Jeremy Corbyn is on course for an increased mandate in Labour’s leadership election, pollsters say
Jeremy Corbyn is set to secure an even bigger mandate in the Labour leadership election, according to figures from YouGov.
In a survey of party supporters for The Times, YouGov found Corbyn beating his challenger Owen Smith by 62 per cent to 38 per cent.
It marks an improvement on Corbyn's 59 per cent victory in the previous leadership election in 2015, and reflects doubts among even some Smith backers that the former shadow work and pensions secretary can triumph.
The winner will be announced on 24 September, the day before the Labour party conference in Liverpool.
Read More: Mayor of London tells Labour to ditch Corbyn
The figures show that Corbyn is backed by new members and union affiliates, as well as registered supporters, who had to pay £25 to vote in the leadership election, outweighing low support among longstanding Labour members.
According to YouGov, Smith is backed by 68 per cent of members who joined Labour before May last year, but just 28 per cent of those joining between May and September, and 14 per cent of those signing up after September.
The pollster also found that just one in four of the £25 backers are supporting Smith, with 70 supporting Corbyn.
And among 168,000 union affiliates, Corbyn is leading by 54 per cent to Smith's 33 per cent.
Read More: Green Party MP Caroline Lucas considering electoral pact with Labour
The figures come despite recent polling showing that Corbyn faces an uphill battle winning over voters outside of the Labour party.
Last week, YouGov figures showed that one-in-three former Labour backers attributed their waning support for the party to the Islington North MP.
And among young voters – one of Corbyn's strongest constituencies – the Labour leader beats Prime Minister Theresa May by just two points.