57% of public think Labour is divided after Jeremy Corbyn suspension

New polling has indicated that 57% of the public see Labour as divided in the wake of the suspension of Jeremy Corbyn compared to just 36% before the party took the disciplinary action against the former leader.

In research published by YouGov on Monday, the shift in opinion towards the opposition appears to be largely due to a change among Labour voters as reports that the party is divided jumped from 22% to 51% in the subset of respondents.

Corbyn was suspended over his response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission report into antisemitism within the Labour Party, which found Labour responsible for three breaches of the Equality Act over its handling of complaints.

The former Labour leader issued a statement after the EHRC report publication describing “one antisemite” as “too many” but adding that “the scale” of Labour antisemitism was “dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents”.

A Labour spokesperson announced three hours later that Corbyn was suspended from the party pending investigation and that he had had the whip withdrawn “[in] light of his comments… and his failure to retract them subsequently”.

A number of MPs, trade unions and grassroots organisations in the labour movement have objected to the disciplinary action against the Islington MP. John McDonnell MP described the decision by the party as “profoundly wrong”.

Other MPs welcomed the suspension, such as parliamentary chair of the Jewish Labour Movement Margaret Hodge. She said: “He [Keir Starmer] took a decision, not because it was easy, not because he wanted to, but because he was right.”

Starmer has said that he did not take the decision to suspend Corbyn himself and that it was taken independently by David Evans. Some have criticised this process, as they say involvement of the general secretary is “political interference”.

The figures reported by YouGov this week will fuel concerns, such as those raised by JLM, that the row over the suspension of the former leader is distracting from the findings of the EHRC investigation and the impact on Jewish members.

Labour has been served with an unlawful act notice on the basis of the investigation by the EHRC. The party was given six weeks – until December 10th – to produce an action plan for the EHRC in response to the findings and recommendations.

The data from YouGov also shows that the electorate see the Conservatives as divided, with 53% labelling the Tories as divided against only 18% describing the party as united. 46% of Tory voters see the party as divided.

YouGov survey respondents seeing the Tories as divided is up 13 percentage points since the summer, when only 40% of the public deemed the party split and 28% told the organisation that the Prime Minister’s party was united.

Boris Johnson has seen significant internal dissent over recent Covid restrictions. 32 Tory MPs rebelled and voted against the motion to place England in a second lockdown following a heated debate in the Commons earlier this month.

The lockdown is due to be lifted on December 2nd. Conservative backbencher Steve Baker MP has warned that more than 80 Tory MPs could rebel if the Prime Minister tries to extend the Covid restrictions beyond that date.

The Conservatives also saw discord over whether to extend free school meals over the holidays. Johnson faced a public backlash after the government voted down a Labour motion to provide the support.

After a period of sustained political pressure, the Prime Minister U-turned on the issue of holiday hunger on Saturday and committed to a £400m package to support families, including a £170m ring-fenced fund for help with food and bills.