YouGov survey finds 20 per cent drop in Labour support among those polled in 2016
Voters who earlier this year said they would back Labour but have changed their minds say the party is ‘a shambles’, with Jeremy Corbyn the single biggest reason for their switch.
YouGov contacted 1,000 people who said they would vote Labour when polled earlier in 2016, and found 200 had decided not to vote Labour. These 200 were invited to write a sentence or two about why.
Of these, 29 per cent said ‘I don’t like Jeremy Corbyn as leader’ – the largest single reason by a margin of 11 per cent.
Next down on the list was that ‘Labour are a shambles’ (18 per cent), followed by ‘No confidence in Labour at the moment’ (12 per cent) and ‘Labour are too divided’ (ten per cent).
Seven per cent blamed Labour’s handling of Brexit and/or the EU referendum, while ten per cent said they did not know how to vote.
YouGov created a ‘world cloud’ using respondents’ answers based on frequency of words used:
Still, the results give ammunition to both sides of the party.
Supporters of Corbyn can blame MPs’ resignations, vote of no-confidence and leadership challenge for the impression of Labour as a ‘shambles’ and ‘divided’.
Corbyn’s critics will say that 29 per cent blaming his leadership for their changed minds adds to evidence Corbyn is more popular among party members than with the general public.
Ballot papers went out yesterday for the Labour Party leadership election.
Jeremy Corbyn’s support inside the party is likely to see him defeat challenger Owen Smith and be re-elected as leader in time for party conference in September.
Smith was endorsed this week by London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale.
Trade union endorsements are split between the two candidates, but among the biggest unions, Corbyn is backed by Unite and Unison, while Smith is backed by GMB and USDAW.
See: Jeremy Corbyn is behind Theresa May among Labour supporters
See: Diane Abbott: Jeremy Corbyn’s vision can win a general election
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14 Responses to “Voters abandon ‘shambles’ Labour – with Jeremy Corbyn their top reason”
Trevor
Labour has 600,000 members mostly from when Corbyn took over. Is that the vote of no-confidence? cf Tories have 150,000.
George H
Trevor, trouble is although we now have 600,000 members only 16,000 could be bothered to turnout to vote at the CLP nomination meetings for JC.
Nigel Grant
Hello George,
I think you need to be made aware of the underhand tactics of the right wing within the Labour Party. I wanted to cast a vote for Corbyn at my local CLP nomination meeting and even went along and stood outside in silent protest. I was told that the nomination meeting only involved CLP officers who would vote on behalf of every member in the constituency. Therefore approximately 60 – 80 Labour Party were disenfranchised. Corbyn would have received the nomination but because the meeting was so controlled by Progress members Owen Smith got the nomination. This was not an isolated experience. Many Corbyn supporters have been excluded from voting in the Leadership election. I for one will not remain silent.
Derek Emery
To bring this up to date here is the latest YouGov poll ‘Corbyn loses support among Labour party membership’ https://yougov.co.uk/news/2016/06/30/labour-members-corbyn-post-brexit/