Keir Starmerhas emerged as an early frontrunner in the Labor leadership race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn after a poll of members suggested he was the first choice in all regions of the UK, age groups and social classes.
The shadow Brexit secretary is yet to formally launch his campaign but is expected to do so in the first few weeks of the new year. The new leader will be elected in March after Corbyn said he would step down following the party’scatastrophic general election defeat.
Polling by YouGov for the Party Members Project put Starmer as winning with a (************************************% vote share to 34% for the shadow business secretary, Rebecca Long Bailey, in the last round.
Jess Phillips, the chair of the women’s parliamentaryLaborparty, who has yet to declare if she is running, was the third most popular choice among members, who were surveyed between and **************************************** (December.)
The results at this preliminary stage suggest that the winner is unlikely to come from the left of the party, according to Prof Tim Bale of Queen Mary University of London, who jointly ran the poll with the University of Sussex.
“This is not shaping up to be a – style Labor leadership contest. Unless potential candidates drop out before the start of voting, it may take a few rounds to decide the winner this time around.
“But it doesn’t look at the moment as if the winner will come from the left of the party. Right now anyway, Keir Starmer looks to be heading for a fairly emphatic victory, ”he said.
So far only the shadow foreign secretary,Emily Thornberry, and the shadow treasury minister,Clive Lewis, have officially said they want to run to be the next Labor leader.
Phillips, who represents Birmingham Yardley, and the Wigan MP, Lisa Nandy, are expected to stand while the former Labor minister and home affairs select committee chair, Yvette Cooper, is understood to be weighing up her options as to whether she will vie for the leadership for a second time.
The party chairman and Corbyn ally Ian Lavery – who lambasted the party’s performance for their muddled stance on Brexit – might also run. A former National Union of Mineworkers chair who supports leaving the EU, he would be the most leftwing of all the potential candidates.
The poll will be interesting reading for all those who said they were using the Christmas break to decide whether to launch official campaigns and gain the signatures of MPs needed to get on the ballot.
In the survey of 1, 90 Labor party members, (********************************% put Starmer as their first-choice candidate, 23% backed Long Bailey as their favorite, Phillips received 14% and Lewis and Cooper were the first choice for 7% of surveyed members. Thornberry was on 6% and Nandy was on 5%.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings