A YouGov has suggested Sam Collins and the Liberal Democrats are set to win the Hitchin and Harpenden seat should a General Election be held now.

A new national MRP poll shows 24 Blue Wall seats falling to the Lib Dems - including Bim Afolami's Hitchin constituency.

Mr Afolami currently holds a majority of 6,000 in the seat - down from more than 20,000 under former incumbent Peter Lilley.

In 2019 Mr Collins, who is set to contest the seat again at the next election, finished second to Mr Afolami, leaving the seat on a knife edge at the next General Election.

The poll comes following a host of election wins and growing momentum for the Liberal Democrats. Over the last twelve months, the party has won by-elections in Buckinghamshire, Shropshire, and Devon, winning formerly safe Conservative seats as voters swing behind the Liberal Democrats.

The Liberal Democrats also gained more seats than any other party at the local elections in May - and currently have more councillors in Hitchin and Harpenden than any other party.

Reacting to the poll, Mr Collins said: "This result did not come as a great surprise to me, and it probably won't be a great surprise to many people in our area. It is clear people around here are utterly fed up of being ignored and taken for granted by the Conservative party. 

"This should come as a warning shot to the Tory party that at the next election that the Liberal Democrats are coming for them. 

"We've seen right across the country it's the Liberal Democrats who are best placed to send them a message they can't ignore at the next election. 

"Here in Hertfordshire residents are rejecting in droves the deal they're getting from Boris Johnson's Conservatives. They have failed our local health service, hiked our taxes, pumped sewage into our rivers, sold out our farmers and left our education system worse off for too long. It's time for a change."

Mr Collins added that the Liberal Democrats in Hitchin are campaigning for a fair deal for residents, with the party calling for a tax cut to VAT which would save households an average of £600, a plan to tackle the crisis in local health services and the proper implementation of a windfall tax on oil and gas giants to help families with soaring energy bills. 

Locally the Liberal Democrats are continuing to campaign for a much improved rail service at both Hitchin and Harpenden stations, as well as opposing the expansion of Luton Airport. 

For more on the YouGov Poll results click visit yougov.co.uk

Hitchin & Harpenden projected result 

Lib Dem 41%

Conservative 34%

Labour 15%