Most voters would welcome a more radical, socialist Labour party, new poll finds
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Version 0 of 1. Most voters say they want Labour to provide a radical, socialist alternative to the Conservatives, according to a new poll. The survey found that of all voters, 52 per cent believed a radical socialist alternative would be a force for good and change Britain for the better were it in power. The voters were however split on whether such a party could win a general election, with only 43 per cent saying it could. Counter-intuitively, voters who deserted Labour in 2015 for right-wing parties did not necessarily view a shift to the radical left by Labour as a bad thing. Jeremy Corbyn, the left-wing candidate in the Labour Party leadership election, speaks to supporters at Great St Mary's church in Cambridge. People who voted Labour in 2010 but Ukip in 2015 were even more keen on a radical Labour party than the general population, with 59 per cent saying that it would be a good thing. Around one third – 32 per cent – of Conservative switchers agreed with the need for Labour to present a socialist agenda. Most switchers to the Tories thought such a political programme would have a negative impact, however. The wording of the poll asked voters whether Labour would be "a force for good" and "change Britain for the better". Whether Labour adopted a left-wing or centrist programme was not a primary stated concern either way for voters who deserted the party, however. Rather, the biggest reasons for people switching to the Conservatives, according to the polling, were Ed Miliband not looking like a good prime minister and concerns over economic competence. Would a radical socialist Labour Party be a good thing? Could it win an election? pic.twitter.com/NLCBw694Wk
Ukip voters, by contrast, overwhelmingly switched away from Labour because of their own views on immigration. The polling was conducted by Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft as part of a study to determine why Labour lost the last election.
The Conservative peer warned that Labour was looking inwards by shifting to the political left and not trying hard enough to win over other voters. “The party must win over voters who have switched to the Conservatives, the group that differs most in outlook and attitude from those who currently work and vote for Labour,” he wrote. “Doing so is not impossible: in my research, very few ruled out voting Labour again even at the next election.” The polling comes days ahead of the conclusion of Labour's leadership contest, with surveys of Labour supporters showing left-winger Jeremy Corbyn set to win. |