Voters in Valleys want Corbyn to quit, poll reveals

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 a new poll.

The Beaufort Research poll shows those most likely to feel he should resign are those living in the South Wales Valleys (at 48% compared with 39% overall).

By contrast, more people living in Cardiff & South East Wales think he should stay than go, with a net majority of 3% saying he should remain as leader.

The 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.

Mr Corbyn is more popular with the middle classes in Wales (socio-economic 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.

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 studies.”

A Welsh Labour spokeswoman said: “Welsh Labour are united and focussed 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 disastrous leadership.”

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.