Electoral gambler Mike Smithson tweeted polling published by Yougov for QMUL (Queen Mary University of London). The results – answers to a question posed exclusively to ‘remainers’ in London about which party leader would make the best Prime Minister – are remarkable:
As Smithson somewhat eccentrically observes, Theresa May scrapes in just ahead of LibDem leader Vince Cable, with 13% of the vote.
However, the more obvious headline news is that Jeremy Corbyn received more than three times more support than either of them – or almost double the votes of both combined.
Among remainers.
The ‘bubblista’ pundits and journalists, along with so-called ‘centrist’ Labour MPs, have made a point of criticising Labour’s supposedly alloyed position on Brexit, with a particular focus on Corbyn’s leadership and imposition of the party ‘whip’ for various Brexit-related votes.
The LibDems have staked their entire political future on a clear stance of wishing to overturn the Brexit vote.
‘Centrist’ Labour MPs have staked their hopes of damaging Jeremy Corbyn on a similar position – and on voting against the Labour whip.
Various ‘centrist remoaners’ have made a big deal of criticising the party for not having a Brexit-related vote – there was a lengthy Brexit-related debate – at last week’s party Conference. Some even stood in the debate to call delegates ‘stupid’ for not selecting the issue in the ‘priorities ballot’ of topics to be voted on.
They are wrong and Corbyn is right, according to the above figures.
London is generally considered the most cosmopolitan of cities and in last year’s EU referendum it voted overwhelmingly to remain. It’s a tough crowd when it comes to any discussion of Brexit and of the options of remaining inside the single market and customs union – tougher from a remain point of view than almost anywhere else in England and Wales and possibly Scotland too. And remember, YouGov polled remainers from across the political spectrum, not just those inclined to vote Labour.
Yet Corbyn polled well over three times as well as either Theresa May or the outright remainer LibDem leader.
The SKWAWKBOX has been pointing out since before the beginning of the year how intelligently Jeremy Corbyn has been playing a tricky Brexit hand – a point acknowledged, with astonishment, by pundits on the night of the General Election as Labour saw increased vote share time and again in both constituencies that voted remain and those who voted to leave.
Corbyn was right then and he remains right now – in spite of the ‘best’ efforts of his political opponents in Westminster and the media to say otherwise. Those within the Labour Party, for the sake of their own careers if that’s all they care about, would do well to indulge in a little more ‘shut the **** up’ and let Labour’s leader get on with the job of negotiating party and country through choppy Brexit waters that the Tories seem intent on baling into the boat rather than out.
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Crikey. Another great piece. Short, sharp and deadly. 😀
“Those within the Labour Party, for the sake of their own careers if that’s all they care about, would do well to indulge in a little more ‘shut the **** up’ and let Labour’s leader get on with the job of negotiating party and country through choppy Brexit waters that the Tories seem intent on baling into the boat rather than out.”
http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/impressive.gif
Something that got left out in the aftermath of all the squabbling about Brexit debate at the LPC was that Labour already had a clearly stated position on Brexit, established and voted on at the 2016 conference. At the 2017 conference, we voted not to change that.
Since nothing has actually happened between the two conferences that would give the party cause to change its position of highly-conditional acquiescence, I’m not sure what else would need to be said or done, especially if it eats into time you could be spending on, y’know, other stuff.
Corbyn is the man of the times. He is here at a time when the far right is spent and a swing to the left is inevitable. He has come through a difficult time against a corrupt MSM in the Mail, Sun, Express and Telegraph, run by billionaires with their own tax free interests at heart.
However on one point I do think JC needs to bend. 66% of labour voters want to remain in the EU and it is time he paid heed to those wishes. He is more than capable of explaining to the leave voters who made their choice ignorance of the workings of the EU. Economically things are not good and they are getting worse. To implement his promises he needs business, primarily the banking, followed by the car industry. These two industries are looking to move, the country cannot afford to lose them.
I further think he is the man to negotiate with Europe, not for an Exit but for modernisation. I think he is also capable of rescuing the country and in fact regaining the respect which May has sold down the river. I would also like to see the return of our democracy, which is under May’s dictatorial control at present.
The centrist headbangers in the Labour party are obsessed with two things.
They are obsessed with lecturing the leadership and membership on the subject of electability and they are obsessed with blocking Brexit.
It is worth noting that the leave vote won the referendum by both the popular vote and by constituency.
52% of voters voted to leave and 65% of constituencies voted to leave. That represents a landslide.
The proposition of the centrist Brexit blockers is electoral suicide.
They are completely bonkers.
I -ing LOATHE this narrative. B*exit wasn’t the prime consideration at the GE (those were the NHS, housing, and foreign policy) and it’s not the prime consideration for which party one supports. Plus we, no matter how we voted in the referendum, are capable of addressing more than one issue at the same time! Sick to death of people being named by this vote- ‘remoaners’, ‘remainiacs’, ‘brexiteers’, ‘brexsh*teers’ etc etc. as well. Centrists aren’t all for remain any more than all who voted leave are bigots.
But, caveats against polls aside, this is a decent result for Corbyn. It’d be disturbing if he wasn’t in the lead tbh. May is dead in the water and Cable is a horrendous neolib with some dodgy connections in his political past.
Reblogged this on sdbast.