THE LABOUR frontrunners have been blasted as a clone of Corbyn and too corporate by people who used to vote for them.
A Channel 4 focus group of former Labour supporters in Birmingham produced nightmare results for Sir Keir Starmer and Rebecca Long-Bailey, with both being dismissed by voters.
In the focus group Sir Keir was labelled a bit corporate a bit like David Cameron.
He was also described as not for the people, money bags, and accused of looking down on the public.
Another added: For a man he seems quite weak.
Ms Long Bailey was also blasted, being labelled a clone of Jeremy Corbyn.
The former Labour voters accused her of being in the far-left leaders pocket, and described her as Mr Corbyn but 30 years younger and changed to a female with the same policies”.
Former Theresa May pollster James Johnson conducted the focus group, and said there was no real star in the race for the leadership.
He said: The preferences of the voters Labour needs to win back to do not match those of the members.
Instead, the favourites in this contest are Starmer and Long Bailey.
When I told respondents that these two were the frontrunners, despairing laughter echoed around the room.
I was left with one conclusion: in Number 10, they will be rubbing their hands in glee.
Fellow contenders Lisa Nandy and Emily Thornberry fared better,with almost the entire focus group saying they could see themselves voting labour again for them.
Jess Phillips was also praised by the group, who were polled before she dropped out the race.
This morning she backed Ms Nandy for leader, and said Sir Keir would be her second preference.
The contenders are still trying to get on the ballot to win the competition, needing support from unions and constituency Labour parties.
Members can then vote from February 21, with the winner announced on April 4.
It comes as Ms Phillips withdrawal saw Sir Keirs odds of becoming the new leader shorten even further.
Political betting aggregator BonusCodeBets.co.uk had Sir Keir at 3/10, Ms Long-Bailey at 7/2, Ms Nandy on 13/2 and Ms Thornberry on 100/1.
