Under half of Labour voters back Jeremy Corbyn as leader, poll finds

Political reporter(wp/es):

Under half of Labour voters back leader Jeremy Corbyn for prime minister, a new poll has revealed.

Just 45 per cent of the party’s supporters believe Mr Corbyn is the best prime minister for the country in a head-to-head choice between him or Theresa May.

Among all voters, support for Mr Corbyn slumped to just 14 per cent with Mrs May being backed by 47 per cent of voters.

The survey was carried out by Opinium Research for the Observer newspaper.

But more than a quarter of those asked said they wanted neither leader in number 10.

The findings come as Mr Corbyn faces renewed attacks on his leadership ahead of next month's local elections after Labour lost a Middlesbrough council seat to the Tories in recent days on a by-election swing of 8 per cent.

Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Tom Blenkinsop, a strong critic of Mr Corbyn, said: "We lost due to the leader's name being mentioned on the doorstep as the reason why residents were not voting Labour.

"And I am certain this is not just the case here but across boroughs and constituencies the length and breadth of Great Britain."

When asked which party was most trusted to lead Brexit negotiations, 35 per cent backed the Conservatives, the same as last month, while Labour's rating stayed static on 12 per cent, the newspaper poll said.