Poll: Voters believe Labour more divided than ever

The majority of voters believe the Labour party is more divided now than it has ever been, according to a new poll.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and leadership challenger Owen Smith. Picture: John Devlin

The ComRes poll for the Sunday Mirror and Independent - released today after Jeremy Corbyn’s re-election as party leader with an increased mandate - suggests the wider electorate continues to be at odds with Labour party members.

The survey found that 39 per cent of respondents believed the party had been “taken over by the hard left” compared to 25 per cent who disagreed.

Just 16 per cent believed that Labour would win a future general election under Corbyn’s leadership. 65 per cent said they thought the Conservatives under Theresa May would emerge as likely victors of an election.

• READ MORE: Kezia Dugdale: Corbyn facing ‘difficult task’ to unite Labour

The poll was conducted before the winner of the leadership battle was announced, but 38 per cent of those who voted believed Owen Smith had a better chance of leading the party into government that Corbyn by margin of 38 per cent to 31 per cent.

The ComRes poll also found that Corbyn was the least prefered choice for leading the country out of the EU. 19 per cent believed it was the best person to conclude the Brexit negotiations compared to 56 per cent for the Prime Minister.

Mr Corbyn did score well for taking politics outside the Westminster bubble, with 41% saying he had managed to do this compared to 24% who said he had not.

ComRes interviewed 2,050 adults on 21-22 September.

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