NEW POLL: Jeremy Corbyn is more popular with Labour members than Smith and Eagle put together
- YouGov poll of Labour members: Corbyn 54% / Eagle 21% / Smith 15%
- Incumbent Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is currently more popular than his challengers put together.
- Owen Smith, who is set to stand against Corbyn alone, is the LEAST popular of the lot.
Matthew Horwood / Getty ImagesOwen Smith.If Labour rebels didn't realise how tough it is going to be to remove Jeremy Corbyn as the leader of the political party, then they will do now.
A YouGov survey of Labour members who are eligible to vote in the upcoming election indicates that Corbyn's popularity shows no sign of waning whatsoever. In fact, more respondents intend to vote for Corbyn than Angela Eagle and Owen Smith put together.
The results of the YouGov poll - which was conducted for The Times newspaper - show that a whopping 54% of Labour members plan to vote for the under-pressure Labour leader. Angela Eagle and Owen Smith, who are standing against Corbyn as moderate alternatives, managed just 36% of the vote between them - 21% for Eagle, and 15% for Smith.
This ought to be really concerning for the Labour rebels. Especially given that Owen Smith - who as Business Insider reported on Monday is set to receive the support of more MPs than Eagle and as a result challenge Corbyn alone - is the least popular of the bunch. Eagle could drop out of the race as soon as 5 p.m. (BST) on Tuesday, according to the New Stateman's George Eaton.
Plus, the survey collected responses from Labour members who are eligible to vote in the contest. This means that the decision to charge members of less than six months £25 to take part doesn't appear to have damaged Corbyn's support in a significant way.
In head to head contests, the news is no better for Smith and Eagle, according to YouGov:
- Corbyn 58% / Eagle 34%
- Corbyn 56% / Smith 34%
Of course, all is not lost for the "Save Labour" faction of the party. There are still over two months until Labour members vote and Smith has plenty of time to put forward his case for why he should be the opposition leader.
But these figures reflect really badly on how the coup against Corbyn has been organised. After weeks of repeatedly making the bold promise to "save" the party, all the rebels have to show for their efforts is one candidate who is pretty well-known but is deeply unpopular and another who is even more unpopular and known by barely anyone.
What remains clear is that the disconnect between the parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) and Labour membership is severe and seemingly only getting worse. In The Times/YouGov survey of 1,019 Labour members, 44% said they would definitely vote for Corbyn in the upcoming election. This number is up 8% since two weeks ago.
As things stand, there is no possible outcome of this leadership contest which will bring Labour MPs and the party's support together. Rather than uniting the party, the leadership election is looking more likely push Labour closer to the brink of collapse.