Long-Bailey and Rayner picked for top jobs by LabourList readers

LabourList readers back Rebecca Long-Bailey as the next Labour Party leader and Angela Rayner as the next Labour deputy leader, our post-election survey has found.

Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed that he will be stepping down as leader as soon as a new one is elected by members, and the contest is expected to be concluded by the end of March.

It has been widely reported that Long-Bailey and Rayner, who are good friends and share a flat in London, will divide the two available leadership roles between them – with the former running for leader, and the latter for deputy.

Asked who they would like to see become the next Labour leader, over 14% of 19,656 respondents picked frontbencher Long-Bailey, who is considered a strong Corbynite and has backing from the current leadership.

The second most popular answer was Keir Starmer, the Shadow Brexit Secretary, followed by education spokesperson Angela Rayner, both of whom were incredibly close behind first place in the poll.

Other possible contenders – Jess Phillips, Yvette Cooper, Lisa Nandy and Emily Thornberry – came fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth respectively. The survey was conducted between Saturday and Monday, when their campaigns may not yet have gained much traction but could benefit from more exposure later on.

As with the next leader question, LabourList readers were able to choose any current Labour MP as their favoured new deputy leader. Excluding ‘Don’t know’ answers, Angela Rayner won the most support from readers. Again, Starmer and Long-Bailey were in the top three.

On the matter of timing Corbyn’s departure, more than a quarter of LabourList survey respondents said they thought he “should already have stood down”. But a majority disagreed, with 28% saying he should go “at a time of his choosing”.

Asked what they would have changed about Labour’s unsuccessful election campaign, a majority said “Brexit” while a significant 44% said “Leadership”. The least popular answer, apart from “Other”, was “Manifesto”.

1. What would you have changed about Labour’s campaign?

1. Brexit – 58.5% (11,490)
2. Leadership – 44.4% (8,734)
3. Messaging – 36.4% (7,153)
4. Organisation – 23.7% (4,657)
5. Manifesto – 22.7% (4,468)
6. Other – 14.6% (2,863)
7. Nothing – 2.3% (459)

2. When do you think Jeremy Corbyn should stand down as Labour leader?

1. At a time of his choosing – 28.3% (5,565)
2. He should already have stood down – 25.9% (5,094)
3. January-February 2020 – 19.9% (3,919)
4. Before local elections in May 2020 – 10.9% (2,133)
5. Before Christmas – 10.8% (2,123)
   5. Don’t know/Other – 4.2% (822)

3. Who would you like to see become the next Labour leader?

Only the top 15 responses are shown.

1. Rebecca Long-Bailey – 14.4% (2,829)
2. Keir Starmer – 13.8% (2,708)
3. Angela Rayner – 13.5% (2,663)
4. Don’t know – 8% (1,575)
5. Jess Phillips – 6.7% (1,321)
6. Diane Abbott – 5.7% ( 1,113)
7. Yvette Cooper – 4.8% (953)
8. Lisa Nandy – 4% (791)
9. Emily Thornberry – 2.8% (550)
10. Barry Gardiner – 2.3% (459)
11. Dawn Butler – 2.1% (419)
12. Richard Burgon – 2.1% (417)
13. Hilary Benn – 2.1% (412)
14. Clive Lewis – 1.8% (346)
15. David Lammy – 1.6% (320)

4. Who would you like to see become Labour’s next deputy leader?

Only the top 15 responses are shown.

1. Don’t know – 11% (2,155)
2. Angela Rayner – 10.7% (2,107)
3. Keir Starmer – 9.7% (1,913)
4. Rebecca Long-Bailey – 8.1% (1,592)
5. Jess Phillips – 6.5% (1,282)
6. Dawn Butler – 5.6% (1,096)
7. Richard Burgon – 4.2% (834)
8. Diane Abbott – 3.7% (736)
9. Yvette Cooper – 3.5% (696)
10. Barry Gardiner – 3.4% (674)
11. Emily Thornberry – 3.2% (633)
12. David Lammy – 3.1% (609)
13. Lisa Nandy – 3% (583)
14. Hilary Benn – 2.5% (501)
15. Clive Lewis – 2.2% (434)

The survey was open from 4.30pm on Saturday 14th December until Monday 16th December at 3pm. The results are unweighted and from a self-selected sample of readers. Thank you to all 19,656 readers who took part.