Reform voters prefer Jeremy Corbyn to Sir Keir Starmer on almost every metric, new polling has shown.
Days after Mr Corbyn launched a new political party with ex-Labour MP Zarah Sultana, the survey of 2,000 Reform voters suggests Sir Keir’s attempts to see off the threat from Mr Farage’s party have backfired.
The poll showed that Reform voters think Mr Corbyn is more authentic, hardworking, intelligent and honest than Sir Keir – despite the former Labour leader sitting much further to the left than his successor.
Sir Keir has attempted to pull his party to the right to meet the threat posed by Nigel Farage, with Labour ramping up rhetoric on migration and attempting to slash the welfare bill.
The polling saw 65 per cent of Reform voters say Mr Corbyn is more authentic than Sir Keir, compared to 35 per cent who said the opposite. Meanwhile, 61 per cent of Reform voters felt Mr Corbyn understood people like them, versus just 39 per cent for Starmer.
Some 64 per cent see Mr Corbyn as being more honest, versus 36 per cent who felt Sir Keir was. 62 per cent felt Mr Corbyn was stronger, versus 38 per cent for Sir Keir. Almost two-thirds (64 per cent) felt Mr Corbyn was principled, versus 36 per cent for the PM.
The biggest gap between the two leaders was on making radical decisions, where Mr Corbyn had a 40 point lead after some 70 per cent said he was more likely to make radical decisions compared to just 30 per cent who backed Sir Keir.
Meanwhile, when it comes to representing change there were 38 points separating the two leaders. Just 31 per cent backed Sir Keir, while 69 per cent backed Mr Corbyn.
The only category where Sir Keir was seen more favourably than Mr Corbyn was on the world stage, where some 56 per cent backed the prime minister, compared to 44 per cent who backed Mr Corbyn.
The poll, conducted by Merlin Strategy for Novara Media, comes amid growing concern over the direction of the government from voters on both the left and the right, with the prime minister’s approval rating hitting an all time low earlier this month.
Sir Keir’s support among the public reached new depths of minus 43 after the £5bn welfare U-turn, according to new polling.
The survey, first reported by The Sunday Times, also found that just a year after coming to power, seven in 10 voters think Sir Keir’s government is at least as chaotic as the Tories’ previous term. That includes one in three voters, who believe it is more so.
Seeking to capitalise on the discontent with the Labour government, Mr Corbyn promised a “new kind of political party” when he launched the as yet unnamed project with Ms Sultana last Thursday, now claiming that more than 600,000 people have signed up.
When Mr Corbyn and Ms Sultana announced their new party, a Labour source said: "The electorate has twice given its verdict on a Jeremy Corbyn-led party."
The polling, conducted by Merlin Strategy for Novara Media, spoke to 2,000 people between July 25 and 27. “Reform voters” included those who said they would vote for Mr Farage’s party if a general election was called tomorrow.
Labour has been contacted for comment.
