- Title: Week before British election bookmakers place Conservatives as favourites
- Date: 1st June 2017
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (JUNE 1, 2017) (REUTERS) LADBROKES SPOKESPERSON JESSICA BRIDGE WRITING ELECTION ODDS ON A BLACKBOARD LADBROKES LOGO ON BLACKBOARD / BRIDGE WRITING VARIOUS OF BRIDGE WRITING ODDS CHALKED UP FOR MOST SEATS WON AND ODDS FOR MOST VOTES RECEIVED (SOUNDBITE) (English) LADBROKES SPOKESPERSON, JESSICA BRIDGE, SAYING: "A couple of weeks ago you could have got 1 to 50 on the Tories so they are drifting like a barge right now and that's because all of the momentum is with Labour and Jeremy Corbyn. Loads and loads and loads of punters are piling in thousands of pounds on Jeremy Corbyn causing the biggest political upset we have seen in many, many years." ODDS CHALKED UP FOR MOST VOTES (SOUNDBITE) (English) LADBROKES SPOKESPERSON, JESSICA BRIDGE, SAYING: "The majority one is quite an interesting one because the Tories are quite short here at 1 to 4. So if you wanted to have a bet right now you'd need to bet 4 pounds to win just 1 in return but again those odds were very, very short a week or two ago at 1 to 25, 1 to 33. So right now punters are thinking that the Tories they will get the most votes and the most seats but they could well fall short of that overall majority, so therefore "no majority" has really been a popular bet with punters at 9 to 2 so you wouldn't have to have a lot of money on that to get some returns." JESSICA BRIDGE'S HANDS (SOUNDBITE) (English) LADBROKES SPOKESPERSON, JESSICA BRIDGE, SAYING: "A little nervous you could say bookies across the UK are because we're seeing a lot of similarities here between the last major political betting events. So the US election back end of November last year and Brexit in the summer of last year where we had a similar situation where the outsider was being heavily backed, lots and lots and lots of individual bets but the big money, the hard hitting wagers were going for the favourites and we're seeing a deja vu situation here again with the Tories and Labour. So we are a little bit on our toes you could say that there's another upset on the cards but you'd probably have to think that the Tories will get there, it's just how they are going to get there and how many they are going to get there by." ODDS FOR BORIS JOHNSON AND AMBER RUDD TO BE PRIME MINISTER CHALKED UP (SOUNDBITE) (English) LADBROKES SPOKESPERSON, JESSICA BRIDGE, SAYING: "Theresa May, still the favourite. Jeremy Corbyn has really come in there at 7 to 2. Interestingly Amber Rudd is being backed at the moment. She was 200 to 1 earlier on this week. She's now in to 66 to 1 after her impressive performance on the BBC leaders debate. Her odds have trickled in, bets have been coming in. So Amber Rudd is the one to look out for and I think it's because punters are thinking that even if the Tories do win the election if it's not by enough or not good enough that people might think Theresa May, she's got to stand down, she's called this early, she's actually been a little bit humiliated by it and they are not actually in a better position to negotiate Brexit than when we were two months ago before this election had been called." PEOPLE WALKING NEAR STRATFORD RAILWAY STATION PEOPLE WALKING DOWN STAIRS (SOUNDBITE) (English) CONSERVATIVE VOTER, SANDY KERRISON, SAYING: "Well I think Theresa May will get in but like I said, it will be a close call. That's all I'm saying." (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNDECIDED VOTER, ADAM DALE, SAYING: "I'm undecided. Ultimately I don't really know what anybody stands for. It all feels like a pack of lies. Anything never seems to come to fruition. So you don't know where to go do you?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) LABOUR VOTER, KHALID LODHI, SAYING: "I am going to vote Labour Party due to fact I am working class because we need a strong economy in this country so that's why the Labour Party is doing that." PEOPLE WALKING IN THE STREET (SOUNDBITE) (English) FIRST TIME VOTER, AALIA VALJI, SAYING: "To be honest I haven't been following, it's been Ramadan and there has been other things going on. I haven't voted before so it's going to be my first time voting and I feel really passionate about it so this time it's going to be Labour." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE IN STREET
- Embargoed: 15th June 2017 14:44
- Keywords: politics odds gambling Conservatives campaign Theresa May Jeremy Corbyn Election Labour betting
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK
- City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK
- Country: United Kingdom
- Reuters ID: LVA0016JG5MBR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:With one week to go until Britain's general election, the odds on who will triumph have been changing rapidly as the Labour party closes in on the Conservatives.
Bookmakers Ladbrokes said on Thursday (June 1) that the Conservative party were still favourites to win the election, despite the polls narrowing between the government and the opposition.
However, they said that they had seen a flurry of gamblers backing a shock Labour win.
"Loads and loads and loads of punters are piling in thousands of pounds on Jeremy Corbyn causing the biggest political upset we have seen in many, many years," spokesperson Jessica Bridge said.
She added that bookmakers were nervous about a Labour victory, after the party's odds had dropped dramatically since the start of the campaign.
"We're seeing a lot of similarities here between the last major political betting events so the US election back end of November last year and Brexit in the summer of last year where we had a similar situation where the outsider was being heavily backed, lots and lots and lots of individual bets," Bridge said.
British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble on a snap election is in question after the latest opinion polls showed her Conservative party's lead was dwindling.
In the strongest signal yet that the election is much closer than previously thought, May's lead has collapsed from 24 points since she surprised both rivals and financial markets on April 18 by calling the election.
A YouGov survey showed May's lead at a fresh low of 3 percentage points with the opposition Labour party polling 39 percent against the Conservatives' 42 percent. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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