What is really going on in politics? Get our daily email briefing straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Polls on the general election are "moving in our direction", Labour chief John McDonnell said today.

The Shadow Chancellor made the comment after two surveys gave the Tories their smallest leads over Labour so far in the election campaign.

Theresa May's party still led Jeremy Corbyn 's by 11 and 13 points, according to the polls by ORB and YouGov respectively.

Two further polls released today by Opinium and ICM put the gap between the two parties at 17 and 19 points.

Mr McDonnell was asked about Labour - and particularly leader Jeremy Corbyn - struggling in the polls by ITV's Peston on Sunday.

He replied: "Don't believe the polls, but let me just be... The polls are moving in our direction anyway. But who can tell."

(Image: Getty)

Addressing his ally Mr Corbyn's low personal ratings he added: "On the doorstep that's not the case. If you saw Jeremy's speech yesterday, the human side of Jeremy... you saw a decent, principled, very strong person, strong on a number of issues over the years."

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn delivered a speech on leadership yesterday highlighted his arrest while campaigning against Apartheid in the 1980s.

Mr Corbyn said: "If leaders go unchallenged, they can make some of the most damaging mistakes. Barely nine months into Theresa May's premiership, there are clear warning signs that she and her closest advisers are slipping into that presidential bunker mentality."

Four polls conducted by independent firms for national newspapers have been published today.

April 30: Four election polls on one Sunday Red = Labour, blue = Tory. See below

A poll by ORB for the Telegraph put Labour on 31% and the Tories on 42%, but gave Theresa May's party the upper hand in Scotland.

A YouGov poll for the Sunday Times put Labour on 31% and the Tories on 44%, a full 10 points narrower than in the firm's last Sunday Times poll a week ago.

But an Opinium poll for the Observer suggested a 17-point gap, despite Labour gaining four points to reach 30%.

And an ICM poll for the Sun on Sunday put the gap at 19 points, though the Tories were down one point on 47% and Labour up one point on 28%.

Both Tory leader Mrs May and Mr McDonnell today pledged not to increase VAT if they win the general election on June 8.

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

The Shadow Chancellor said: "That’s a regressive tax. It falls on some of the poorest and middle earners as well.

"So that’s one guarantee we’re giving."

But Mrs May signalled she will scrap both the 'triple lock' on pensions and the 'tax lock' on income tax and National Insurance.

She said: "We don't want to make specific proposals on taxes unless I'm absolutely sure that I can deliver on those."