56% of LabourList readers pick Starmer as favourite shadow cabinet member

A majority of LabourList readers named Keir Starmer as a favourite shadow cabinet member in our latest readers’ survey, with 56.4% putting the Shadow Brexit Secretary in their top three.

Starmer, who is widely thought to have future leadership ambitions, has topped the shadow cabinet popularity poll every time LabourList readers have been asked to pick their favourite frontbenchers in our relaunched weekly surveys.

The boost for the Holborn and St Pancras MP came as he openly warned that no Brexit deal would get through parliament without being attached to a fresh EU referendum, estimating that up to 150 Labour MPs would vote against any cross-party agreement that was not subject to a public vote.

John McDonnell was the second most commonly chosen shadow cabinet member in the LabourList poll conducted over the weekend, with almost 50% of readers opting for the Shadow Chancellor. Emily Thornberry, Tom Watson and Angela Rayner completed the top five.

LabourList readers were mostly disappointed by Labour’s performance at the recent local elections, which saw the party make key gains in areas including Amber Valley and Gravesham but lose a net 63 councillors. 

57.5% described themselves as “disappointed”, while the rest of the respondents were almost equally divided between being “pleased” and “undecided”.

Asked whether Labour’s Brexit policy had been electorally damaging for the party, 78% of the 3,939 survey respondents said “Yes”.

But, of those, over 22% thought “it would be the best policy for Labour in a snap general election” nonetheless. 17.5% chose “No – any Labour losses are better explained by other factors”.

On the upcoming European elections – in which polling suggests Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party will win the most votes, possibly more than Labour and the Tories combined – over 63% of readers said they would vote Labour.

Nearly 28% picked a Remain-backing party – the Lib Dems, Green Party or Change UK – while a combined 4.8% said they would vote for a Leave-supporting option (The Brexit Party, Conservatives or UKIP).

However, more than 66% of our readers have predicted that The Brexit Party will secure the most support in the EU elections on May 23rd. Only around 20% were optimistic about Labour’s chances of topping the poll.

1. How did you feel about Labour’s performance at the local elections last week?

1. Disappointed  – Labour did worse than I expected – 57.5% (2,265)
2. Neither/Don’t know – 21.3% (839)
3. Pleased – Labour did better than I expected – 21.2% (835)

2. Do you think Labour’s Brexit policy has been electorally damaging for the party?

1. Yes – and it would damage Labour in a snap general election – 54.8% (2,160)
2. Yes – but it would be the best policy for Labour in a snap general election – 22.2% (873)
3. No – any Labour losses are better explained by other factors – 17.5% (691)
4. Don’t know – 5.5% (215)

3. Which one of the following parties will get your vote in the European elections?

1. Labour – 63.4% (2,497)
2. Liberal Democrats – 12.2% (482)
3. Green Party – 11.3% (446)
4. The Brexit Party – 4.6% (180)
5. Other – 4.2% (166)
6. Change UK – The Independent Group – 4.1% (160)
7. Conservatives – 0.1% (5)
8. UK Independence Party – 0.1% (3)

4. Which of these parties do you think will come first in the European elections?

1. The Brexit Party – 66.4% (2,617)
2. Labour – 20.3% (801)
3. Liberal Democrats – 6.4% (254)
4. Other – 3.4% (132)
5. Green Party – 1.4% (54)
6. UK Independence Party – 1.2% (46)
7. Change UK – The Independent Group – 0.5% (20)
8. Conservatives – 0.4% (15)

5. Who are your top three favourite shadow cabinet members?

1. Keir Starmer – 2,220
2. John McDonnell – 1,958
3. Emily Thornberry – 1,391
4. Tom Watson – 1,298
5. Angela Rayner – 706
6. Rebecca Long-Bailey – 697
7. Diane Abbott – 600
8. Barry Gardiner – 493
9. Jonathan Ashworth – 328
10. Richard Burgon – 315
11. Shami Chakrabarti – 283
12. Dawn Butler – 207
13. John Healey – 167
14. Ian Lavery – 126
15. Andrew Gwynne – 122
16. Baroness Smith of Basildon – 120
17. Andy McDonald – 109
18. Nia Griffith – 106
19. Cat Smith – 88
20. Dan Carden – 75
21. Nick Brown – 72
22. Jon Trickett – 63
23. Margaret Greenwood – 54
24. Tony Lloyd – 44
25. Sue Hayman – 40
26. Peter Dowd – 27
27. Lesley Laird – 25
28. Valerie Vaz – 24
29. Barbara Keeley – 24
30. Lord Thomas McAvoy – 23
31. Christina Rees – 12

The survey was open from 3.30pm on Friday 10th May until 1pm on Monday 13th May. Thank you to all 3,939 readers who took part.