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UK Voters Ditched Labor over Corbyn’s Leadership, Neutral Brexit Stance

UK Voters Ditched Labor over Corbyn’s Leadership, Neutral Brexit Stance
folder_openEurope... access_time4 years ago
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By Staff, Agencies

Voters ditched Labor over Jeremy Corbyn's leadership and neutral Brexit stance, reveals poll of 2017 supporters who defected this year

The biggest reason that voters ditched the Labor Party at this year's general election was Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, a YouGov poll claims.

Following the left-winger's disastrous performance as Boris Johnson secured a landslide victory, the polling group asked 500 people who backed him in 2017 why they did not this time around.

Labor’s vote share fell by almost 8% this time and 35% of respondents said they didn't back them this year due to Corbyn's leadership.

Just 21% of voters had a favorable view of the Labor leader, compared to 46% after the election two years ago.

Most people did not elaborate on what they thought was wrong with his running of the party, but the perception of a confusing Brexit policy was also a key factor for disillusionment.

One in five people said that the leadership's strategy for the UK leaving the EU was the main reason for defecting.

The data suggest that the frustration was not necessarily because of the stance being too pro-Remain or pro-Leave.

Just three per cent believed it leaned too much toward Remain and six per cent said it was too far toward Leave.

His perceived neutrality on the mater seemed to be the problem, with the pollsters saying it could have made him appear weak and indecisive.

Furthermore, 13% of respondents also said that he'd been too weak on Brexit and not taken a definitive stance.

Tactical voting also hurt the party, with 10% giving it as the reason that they did not vote for Corbyn.

This rose to 15% among pro-EU voters who had left and was the main reason for three per cent of Leave voters who ditched the party.

Corbyn and the Labor leadership have only partially accepted the blame for the party's poor showing at the election with many of his allies having blamed the media and Brexit.

But an Opinion survey, conducted on the day of the election, showed Corbyn and the party leadership was the most cited reason among voters for not backing Labor.

The independent review will seek to assess why the party has failed to win power at four successive elections.

The commissioners behind the probe said it was 'wrong' to blame only the leadership or the position on Brexit for Labor’s heaviest general election loss since 1935 as the party sank to just 202 MPs.

As well as Miliband, who led the party to its 2015 defeat and then stood down as leader, former shadow education secretary Lucy Powell and Birmingham Ladywood MP Shabana Mahmood will also help lead the review.

 

 

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