The least popular Opposition leader since records began still thinks he can win
Poll gives Corbyn approval rating of minus 60 as anti-semitism row derails his campaign launch
‘They’ll fight harder and dirtier than ever before. They’ll throw everything at us, because they know we’re not afraid to take them on’
JEREMY CORBYN insisted the forthcoming election was “not about me” as he said he could win despite being the most unpopular Opposition leader since records began.
Launching his general election campaign, Mr Corbyn tried to shrug off questions about his personal performance, and insisted “it’s not a presidential election”.
He was speaking after an Ipsos MORI poll found just 16 per cent of people were satisfied with the Labour leader, compared with 76 per cent who were dissatisfied. The net score of minus 60 is the worst for any Opposition leader since satisfaction ratings began 42 years ago.
Mr Corbyn confirmed Labour would delay Brexit yet again if elected, but said it was possible to renegotiate a deal with the EU and then hold a second referendum all in the space of six months – a claim dismissed as “laughable” by the Tories. He also refused to say how he would vote in a second referendum or whether he would stand down as Labour leader if he lost on Dec 12.
The campaign launch at the Battersea Arts Centre in south London was overshadowed by a fresh row over antisemitism, as a senior rabbi urged Jewish voters to vote tactically against Labour and one of the party’s oldest affiliated groups, the Jewish Labour Movement, said it would not campaign in the election.
Jonathan Romain said Mr Corbyn would pose a threat to “Jewish life as we know it”, and urged Jewish voters to “vote for whichever party is most likely to defeat Labour”.
In his speech, Mr Corbyn set out to portray the Tories as “tax-dodgers” and the part of the “establishment elite”.
“They’ll fight harder and dirtier than ever before,” he said. “They’ll throw everything at us because they know we’re not afraid to take them on.
“So we’re going after the tax dodgers, we’re going after the dodgy landlords, we’re going after the bad bosses.”
Mr Corbyn hit out at the Lib Dems for pledging to revoke Article 50, describing the strategy as a “parliamentary stitch-up”.
The Ipsos MORI poll found Boris Johnson had improved his satisfaction ratings, with 46 per cent of adults now satisfied with his performance as Prime Minister compared with 44 per cent dissatisfied, a net rating of plus two – the best for any party leader since 2017.
Overall the Conservatives have a 17-point lead over Labour.
A Yougov poll, meanwhile, found that the age at which a voter was more likely to have voted Tory than Labour, is now 40, down from 47 at the 2017 election. It also found Labour had lost many young voters since the last election, most notably to the Green Party.
Labour is polling poorly with older people, too. Just nine per cent of those over 70 plan to vote Labour in the next election, while the Conservatives can count on 58 per cent of people in this age bracket to support them.
As well as accusing the Tories of “economic vandalism”, Mr Corbyn questioned the probity of Mr Johnson and Sajid Javid, the Chancellor, challenging them to publish their tax returns. “The big question of this election is, whose side are you on?” he told supporters. “Are you on the side of the tax dodgers who are taking us all for a ride, people who think it’s OK to rip people off and hide their money in tax havens so they can have a new super yacht?
“Or are you on the side of the children with special educational needs who aren’t getting the support they deserve because of Tory and Lib Dem government cuts?”
Mr Corbyn refused to answer whether he would serve a full five years as prime minister if elected, instead saying: “I love doing the job, I love campaigning,” and “I would be so proud to lead a Labour government”.
He also refused to say whether all members of the shadow cabinet would keep their jobs after the election.
Mr Corbyn appeared to soften the party’s stance on private schools, saying: “We will make sure that all these private schools, calling themselves ‘public’ schools, will have to pay their taxes”. In September, Labour voted for a plan that would abolish such schools.
After Mr Corbyn, the most unpopular Opposition leader was Michael Foot, at -56 in August 1982.
♦ More than 300,000 people have applied to register to vote in 48 hours. A total of 139,162 applications were submitted on Tuesday, followed by 177,105 on Wednesday. It is the highest and second highest number of applications submitted on a single day this year.