Tories concede defeat with 24 hours until general election polls open

A cabinet minister has said Labour is heading for the biggest general election landslide in history, effectively throwing in the towel before polls have even opened.

In an extraordinary admission on the eve of polling day, work and pensions secretary Mel Stride said Sir Keir Starmer is on course to win a Commons majority with more seats than Sir Tony Blair in 1997.

That would leave the Tories with a handful of MPs and facing the danger of extinction. He alluded to the 1931 election in which Labour leader Ramsey Macdonald led the National Government to victory with a record 492 majority.

Mr Stride also said the opinion polls suggested Labour would win by a bigger margin than Sir Tony’s 178-seat majority, which saw Labour secure 418 seats..

, he said people should back the Tories as