article_snippet.sent: A private poll, paid for by a Ukip donor but carried out by experts ComRes put the Conservatives on course to retain the seat by a small margin.
article_snippet.sent: May. The poll put the Conservatives on 31 per cent, Ukip on 30 per cent and Labour on 29 per cent in the seat, where Tory MP Laura Sandys – a moderate, pro-European - is standing down.
article_snippet.sent: The Labour vote has shot up in the past month triggering fears in Ukip that Mr Farage could finish in third place.
article_snippet.sent: A poll in February, heavily publicised by Ukip, put Mr Farage on course to win.
article_snippet.sent: The Labour vote has dropped in recent months, having shot up after The Labour vote topped the poll in last year's European elections.
article_snippet.sent: Pundits now predict The Labour vote will win a maximum of five seats in Westminster including that of Tory defector Douglas Carswell in Clacton, Essex.
highlights_snippet.sent: A private poll by Ukip has put the Tories on course to retain the seat .
  