Jeremy Corbyn would reduce Labour's chances of winning the next election, poll reveals
A victory for Jeremy Corbyn in the Labour leadership race will reduce the party's chances of winning the next election, a poll for
The Independent on Sunday reveals.
As ballot papers arrive for more than 600,000 members and supporters, the wider electorate thinks Mr Corbyn stands the least chance of returning Labour to power in 2020, the ComRes poll shows. In a dramatic twist, David Miliband, defeated by his brother in 2010, would stand the most chance of winning for Labour.
With Mr Corbyn still the odds-on favourite to win on 12 September,
The IoS has learnt that his team has already begun preparing his shadow cabinet. He is planning to make John McDonnell, the leader of the Socialist Campaign Group who stood against challenged Gordon Brown in 2007, shadow Chancellor, a source revealed. Mr Corbyn’s aides have also sounded out Tom Watson, the front-runner for deputy leader, for a party management role.
As many as nine members of Labour’s current Shadow Cabinet are ready to quit if the Islington North MP wins, and many MPs are preparing to join the Labour for the Common Good group, set up by Chuka Umunna and Tristram Hunt, which aims to bring together the soft left, old right, Brownites and Blairites as a moderate pressure group in anticipation of a Corbyn victory.
Liz Kendall, who is fourth in the polls, said her supporters could “hold their heads up and be proud” of what they believed in, despite a campaign of personal abuse against the candidate and anyone who backed her. Ms Kendall said a Labour councillor had told her he had been threatened with deselection if he voted for her.
In what could be seen as a valedictory message, she told her supporters via this newspaper: “Hold your heads up high and be proud of what you believe in. It is your party, too. Don’t be intimidated into thinking you shouldn’t express those views for fear of being attacked. That is not the kind of party we are. Just be proud, it is our party and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
The MP for Leicester West added: “What is really heartening is the many party members who believe in having a modern, credible Labour Party and are desperate for us to talk to the public and not just ourselves, and who want to see a leader who can fight the Tories and get us elected.
“There are many tolerant, sensible Labour Party members who need a voice and need someone to represent their views and that is what I am doing.”
The ComRes poll finds 31 per cent of voters think that Mr Corbyn would worsen Labour’s chances if he became leader, as against 21 per cent who say he would improve them, an overall score of -10. Out of the leadership candidates, Andy Burnham is best placed to improve Labour’s chances, on +5, followed by Yvette Cooper on -3 and Ms Kendall on -6. But the potential leader with the best rating is David Miliband, who quit British politics two years ago, with an overall score of +11.
The poll finds that more than twice as many British adults think that Mr Corbyn as Prime Minister would make the state of the British economy worse rather than better (36 per cent versus 14 per cent); while three times as many think he would make Britain’s standing around the world worse rather than better (37 per cent to 11 per cent).
The only aspect that voters think would be improved under a Corbyn premiership is the railways, with 23 per cent thinking they would be better compared to with 22 per cent who think they would be worse.
The poll also gives the Conservatives an 11-point lead over Labour on general election voting intention, at with 40 per cent to 29 per cent.
Separately, the results of a survey, based on phone-bank data for one campaign and seen by
The IoS, suggest that Ms Cooper is picking up support from undecided voters. The figures put Mr Corbyn on 40 per cent, with Ms Cooper second on 17 per cent, and Andy Burnham third on 15 per cent. Ms Kendall has only 7 per cent of support. Some 21 per cent said they were undecided, but the figures suggest that Mr Burnham is losing votes to Mr Corbyn and some of the undecided are switching to Ms Cooper.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...-the-next-election-poll-reveals-10457458.html