As the SKWAWKBOX has shown over the last couple of weeks, polls demonstrate that most Labour members do not back a new Brexit referendum and support Corbyn’s approach to the Brexit issue – contradicting the claims of ‘centrist’ campaigners for a so-called “people’s vote” (PV).
The same campaign also had to perform a humiliating u-turn last week, when MPs withdrew an amendment calling for a new referendum, admitting that it could not get past MPS for lack of support.
Adding to the chaos infecting the PV campaign, a survey – only made public because it leaked – by a pro-referendum group showed that backing another referendum would damage Labour electorally, in spite of constant claims in the media and by PV-campaigners that it would be Labour’s key to Downing Street.
Jeremy Corbyn’s intelligent approach to the difficult issue of Brexit was vindicated yet again.
Now a new survey from LabourList has underscored those results – by showing that a majority of its largely ‘centrist’ readership do not want Corbyn to support a new referendum.
The LabourList survey of over 7,000 readers had just over half of respondents stating that they do not want Corbyn to swing behind a ‘PV’ – 50.2% vs 49.8%:
While this may be a tight result, across Labour’s mostly-left membership it suggests that the majority would be far higher. LabourList has a reputation as a publication with a predominantly right-leaning readership in Labour terms.
This fact was underscored by the fact that Tom Watson came fourth in a survey question asking respondents which is their favourite Shadow Cabinet member, while the far from left Keir Starmer was in first place.
If more than half of Labour List readers support Corbyn’s Brexit approach and do not want a PV, then the result is strong support for recent polls suggesting members in favour of Corbyn’s strategy outnumber those against by around two to one.
Not only that, but recent ComRes polling showed that among the total electorate Corbyn’s stance has increased Labour voting intention – and clearly Labour members do not disagree.
Unsurprisingly, a majority – albeit not huge – of Labour members would still prefer no Brexit at all to any of the other options suggested. However, it’s clear from the results that most Labour members are politically savvy enough to know that a Labour government is the most urgently-needed change for the country – that Corbyn must work for everyone and cannot ignore the many leave-supporting Labour or floating voters.
SKWAWKBOX comment:
The wheels are coming off the PV campaign as its fallacies, delusions and assumptions are exposed.
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