ELECTION 2017 GRIPPING NEWS, RIVETING VIEWS AND THE MOST TELLING INSIGHTS
PM roars away from ‘Steptoe’ Corbyn in leadership stakes
THERESA MAY is Helen Mirren in The Queen, sitting behind the wheel of a Jaguar – with ‘Steptoe’ Jeremy Corbyn rattling along behind in a Reliant Robin. At least that is how voters see the two leaders, who stepped up a gear in the Election campaign yesterday.
If Mr Corbyn pulls off a shock by driving Labour to victory on June 8, two-fifths of voters will feel like emigrating. By contrast, a May coronation will be widely celebrated.
To rub it in, the Prime Minister is seen as a ‘labrador’ dog, known as friendly and reliable, while Mr Corbyn is seen as a scruffy ‘stray’. Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, meanwhile, is a ‘poodle’ in a Ford Fiesta.
The responses to light-hearted questions in a Survation poll for The Mail on Sunday underline the sharply different images of the respective party leaders.
And they are mirrored by the way Mrs May is streets ahead of her Labour rival when their fitness for high office is assessed.
She beats Mr Corbyn by a huge margin as best to negotiate Brexit, deal with an international crisis and manage the economy. Even more damagingly for her rival, Mrs May is also seen as more likely to ‘promote a fair society’ – trumpeted by Labour as a crucial part of Mr Corbyn’s appeal to voters.
The poll invited voters to say which of four TV or film characters Mrs May reminded them of: Miss Mirren’s Queen Elizabeth, Penelope Keith’s Margo in To The Manor Born, Patricia Routledge’s Hyacinth in Keeping Up Appearances, and Cruella de Vil in Walt Disney’s 101 Dalmatians.
The options for Mr Corbyn were rag-and-bone man Albert Steptoe, played by Wilfrid Brambell in Steptoe And Son; Buster Merryfield’s Uncle Albert in Only Fools And Horses; John Le Mesurier’s Sergeant Wilson in Dad’s Army, and Inspector Morse, as played by John Thaw. Mrs May was first choice when asked who voters would want to ‘babysit their child’, ‘pay back a £5 loan’, ‘be stuck in a lift with’ and ‘invite to a dinner party’. Mr Corbyn was first choice to ‘go to the pub with’ and to ‘help fix a broken tap’.
But Mrs May did not fare as well on some of the more serious questions. Asked if her Uturn on calling a snap election had made them think worse of her, 36 per cent said yes, against 21 per cent who said it had improved her standing. Similarly, nearly one in two said she was wrong to refuse to take part in a head-to-head TV debate with Mr Corbyn and Mr Farron. Just over one in three said she was right to turn it down.
While most trust Mrs May to make the right decision about Brexit negotiations, the poll offers clear evidence they do not support a ‘hard Brexit’, whereby Britain quits the EU with no deal. A total of 56 per cent said it would be ‘bad’ to leave with no deal, double the 28 per cent who said it would be ‘good’.
The poll also indicates Labour could run the Tories close if they were led by former Foreign Secretary David Miliband. When Labour voters were asked if they would be more likely to vote for the party under Mr Miliband, they said ‘yes’ by a margin of 42 per cent to 20.
Second favourite is Ed Balls’s wife, Yvette Cooper (28/20), followed by Chuka Umunna (26/22).
Nothing sums up Mr Corbyn’s public standing more than the response to the question: ‘How will you feel if you wake up on June 8 and see victorious PM Corbyn?’
A total of 41 per cent said they would ‘feel like emigrating’.