Jeremy Corbyn lacks support from union members, says YouGov poll

Left Foot Forward

Majority think Labour leader is doing a bad job and should resign

 

Jeremy Corbyn is ‘doing badly’ and should resign as Labour leader, according to new polling of trade union members, with a majority saying Corbyn will never be Prime Minister.

The results come as Labour’s National Executive Committee meets today to rule on whether Corbyn should be on the ballot in a leadership contest.

YouGov polled 1,221 members of the country’s five biggest trade unions – Unite, Unison, GMB, USDAW and CWU, all affiliated to the Labour Party – and found a majority lack confidence in Corbyn’s leadership.

On average, nearly two thirds (63 per cent) said Corbyn was ‘doing badly’, with just a third (33 per cent) saying he was ‘doing well’.

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Just 24 per cent said Labour would win a general election under Corbyn, against 69 per cent who said Labour would lose.

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Over three quarters, or 76 per cent, said it was unlikely Corbyn would ever be Prime Minister.

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Further, respondents believe Labour would fare better in an election with a different leader…

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…with 45 per cent saying Corbyn should step down now.

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If Corbyn makes it onto the ballot, the chances of union members voting for him is a close run thing. The poll finds 38 per cent would back the incumbent, against 35 who would not.

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As these tables show, the results were consistent across the five unions. YouGov used TUC membership data to use a representative sample.

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey dismissed the results of the poll. As Labour List reports, he told the BBC ‘These kinds of polls can be twisted and interpreted in many different ways.’

See: Labour must win power to bring progressive change – and Jeremy Corbyn should say so

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4 Responses to “Jeremy Corbyn lacks support from union members, says YouGov poll”

  1. Boffy

    Is it any surprise there are bad results when right-wing members of the PLP are continually on the TV and Tory media attacking him? How many of the union members think that Labour would win whoever was Leader? What are the comparative figures for Angela Eagle, given her support for the Iraq War, Student Fees, ID Cards, and refusal to oppose the Tories Welfare Bill last year?

  2. CR

    Well lets have a straight forward contest between Corbyn and Eagle and see who wins !!!

  3. pgjallan

    Corbyn might be a principled. Sadly, he is neither electable nor credible

  4. Steve Masters

    I don’t trust the stats here. For example, I think he is right not to stand down (for the sake of the mandate that elected him) BUT I think he is doing badly as leader. In the past few days, he has become more visible and more vocal, so he could do better.

    Interestingly, in this data, the majority say Labour would lose the election even if Corbyn is not in charge, so there shouldn’t really be any clamour for him to resign if people think they won’t get elected anyway. Better to have an honest politician in opposition, fighting for the common people, than a privileged person who wants to swill at the Westminster trough.

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