Labour favourability drops but Starmer seen as better leader, YouGov finds

Labour’s net favourability among voters has dropped by over ten points in the aftermath of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission report and suspension of Jeremy Corbyn, according to a new snap poll.

Research conducted by YouGov over the last two days, which involved 1,852 UK adults, has found that Labour’s approval rating fell from -11 to -23 this week. The new figure means the score is at its lowest since May.

The snap poll suggests that support for Labour among its own voters has dropped since the EHRC report was released on Thursday and Corbyn was suspended from the party, but that Starmer is now seen as a better leader.

Starmer’s personal approval ratings have fallen slightly after the crisis, from +5 to -2 across all voters. Among Labour voters, his net favourability has fallen from +53 to +40, while among Conservatives it has risen from -45 to -35.

But Starmer is now also seen as a better leader, according to the poll. 49% of respondents said he was “competent”, a nine percentage point rise over the course of the month, and 38% said he was “decisive” after a five-point rise.

The research suggests that over October Starmer has improved on the metrics of being “trustworthy” (up three points to 32%), “strong” (37%, up five points) and “likeable” (42%, up eight points).

49% in the latest poll agreed that Starmer is “competent” (up nine percentage points since October 5th), 38% “decisive” (up five points), 32% “trustworthy” (up three points), 37% “strong” (up five points); 42% “likeable” (up eight points).

Those consulted in the poll were not supportive of Corbyn’s actions on antisemitism. 76% of those consulted said he dealt with antisemitism badly in Labour, and just 7% of respondents said he had done well.

By comparison, Keir Starmer’s handling of Labour antisemitism is seen more positively. 39% of respondents said he has dealt with the issue “well”, compared to just 22% of people who thought the contrary.

Fresh YouGov polling has also indicated that UK voters overwhelmingly support the decision to suspend Corbyn from the Labour Party, by a margin of 58% to 13%. A further 29% of those surveyed said they did not know.

30% of people surveyed said Labour was “institutionally antisemitic”, 27% said the party was not and 43% reporting being unsure. The figures are relatively unchanged from previous polling in the summer.

The EHRC concluded on Thursday that Labour is responsible for three breaches of the Equality Act – relating to political interference in antisemitism complaints; failure to provide adequate training to those handling them; and harassment.

Corbyn issued a statement in response to the EHRC report, which claimed the “the scale of the [antisemitism] problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party”.

A Labour spokesperson subsequently announced that Corbyn had been suspended, and the Parliamentary Labour Party whip removed from the Labour MP, “in light of his comments made today and his failure to retract them”.

Several MPs and groups within the Labour Party, as well as trade union Unite leader Len McCluskey, have argued that the suspension is wrong, and called on the Labour leader to reverse the disciplinary action taken against Corbyn.

Keir Starmer has this morning defended the move from the party as “appropriate” but argued that he does not want a “civil war”. He said: “That’s the right action – difficult, very difficult action but the right action, which I fully support.”

The YouGov results follow the release of an Ipsos MORI poll today, which showed that Labour leads the Tories on Westminster voting intention by five points, with 42% of people supporting Labour compared to 37% backing the Tories.

In research carried out between October 22nd and 28th, Ipsos MORI research showed support for the opposition party rose by five points since last month while the popularity of Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party fell by three.

It marks the first time that Labour has been ahead in an Ipsos MORI poll since Theresa May stepped down as Prime Minister and Johnson took over the top job, with the party seeing its best score since March 2018.