Labour should not have appealed High Court decision, say LabourList readers

Labour should not have launched the appeal against the High Court ruling on membership freeze dates, according to LabourList readers.

The appeal proved successful yesterday, meaning that people who joined the Labour Party after January this year (a number thought to be more than 130,000) will not be eligible to vote in the leadership contest, unless they paid £25 to become a registered supporter last month.

Labour’s appeal was opposed by Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign, with Shadow Chancellor saying he was “appalled” by the idea. He described the move as “unacceptable”.

It appears they have plenty of grassroots opinion on their side: 75 per cent of readers who took part in this week’s LabourList survey say the party should not have lodged an appeal against the initial court ruling on the matter. Just 22 per cent of those who took part said they supported the appeal.

Almost two-thirds of those surveyed said that it will be policy, not leadership skills, that determines who they will vote for in the leadership contest.

After a series of big policy announcements from both Jeremy Corbyn and Owen Smith in recent weeks, 64 per cent of readers said that the policies would be what helps them decide between the two. While Smith has made policy a large part of his leadership bid, he has also put a lot of focus on Corbyn’s style of leadership, but it seems this may have had a limited effect: just 22 per cent say leadership skills will be how they come to their decision.

Three Labour candidates were selected for metro mayor elections this week: Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester, Steve Rotheram in the Liverpool region, and Siôn Simon in the West Midlands.

Our readers believe that Labour will win in all three of those elections next year.

An overwhelming 76 per cent reckon Labour will see three victories, while just 6 per cent disagree.

3,299 people voted in this week’s survey. Thanks to everyone who took part.