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Jeremy Corbyn and Labour have just taken their biggest poll lead yet

The train keeps on rolling...

Jeremy Corbyn and Labour have just taken their biggest poll lead yet
07 July 2017

Labour have moved into their biggest poll lead yet, and are now eight points ahead of Theresa May and the Conservatives.

The latest poll, carried out by YouGov for The Times, has Labour on 46%, with the Tories sitting back on 38%. The Lib Dems have 6% of the support while Ukip are down to just 4%.

Labour have enjoyed a boost in the polls ever since last month’s general election, which saw Theresa May lose her majority and forced to had over £1 billion to the DUP in order to form a minority government with the Northern Irish party’s support.

Last month an ICM poll gave Labour a two-point lead, while an Opinium poll put them six points ahead, but this eight-point gulf is now the largest Labour have had in years, and since Corbyn became party leader.

The 46% polling is also 6% up on Labour’s general election vote share, and if an election were called tomorrow, they would be firm favourites to be in government.

An 'Ohhh Jeremy Corbyn' sign is held aloft at Glastonbury

Of course, with the Tories in such a shaky position right now, another snap election looks very unlikely, at least at this stage. While it is far from ideal, Theresa May’s support from the DUP means she is still able to get votes passed in the Commons, especially seeing as no members of her party seem willing to rebel.

Corbyn has enjoyed a huge surge in popularity over the past couple of months – while he was once roundly disliked by the majority of the public, seen as totally unelectable and forced to fight off Owen Smith in a leadership concert, his name is now being chanted across Glastonbury Festival and the streets are dotted with people wearing T-shirts bearing his name.

The Corbyn ‘cult’ has now become a far more mainstream movement, with the polls suggesting more and more people keep buying into his way of doing politics.

His desire to end austerity and policies such as free tuition fees and a commitment to end the pay cap on public sector workers’ salaries have resonated with the public.

Much has been said of his ability to bring out the youth vote, and that is true – turnout was up to 64% among 18-24s at the election, most of whom voted Labour – but the Party’s appeal actually covers almost every age group.

In YouGov’s breakdown of how people voted in the general election, they found that Labour had the majority of the vote share for everyone under the age of 49.

The big question for Labour now is whether they can continue to hold onto this popularity until 2022 – when the next general election is scheduled for. Unless there is a collapse in the deal with the DUP or the Tories see a number of rebellions within their own party, Corbyn’s ‘government-in-waiting’ could be in for a long wait.

(Images: Rex / YouGov)