Jeremy Corbyn surges ahead with 32 point lead

Over half of all voters eligible to vote in the Labour leadership election will back Jeremy Corbyn, a new poll has shown.

The YouGov survey for The Times shows that the Islington MP has doubled his lead over closest rival Andy Burnham.

If the poll’s findings are replicated in the election Mr Corbyn is heading for a landslide victory and could win on first preferences alone.

The poll suggests that Mr Corbyn has built up at 32 per cent lead over Mr Burnham, up from 17 per cent in the most recent YouGov poll one month ago.

Mr Corbyn is now on 53 per cent, while Mr Burnham has slipped to 21. The survey also shows that Yvette Cooper has also slipped by two points to 18 per cent. Liz Kendall, seen as the most right-wing candidate on the ballot, is on just 8 per cent.

Six out of ten of Mr Corbyn’s supporters were newly registered voters – people who have signed up for a basic £3 Labour membership which allows them to take part in the leadership bid.

This will raise concerns among party members and supporters of other candidates over the election process. It has been suggeted that members of far-left parties, the Green party and even the Conservative party have paid the £3 fee to ensure that Mr Corbyn wins the leadership.

Mr Corbyn is most popular among Trade Unions sign ups, with 67 per cent of them supporting his bid. 55 per cent of all new sign ups also back him, while 49 per cent of Labour members do.

Mr Corbyn has also proved extremely popular with women. YouGov not that women who are eligible to vote are “dramatically” more likely to back the 66-year-old. Although Mr Corbyn is still the most popular among both sexes, Andy Burnham polls better with men with 24 per cent backing him, compared to 17 per cent of women.

His success comes despite a series of Labour figures lining up to attack his bid. This week Tony Blair’s former spin doctor Alastair Campbell is the latest to say that a Corbyn leadership will damage the Labour party.

YouGov President Peter Kellner said he would be “personally be astonished if Corbyn does not end up as Labour’s leader”.