Veteran Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn looks set to win more than half of the votes in Labour\u2019s leadership contest, despite warnings from senior party figures that the anti-austerity candidate\u2019s victory would prove catastrophic.<\/p>\n
A YouGov poll, published by The Times newspaper on Monday, took opinions from 1,411 people\u00a0eligible to vote in the upcoming election. It found that Corbyn had doubled his lead over the past week and\u00a0is now polling\u00a0at 53 percent, meaning he could secure a first-round victory without needing to count the second preferences of voters.<\/p>\n
Following the results, ex-Labour communications director\u00a0Alistair Campbell urged voters to choose \u201canyone but Corbyn.<\/em>\u201d Campbell, who served Labour under Tony BLair, insisted Corbyn’s\u00a0soaring\u00a0popularity was part of a \u201ccar crash<\/em>\u201d scenario that has engulfed the party.<\/p>\n In a blog post published on Monday, the ex-Labour spindoctor\u00a0issued a stark warning against \u201cflirting<\/em>\u201d with Corbyn as party leader.<\/p>\n \u201cI agree with Alan Johnson that what he called the madness of flirting with the idea of Corbyn as leader has to stop<\/em>,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n “That means no first preferences, no second preferences, no any preferences. It frankly means ABC: Anyone But Corbyn.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n YouGov\u2019s survey found that UK bookies\u2019 former favorite Andy Burnham has lost 5 points, and now stands at 21 percent. Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stands at 18 percent, while Blairite Labour MP Liz Kendall remains at 8 percent.<\/p>\n Corbyn told the BBC that supporters should be “a little bit cautious<\/em>” about taking the results at face value.<\/p>\n Labour has introduced a US-style primary voting system, whereby\u00a0voting is opened up to supporters as well as party members. For a \u00a33 fee, supporters can sign up to vote in the leadership\u00a0election. The deadline for participating is August 12.<\/p>\n Estimates suggest that around 190,000 people have registered\u00a0to vote since the party\u2019s gruelling defeat in May\u2019s general election.<\/p>\n The poll\u2019s findings are likely to fuel criticism of the voting system among those who oppose Corbyn\u2019s policy proposals, with six out of 10 of his potential voters having recently registered with the Labour party.<\/p>\n YouGov\u2019s findings were dismissed by Labour leadership contender Yvette Cooper\u2019s camp.<\/p>\n \u201cThis does not reflect our extensive phone banking data, which does not suggest any single candidate will receive 50% of first preferences,\u201d<\/em> a spokesperson for her campaign said.<\/p>\n “Our figures \u2014 as other polls have suggested \u2014 show clearly that Yvette is the candidate best placed to draw support from all areas of the Labour Party and win this contest. She is best placed to unite the party and position Labour for victory in the 2020 election.”<\/em><\/p>\n But YouGov president Peter Kellner said he “would personally be astonished if Corbyn does not end up as Labour’s leader.”<\/em><\/p>\n Shadow Work and Pensions Minister Stephen Timms, who has backed Liz Kendall, did not specify whether he would serve in a shadow cabinet led by Corbyn.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it’s accepted, as I believe, that it was economic credibility that was our big problem in the general election, I don’t think a victory for Jeremy Corbyn would help us to overcome that,<\/em>” he told the BBC.<\/p>\n Separate voting for party leader and deputy leader begins Friday. The results will be declared September 12.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Via RT<\/a>.\u00a0This piece was reprinted by RINF Alternative News<\/a> with permission or license.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Veteran Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn looks set to win more than half of the votes in Labour\u2019s leadership contest, despite warnings from senior party figures that the anti-austerity candidate\u2019s victory would prove catastrophic. A YouGov poll, published by The Times newspaper on Monday, took opinions from 1,411 people\u00a0eligible to vote in the upcoming election. 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