Keir Starmer favourite among Labour members to succeed Jeremy Corbyn, new poll suggests
2 min read
Sir Keir Starmer is currently the favourite among Labour members to become the next leader, according to a new poll.
A YouGov poll for the Economic and Social Research Council's Party Members Project shows that the Shadow Brexit Secretary has a commanding lead over nearest rival Rebecca Long-Bailey, the Shadow Business Secretary.
The poll asked Labour members to list likely contenders on order of preference, with 31% opting for Sir Keir, 20% for Ms Long-Bailey, and 11% listing Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips as their first choice.
Fellow MPs Yvette Cooper and Clive Lewis polled 7% each, while Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry scooped up 6% of the vote and Wigan MP Lisa Nandy scored 5%.
Asked to pick between the two front-runners in a final round contest, Sir Keir wins 61% of the vote compared to 39% for Ms Long-Bailey.
Sir Keir is yet to officially launch his leadership bid, but it is expected he will do so within the next few weeks.
The Shadow Brexit Secretary was also revealed to be the most popular among members from all regions and age groups.
So far, only Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry and Shadow Treasury Minister Clive Lewis have officially announced that they are running for the role.
But Ms Long Bailey and Ms Phillips are both expected to run, as well as fellow MPs Lisa Nandy, Ian Lavery, David Lammy and Dan Jarvis.
Yvette Cooper hinted last month that she would consider running for the leadership, but it is now reported that she may pull out the race.
According to the Mail, a friend of Ms Cooper’s believed she would not run in the race because of her past criticisms of outgoing leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Ms Cooper previously refused to serve in Mr Corbyn’s shadow cabinet, having lost to him in the 2015 Labour leadership race with just 17% to his 59.5%.
The new Labour leader is set to be elected in March after Mr Corbyn announced last year that he would stand down following the party’s election defeat.
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