Labour voters split over decision not to restore whip to Corbyn, poll finds

New polling carried out by YouGov has found that Labour voters are split over the decision taken by Keir Starmer not to reinstate Jeremy Corbyn as a Labour MP with 38% backing the move and 32% saying the decision was wrong.

The organisation published the findings of its snap poll this evening, in the wake of the announcement from the Labour leader this morning that the Islington MP would not have the Parliamentary Labour Party whip restored.

The research showed that 50% of the public feel that the decision, taken after a panel of five national executive committee members opted to reinstate Corbyn as a party member on Tuesday evening, was right.

Corbyn was suspended nearly three weeks ago after claiming that “the scale of the problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents” in his response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission report.

The report, examining antisemitism within the Labour Party, had found the party responsible for “unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination” and “serious failings in leadership” during the time that Corbyn was in charge.

Board of Deputies of British Jews president Marie van der Zyl welcomed the Labour leader’s withholding of the PLP whip from the Islington MP today and described the move as an “appropriate leadership decision”.

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey declared the decision “vindictive and vengeful” and argued it “shows marked bad faith” while Jon Lansman said it has “driven a coach and horses through the party’s disciplinary process”.

Announcing his decision this morning, Starmer said: “Since I was elected Labour leader, I have made it my mission to root out antisemitism from the Labour Party. I know that I will judged on my actions, not my words.

“The disciplinary process does not have the confidence of the Jewish community. That became clear once again yesterday.

“It is the task of my leadership to fix what I have inherited. That is what I am resolute in doing and I have asked for an independent process to be established as soon as possible.

“I’m the leader of the Labour Party, but I’m also the leader of the Parliamentary Labour Party.

“Jeremy Corbyn’s actions in response to the EHRC report undermined and set back our work in restoring trust and confidence in the Labour Party’s ability to tackle antisemitism.

“In those circumstances, I have taken the decision not to restore the whip to Jeremy Corbyn. I will keep this situation under review.”

Others have also criticised the move by the Labour leader, including left MPs Richard Burgon, John McDonnell and Diane Abbott. McDonnell tweeted that Starmer’s decision will “cause more division”.

28 Socialist Campaign Group MPs have since issued a statement calling for the reversal of the decision while Unite general secretary Len McCluskey declared that it was “vindictive and vengeful” and “shows marked bad faith”.

The snap poll released by YouGov today follows research published earlier this month by the organisation, which found that 57% of the public saw Labour as divided in the wake of the disciplinary action compared to 36% before.

The polling today found that 63% of the public currently see the party as divided while just 8% described it as united. 62% of the general population see the Conservative Party as divided.