Hapless Jeremy Corbyn set for landslide Labour leadership win as new poll of members puts him 24 points clear of Owen Smith
Despite string of gaffes the veteran leftie is still on course for an even bigger victory than last year
HAPLESS Jeremy Corbyn is set for a landslide win in the Labour leadership as new poll of members puts him 24 points clear of challenger Owen Smith
Despite a string of gaffes including the #traingate row with Sir Richard Branson, the veteran leftie is still on course for an even bigger victory than his first one last year.
A YouGov survey for of those entitled to vote in the contest puts the current Labour leader on 62%, with Pontypridd MP Mr Smith trailing on 38%.
Mr Corbyn received just shy of 60% of the vote when he was elected to the job in September 2015.
And the poll puts the 67-year-old ahead in all three groups of people who are eligible to take part in the vote.
It found that 52% of full members intend to back Mr Corbyn compared to 40% for Mr Smith.
Meanwhile, among registered supporters it was 70% to 25% in favour of Mr Corbyn, and he also has the backing of the union affiliates by 54% to 33%.
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But the poll also highlights how much the party’s membership has shifted since the 2015 General Election, and when former leader Ed Miliband altered the rules on joining.
Among those who were members before May 2015, a whopping 86% back Mr Smith.
But the huge influx of 450,000 new members since then, are helping to propel Mr Corbyn to victory when the result is announced on September 24.
The also show that his support is broadly consistent amongst all age groups.
Despite it being assumed he is only popular amongst younger members, his ratings are 61% amongst 18 to 24-year-olds, but 64% amongst 25 to 39-year-olds and 63% amongst 40 to 59-year-olds.
And he has a major advantage with women, with a 67% backing of female voters to 57% among male members.
It comes after he launched his digital strategy yesterday with the help of his IRA-sympathising communist pal Richard Barbrook.