LABOUR leader Jeremy Corbyn is losing the support of Labour voters, a damning new poll has revealed.
According to the survey by YouGov, half of those who voted for the party in 2017 want a new leader.
The poll comes as a leaked memo revealed that one of Corbyn’s key advisers has quit because he doesn’t believe Labour can win the next General Election.
There was, however, some good news for the leadership yesterday, when the party’s ruling NEC backed Corbyn’s Brexit motion, which, if passed by delegates today, will become policy.
The motion says Labour would renegotiate Brexit and secure a “sensible leave deal with the EU”.
This, the party says, would then be put to voters in a referendum “alongside the option to remain”.
Labour’s official position, on whether it would back the deal it secured or back a remain vote, would then be decided at a special conference.
It’s understood 90 constituency Labour parties (CLPs) have submitted motions to Labour’s Brighton conference on Brexit, 90% of which back Remain.
The Labour Party will be hoping it’s enough to win over Remain voters, as according to that YouGov survey, 68% of them say Labour’s stance on Brexit is unclear or confusing to some extent.
Among Leave voters, the number of those saying they don’t fully understand Labour’s position on Brexit rises to 80%.
Speaking to the BBC’s Andrew Marr show on the first day of conference, Corbyn defended his plan to go into a General Election without saying whether he would campaign to remain.
“What we have said is that we would want to hold a consultation, a special conference of our party at the point that we have got this offer from the EU, we’ve got this as a remain – and hopefully reform – option,” he said.
“Because I do think even those that are strongly in favour of remain would recognise the EU needs to have some reforms.”
Corbyn told the programme: “We would put both views and say look, this is the best deal we could get; this is the remain and hopefully reform option. These are the choices before you.”
He added: “The vast majority of Labour party supporters and members supported remain, but a significant minority voted the other way.
"The party, the people and the leader of this country should understand why people voted leave.”
Corbyn also tried to play down Labour divisions after an aborted attempt to oust deputy Tom Watson and the resignation of aide Andrew Fisher.
He claimed he did not know that a motion to scrap Watson’s position as deputy leader would be tabled at a meeting of the ruling National Executive Committee on the eve of the party’s conference.
He also said had spoken to Fisher, his policy chief, about an explosive memo, leaked to the Sunday Times.
Corbyn confirmed that Fisher was leaving after the next election, saying it was a “very stressful and full-on job.”
The memo cited a “blizzard of lies and excuses” from the leadership and claimed that the highest ranks of the party were engaged in “class war”.
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