Jeremy Corbyn still has the backing of a majority of Labour members, and would currently beat either of his leadership rivals.
The Labour leadership election is finally underway, following controversies about exactly who should be on the ballot and who should be allowed to vote. So far both Angela Eagle and Owen Smith have stepped up to challenge Jeremy Corbyn in the wake of the no confidence vote amongst MPs that followed the fallout of the referendum result. It is however expected that just one candidate will emerge as the “Stop Corbyn” candidate, depending on levels of support amongst MPs.
As the Labour leadership election kicks off, a new YouGov poll for The Times puts Jeremy Corbyn in pole position to retain his leadership.
With all three candidates on the ballot paper, Corbyn gets the support of 54% of Labour members. Angela Eagle comes second on 21%, with Owen Smith trailing on 15%.
Given it is likely that only one of Eagle and Smith will contest the election, we also tested how Corbyn would fare in head to head match ups against them both. He leads Angela Eagle by a margin of 58%-34% and Owen Smith by a margin of 56%-34%.
The proportion of the membership that think he is doing well as leader has increased to 55% from 51% at the end of June, but remains significantly down on the 72% that thought he was doing well in May.
The nominated candidates are expected to be confirmed on Wednesday evening, with the campaign taking place over the summer and the result announced at a special conference on the 24th of September.
Image: PA
