The Conservative party is quietly pouring extra resources into dozens of Tory-held seats deemed at risk at the next general election, including one with a 17,000 majority.
As many as 200 constituencies held by Conservative MPs have been marked as vulnerable and worthy of extra support from party HQ, including Weston-super-Mare in Somerset.
It demonstrates that the Conservative party is taking a significantly more defensive approach to the election than it has admitted publicly, and that hitherto safe seats with sizeable majorities are now deemed at risk.
Labour has pointed to the wide range of places where it made gains, including the East Midlands, Yorkshire and Essex, as evidence that it was on track to perform well in a general election.
Isaac Levido, the Australian political strategist who is masterminding the Conservative campaign, presented his assessment to cabinet last week and argued that the election would be closer than the polls suggested.
A grassroots survey by the ConservativeHome website found that two-thirds of members thought the party should not target any opposition-held seats and instead be focused on holding as much ground as possible.
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