Labour leadership candidate Jeremy Corbyn MP has stormed ahead of his rivals in the latest YouGov poll just days before the ballot papers go out to decide Britain’s new opposition leader.
New research has found that Corbyn – the darling of Labour hard-left – has increased his lead to 53 per cent, a jump of nearly 10 points in recent weeks. Second place Andy Burnham has slipped to 21, while Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall languish on 18 and eight respectively.
According to the research, Corbyn’s lead jumps a further one point after Kendall’s votes are second preference assigned, and in the final round, between Corbyn and Burnham, the former would win by 60 to 40 per cent.
The news has led to elation from Conservative Party members and the party’s supporters, with UKIP’s MP Douglas Carswell taking to Twitter to exclaim: “Yay! Yay! Just Yay” – celebrating the same treatment received from the establishment by his party leader Nigel Farage.
Interestingly, YouGov notes:
Among full members, who pay a monthly fee, Jeremy Corbyn’s support is slightly weaker, (49% of first preferences compared to 67% for trade union affiliates and 55% of £3 sign-ups).
Corbyn’s support is weakest among full members who joined before Ed Miliband became leade. Those who joined as members after Labour’s loss in May are strongly supportive of Corbyn (63% give him their first preference vote).
And…
Women who are eligible to vote are dramatically more likely to vote for Corbyn than men in the first stage (61% compared to 48% respectively). Andy Burnham does better among men (24% compared to 17% of women)
The news comes just a day after Conservative Home columnist argued that it would be in the best interests of Blairites, the anathema of Corbyn within the Labour Party, to join the Conservatives. He cited few differences between the parties as a core rationale.
The small-c conservative columnist Peter Hitchens noted on Sunday that Corbyn may not be the push over that the Conservative Party and its supporters hope, as previously argued on Breitbart London.
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