underway to prevent a Conservative majority through tactical voting.
‘Jeremy Corbyn and his Lib Dem, nationalist and Green allies need only 12 more seats than last time to make Jeremy Corbyn prime minister and continue the chaos of a hung parliament.
‘A vote for any of these parties is a vote for further indecision and two more referendums, on Brexit and Scottish independence. We’ll be stuck in this limbo, this first circle of hell, for the foreseeable future.
‘On the other hand, the Conservatives need only nine more seats for a majority. We could finally get Brexit done, end the uncertainty and move on.’
‘Hang on, isn’t the doorstep character trying to sleep with his best mate’s wife?’ Twitter mocks Boris Johnson’s choice of Love Actually scene to recreate
by JACK ELSOM for MailOnline
Boris Johnson’s choice of playing a Love Actually character who wanted to sleep with his best friend’s wife raised eyebrows on Twitter after the Tory campaign ad debuted last night.
Online jokers wasted no time in pointing out the PM’s own colourful romantic history as a flood of copycat memes hit the internet.
The advert was among the top trending topics in the UK – and responses were split as to whether it was ‘cringe-making’ or ‘literally the best thing ever’.
The Conservatives’ their final pre-polling day election broadcast recreated a memorable scene from the 2003 rom-com featuring Andrew Lincoln and Keira Knightly.
In it, Lincoln uses a slideshow of placards to tell Knightly he loves her, so not to alert her partner – and his best friend – who is inside.
Thumbs up? Boris Johnson rated his own performance but opinions online were evenly divided
Opinions on the election broadcast differed, actually
Tweets pointed out that another character in Love Actually was the Prime Minister, if the real-life PM needed an alternative role
Viewers were otherwise mixed in their responses to the Conservative party election broadcast, with some hailing the good-humoured stunt while others deplored it as toe-curling cringe.
Predictably, Twitter users leaped upon the name of the film and referenced it in their remarks, which ranged from ‘cringe, actually’ to ‘now that is really good, actually!’
The Prime Minister himself tweeted the video with the caption ‘Brexit, actually’, which quickly racked up thousands of likes and half a million views.
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, the Labour candidate for Tooting, accused the PM of copying her after she too emulated the 2003 Christmas rom-com.
She edited a screenshot of Mr Johnson’s placards so they instead read: ‘I have no original ideas so copied Rosena’s video.’
Inevitably, lots of people found it easy to superimpose their own messages on the white placards Mr Johnson was holding in the video
Viewers were mixed in their responses to the Conservative party election broadcast, with some hailing the good-humoured stunt while others deplored it as toe-curling cringe
The PM’s range of facial expressions, from stern through concerned to a form of happy, drew praise from one Twitter user
Many people praised the Tory leader for injecting a little fun into an otherwise divisive election campaign.
One person wrote: ‘Laughter is the best medicine. Like the PM or not, that’s the best political ad ever.’ Another said: ‘Finally a political broadcast that’s quite amusing.’
But some tore into Mr Johnson for taking a sledgehammer to their favourite festive film which they said they would struggle to watch again after watching the PM star in one of the most famous scenes.
A tweeter wrote: ‘A great Christmas film ruined, as if selling off the NHS isn’t bad enough.’
Inevitably, lots of people found it easy to superimpose their own messages on the white placards Mr Johnson was holding in the video.
One person wrote conjured up a meme of the PM holding a billboard reading: ‘No Brexit plan just going to keep saying nonsense until we all die.’
Another simply stated: ‘Hugh Grant wore it better.’
One person wrote conjured up a meme of the PM holding a billboard reading: ‘No Brexit plan just going to keep saying nonsense until we all die’
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, the Labour candidate for Tooting, accused the PM of copying her after she too emulated the 2003 Christmas rom-com
‘It’s not a “commie hat”, it’s a cap!’ Jeremy Corbyn reads out mean tweets about his clothes and freebie-filled manifesto in spoof election video
Jeremy Corbyn has joined Boris Johnson in releasing a spoof video which shows the Labour leader reading our nasty tweets about himself.
In a video entitled ‘Mean Tweets with Jeremy Corbyn’, the left-winger replicated a format popularised by US late-night chat host Jimmy Kimmel.
In the clip, the Labour leader sat by a fireplace and read out critical tweets about him and his campaign.
Mr Corbyn replied: ‘What is a commie hat? I wear a cap! It’s a bit like when I was told I was riding a Maoist bicycle. It’s a bicycle!’
In a video entitled ‘Mean Tweets with Jeremy Corbyn’, the left-winger replicated a format popularised by US late-night chat host Jimmy Kimmel
The next tweet took a swipe at one of Labour’s most eye-watering spending splurges to provide free broadband.
It read: ‘Every household doesn’t need the fastest broadband, you absolute moby.’
Mr Corbyn replied: ‘What’s a moby?’ but the video suddenly cuts off and appears to buffer, but is actually part of the clip as ‘no more buffering with Labour broadband’ flashes up on screen.
To the laughter of aides behind the camera, the Labour leader then shrugs off a question about being found ‘sexy’.
He was then taken to task on his pledge to provide free university tuition tree, and accused of rummaging for funds in the ‘magic money tree’.
Mr Corbyn retorted by telling viewers there was a magic money tree ‘in the Cayman Islands’.
The Labour leader ended the video with a high-five to someone off-camera and saying he would be the next prime minister.
Jeremy Corbyn’s much-derided ‘magic money tree’ was the focus of one of the Tweets that the Labour leader read out
Labour’s vid ended by declaring their leader the ‘next prime minister’… in response to someone who didn’t know who he was