Valleys’ voters want Corbyn to quit – poll
VOTERS in Welsh Labour’s working-class heartlands are more likely to want Jeremy Corbyn to resign as Labour leader than more middle-class areas of Wales, according to an exclusive poll.
The Beaufort Research poll also shows that voters aged 55 and over are more likely to want him to quit than younger people.
Overall, slightly more adults in Wales think he should go (39%) than think he should stay (32%), while another 30% don’t know.
Those most likely to feel he should resign are those living in the Valleys (at 48% compared with 39% overall) and older people, with 48% of the 55-plus age group thinking he should go, compared with 28% of 16 to 34-year-olds.
However, younger people are the age group least likely to be able to comment and most likely to answer “don’t know”.
Mr Corbyn is more popular with the middle classes in Wales (socioeconomic groups ABC1) than with the working classes (C2DEs).
Only 2% more of ABC1s think he should resign than think he should remain as leader, compared with a net majority of 12% saying this among C2DEs.
There are also clear differences in his popularity by age and by region. Among 16 to 34-year-olds, more think he should remain as leader than think he should resign – giving a net majority for him to stay of 7%. Likewise, more people living in Cardiff and south-east Wales think he should stay than go, with a net majority of 3% saying he should remain as leader.
In contrast, there is a clear majority in all other regions saying Jeremy Corbyn should resign, particularly in the south Wales Valleys and north Wales, at 20% and 10% respectively.
Interestingly, half of those living in mid and west Wales (Powys, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion) couldn’t express an opinion – the 50% “don’t knows” in this area, compared with 30% overall, possibly signifies less interest or engagement with the Labour Party in these counties of Wales.
Some 40% of men thought Mr Corbyn should quit against 35% who thought he should not, with 25% saying they didn’t know.
Meanwhile, 37% of women thought he should resign, with 28% saying he shouldn’t and 35% saying they didn’t know.
Welsh speakers were evenly split over whether Mr Corbyn should resign, with 35% saying he should, 35% saying he shouldn’t and 30% saying they didn’t know.
English speakers were more likely to want Mr Corbyn to quit, with 40% wanting him to do so, 30% wanting him to say and 30% saying they didn’t know.
A Welsh Labour spokeswoman said: “Welsh Labour are united and focused ahead of next month’s council elections, campaigning on a fair deal for communities across the country.
“We have a record of innovation and delivery in local authorities across Wales that none of the other parties can come close to matching.”
But a Labour activist who has campaigned in several heartland seats ahead of the council elections said: “These numbers are completely unsurprising to anyone who has campaigned for Labour recently.
“The regularity that Jeremy Corbyn comes up on the doorsteps in our supposed heartlands is shocking. In some areas I’ve canvassed he’s been the top reason for people who have only ever voted Labour to vote against us or not vote at all in next month’s election.
“The irony is that those areas most likely to want Corbyn gone are Labour areas. Working people who need a Labour government are literally voting against us to stop Corbyn.
“It’s deeply frustrating because in Welsh and local government we have a good record in Wales that people accept and understand. Unfortunately that’s being totally undermined by Jeremy’s leadership.”
A Plaid Cymru spokeswoman said: “This study reveals that the problems continue to mount for Jeremy Corbyn and his Labour Party in Wales.
“He is struggling to maintain popularity amongst key demographic groups. It can be no surprise that the Plaid Cymru leader, Leanne Wood, is consistently more popular than Jeremy Corbyn in opinion polls and election disastrous studies. With Labour engulfed by chaos and crisis, Plaid Cymru is putting forward a positive community agenda for May’s local elections.”
The majority of fieldwork took place between February 27 and March 12, with the remainder conducted the following week.
A total of 1,035 interviews were completed and analysed, and weighted to provide a representative cross-section of the adult population in Wales. DISCOVER OUR INTERIOR DESIGN SERVICE ON LIVING, DINING AND BEDROOM, PROUDLY MADE IN ITALY.