As the Labour Party’s private research is leaked, there appears to be an inevitability about Corbyn departing before the general election

As the Labour Party’s private research is leaked, there appears to be an inevitability about Corbyn departing before the general election

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It feels like it is now a question of when Corbyn quits before the next general election, not if.

The Sunday Times have a copy of the Labour party’s internal research conducted by their pollsters BMG, it appears there is some succession planning taking place by Corbyn, with a focus group being undertaken on his potential preferred successors, John McDonnell, Angela Raynor, and Rebecca Long-Bailey.

A focus group conducted in Manchester last month found that voters think

  • Jeremy Corbyn is “boring”, appeared “fed up” and “looks like a scruffy school kid”
  • Angela Raynor “was judged to be “not likeable”, a “bit charity shop-looking” and “weird”, with one participant suggesting voters would not take her seriously.”
  • John McDonnell said  of him that “he looked “posh” and “confident”, others thought he looked “timid” and “nervous””
  • Rebecca Long-Bailey “emerged as the most credible figure with voters describing her as “passionate”, “genuine”, “sincere” and “very smart”, although some saw her as “aggressive” and “rough.””

As Ian Warren, the chap behind the Election Data twitter account, observed last night “If you’re running focus groups on your successor…….well, it’s indicative shall we say.” The focus grouping has been described as a routine event, but  one shadow minister said “They have been focus grouping who could replace him and gone for Becky — it is succession planning.”

The Sunday Times report that “This weekend one shadow cabinet ally suggested the “exhausted” leader would like to give up and “pass the Corbynite flame” to Long-Bailey or Rayner, but is carrying on from a sense of duty.”

All of this is bad news for those of us betting Corbyn doesn’t depart as leader in 2017/before the next general election. I suspect a peace deal between Corbyn and the Parliamentary Labour Party where Corbyn agrees to stand down if his favoured candidate gets on to the ballot paper will be the best way to get out of the pickle the Labour Party currently finds itself in. I think that peace deal will happen.

TSE

PS – This story should end any chance of Clive Lewis being next Labour leader, though some might see it as a hatchet job to stop someone who has been disloyal to Corbyn and or a real contender to be next Labour leader. I’m leaning towards the former.

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