Keir Starmer on course for comfortable victory in race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn - poll
2 min read
Keir Starmer is on course for a comfortable victory in the race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn, according to a new poll.
The YouGov survey of Labour members, registered supporters and affiliates puts him on 53%, enough for him to win on the first round of voting.
Rebecca Long-Bailey is in second place on 31%, with Lisa Nandy on 16%.
The poll, for Sky News, is the first to be released since ballot papers were sent out by the party.
It also suggests that Angela Rayner will be named Labour's new deputy leader when the results are announced at a special party conference on 4 April.
She is on 47%, with Richard Burgon on 19%, Rosena Allin-Khan on 13%, Dawn Butler on 12% and Ian Murray on 9%.
That means she would comfortably win on the second round.
A total of 1,323 people who are eligible to vote were polled between 20 and 25 February.
A source on Lisa Nandy's campaign said it was a "small sample" and pointed out that it did not include those who had yet to make up their minds.
It is the latest YouGov poll to put Sir Keir in a commanding position in the contest.
Last month, the pollster suggested the Shadow Brexit Secretary would defeat Ms Long-Bailey by 63% to 37% in a final run-off.
That was an even bigger advantage than an earlier YouGov poll which predicted he would come out on top by 61% to 39%.
However, a poll of party members for LabourList/Survation suggested Ms Long-Bailey would beat Sir Keir by 51% to 49%.
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