Labour leadership race: Latest polls put Keir Starmer in lead but will Corbyn support him
KEIR STARMER is the clear favourite to replace Jeremy Corbyn and take on the leadership of the Labour Party according to the latest polls.
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Jeremy Corbyn was dealt a devastating blow following the December general election where the Labour Party suffered a crushing defeat. In the wake of the catastrophic election, Mr Corbyn announced he would step down as leader and would not lead the Labour Party through another election. A number of candidates have been suggested for his replacement, but what exactly does the latest poll reveal?
In the December 12 general election, Labour suffered an embarrassing blow when the party lost 60 seats.
The Labour Party won just 202 seats, making it their worst result for nearly a century.
By comparison, the Conservative Party led by Boris Johnson won a massive 48 seats, resulting in the party’s largest majority since 1987.
In the wake of the election, a YouGov poll published on December 23 found Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership was the main reason why voters switched from Labour in 2017 to other parties in 2019.
In total, 35 percent claimed Mr Corbyn’s leadership was the reason for their defection meaning the favourability he gained in 2017 has since clearly been lost.
READ MORE: Labour battle: Starmer favourite - but support craters among Leavers
The second most popular reason in the survey of almost 500 voters showed that Labour’s decision to remain neutral about Brexit hurt the party.
Overall, 19 percent of voters said Brexit was the main reason for their defection.
Brexit created difficulties for the Labour campaign with Jeremy Corbyn facing backlash throughout the election for failing to back either a pro-Brexit or pro-Remain stance.
Other reasons for defecting included the party’s policies and economic competence, tactical voting and extremism.
Sir Keir Starmer has emerged as an early frontrunner in the Labour Leadership race according to a poll of party members.
The poll revealed Sir Keir was the first choice across all regions of the UK, different age groups and social classes.
The Shadow Brexit secretary has not yet announced his intention to enter the race to replace Mr Corbyn, but is expected to do so in the next few weeks.
The YouGov poll figures show what the first round candidates may look like.
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The results are as follows:
- Sir Keir Starmer: 31 percent
- Rebecca Long-Bailey: 20 percent
- Jess Philips: 11 percent
- Yvette Cooper: Seven percent
- Clive Lewis: Seven percent
- Emily Thornberry: Six percent
- Lisa Nandy: Five percent
Over the last three weeks, Sir Keir and Rebecca Long Bailey have been seen as more or less joint favourites for the leadership.
However, the latest poll reveals Sir Keir is more likely to win.
He is seen as a likely winner because he is well-regarded by the public at large and “looks like a credible PM” according to voters.
However, Ms Long Bailey is deemed as likely contender because she is highly regarded among the Corbynites at the party’s helm.
It has been assumed that if she were to throw her hat into the ring, she would receive Mr Corbyn’s endorsement for the top position.
The YouGov figures suggest there would be more than six rounds of voting with Lisa Nandy being the first to drop out after the first round of voting.
The YouGov poll suggests the next to fall out of the race would be Ms Thornberry followed by Clive Lewis.
Yvette Cooper would be the next to be eliminated according to YouGov, with Jess Philips to be the next to decide to leave the race.
Remaining in the two-person race would be Sir Keir and Ms Long Bailey, with YouGov predicting the former would walk away with around 61 percent of the vote, winning the leadership position.