Half of Labour members want Corbyn to go – poll
HALF of Labour members think Jeremy Corbyn should step down before the general election, according to a new poll.
The YouGov survey found that 36% of members thought he should stand aside immediately and 14% between now and the election – a total of 50%, compared to the 44% who want Mr Corbyn to lead Labour into the 2020 campaign.
If he was to stand down, the poll suggests it is far from certain the party would choose a successor from the left.
Close Corbyn ally and shadow chancellor John McDonnell was the members’ favourite on 18%, followed by up-and-coming left-winger Clive Lewis on 12%.
But centrists Chuka Umunna and Yvette Cooper were not far behind on 10% and Sir Keir Starmer and Hilary Benn on 9%.
But there seems little chance of him being toppled in a coup if he chooses to stay on.
Some 52% of members said they would definitely vote for him in any leadership election and 38% named him as their first choice for leader – streets ahead of his most-favoured potential rivals Mr Umunna, Mr Lewis and Ms Cooper, all on 8%, and Sir Keir and Mr Benn (7%).
Some 31% of Labour members said they would be “dismayed” if Mr Corbyn remained leader to 2020, while 30% said they would be delighted, 14% happy and 8% upset and 13% said they would not mind.
A majority (60%) said they thought it unlikely that Mr Corbyn would ever become PM, compared to 31% who said it was likely to happen.
But few seemed to think that his removal would give Labour a better chance of victory in 2020 – with 35% saying a win was likely with Corbyn as leader and 36% if he was replaced.
Some 41% said Mr Corbyn should continue as Labour leader even if the party falls 20 points behind the Conservatives in the polls, and 20% said he should stay on if he takes the party to defeat in 2020.
The survey found that 5% of Labour Party members would vote Lib Dem in a general election - rising to 9% of those who have been in the party since before Mr Corbyn became leader and 13% of those who backed Owen Smith in last year’s leadership poll.
More than half of party members (54%) said they approved of Mr Corbyn’s leadership – 35% of them “strongly” – while 37% disapproved. Just over half (51%) said he was doing well as a leader and 47% badly.
Some 53% said he had handled the Brexit issue badly since the referendum and 43% said he had done it well.
More than two-thirds (68%) of Labour members said they would support a second referendum once the Brexit deal is finalised.
YouGov questioned 1,096 Labour Party members between February 27 and March 3.