(File photo/Chinanews.com)

LONDON, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Sterling fell in early dealings Wednesday after a shock opinion poll warned Prime Minister Theresa May could lose her majority in next week's general election.

According to figures released Wednesday by pollsters YouGov, May's Conservatives could end up on June 8 with 310 seats, 16 short of having a majority in the House of Commons. Labour's projected 257 plus minority party seats would add up to 340, creating what would be a minority government of another coalition.

Although the gap between the two big rivals, the Conservatives and Labour, has narrowed, May's party is still on course to win with a majority, but not necessarily the landslide predicted jut a few weeks ago when May called the snap election.

YouGov used a complicated method to work out its latest figures, not based on a single poll, but on the responses of 50,000 people who have taken part in other YouGov polls.

Stefan Shakespeare, CEO of YouGov said that it would only take a small shift in favor of the Conservatives to see them win a healthy majority in the general election.

That has led most political commentators to apply caution to the results, but still they indicate that the runaway victory at one time almost guaranteed can no longer be taken for granted.

Campaigning in the city of Bath in England's West Country, May was asked about the YouGov poll which dominated the front page of the Times newspaper in London.

"The only poll that matters is the one on May 8 when people vote," she said.

The Prime Minister was asked if she would resign if the Conservatives lost their majority next week.

She gave no answer, but said the election was a crucial choice, with her promising to negotiate the best Brexit deal for Britain when negotiations start with Brussels just days after the election.

May also faced criticism for refusing to take part in a live television Wednesday night after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn announced he would, after all, participate. May has consistently said she prefers to meet voters on the campaign trail than take part in a line-up of leaders on television.

Political commentators are now busy analyzing why May's fortunes have slumped in polls.

"May's lead has fallen because she has run an inept, cliched campaign, thinking that a 'strong and stable' slogan could suffice rather than a serious range of thought-out policies," Professor John Tonge, one of Britain's leading experts on political sciences, told Xinhua on Wednesday.

"Labour is winning the campaign, promising items it can ill-afford, partly because Corbyn is coming across better than people imagined. There's still a big difference between winning a campaign and winning an election though. Labour won the campaign in 1987, for example, but still heavily lost the election," added the expert.