Labour leadership race: Poll shows Burnham is slight favourite as 6 pc of party supporters back fake candidate
Andy Burnham is the slight favourite to become the next leader of the Labour party, as he is preferred by 15 per cent of people.
An Ipsos Mori poll shows that 14 per cent of British adults support Yvette Cooper as the next Labour leader – just one percentage point behind Burnham.
A fake candidate called "Stewart Lewis" was the preferred choice for three per cent of British adults and six per cent of Labour supporters.
The tight race opens up slightly when considering Labour supporters – with Burnham on 23 per cent and Cooper on 20 per cent.
Liz Kendall got 11 per cent backing, while Jeremy Corbyn was supported by five per cent of British adults and nine per cent of Labour supporters.
The poll shows that everything is still to play for in the race. One in four Labour supporters are undecided, while another seven per cent do not choose any of the candidates.
Most people have yet to make up their mind. 34 per cent say they do not know who they would prefer as leader, while a further 18 per cent did not like any of the candidates.
Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos Mori, said:
Tony Blair still outshines other past Labour leaders – even among supporters of other parties, and especially among the middle classes (but less among older people and working classes).
But Labour’s answer isn't simply in the past – many actually say they 'don’t know' or 'none of them' – an issue that also faces the current contenders, which means they still have all to play for.