Owen Smith would have been a better Labour leader than Jeremy Corbyn, say British public

Exclusive ComRes poll for The Independent finds that the Labour leadership contest has been damaging for the party

Owen Smith and Jeremy Corbyn share the stage in Liverpool before the leadership election result is announced

Owen Smith had a better chance of winning a general election than Jeremy Corbyn, according to an exclusive ComRes opinion poll for The Independent. In sharp contrast to the result of the Labour leadership election, 38 per cent of the general public said Mr Smith had “more chance of winning”, and 31 per cent chose Mr Corbyn – although a further 31 per cent said they didn’t know.

Of people currently intending to vote Labour, however, more think Mr Corbyn stands a better chance – 49 per cent, against 28 per cent who say Mr Smith.

And the good news for Mr Corbyn is that 41 per cent agree that he is “taking politics outside the Westminster bubble” – only 24 per cent disagree and 34 per cent don’t know.

The news follows Mr Corbyn's victory over Mr Smith, in which he won 61.8 per cent of the ballot, compared to his challenger's 38.2 per cent support.

The poll suggests the Labour leadership contest has been damaging to the party’s image. Three quarters of the British people (74 per cent) agree that “Labour is more divided now than I can ever remember”.

Those with longest memories, the 65+ age group, are most likely to agree. Although they might recall the SDP breakaway in 1981 and the battle against the Militant tendency, 90 per cent of the 65+ age group agree with the statement. Among all Labour voters, around two thirds agree (64 per cent).

The poll finds that more people disagree (48 per cent) with Mr Corbyn’s supporters’ claim that he is inspiring a new political generation than agree (31 per cent). More people also say they “share Neil Kinnock’s concern that the Labour Party is being taken over by the hard left” (39 per cent) than say they do not (25 per cent).

Labour also trails the Conservatives in that 45 per cent say they have a “good understanding” of what the party stands for, against 65 per cent who say the same of the Tories, and 63 per cent who say it of Ukip. Of the main parties, only the Liberal Democrats trail Labour on this measure, scoring 32 per cent.

A separate BMG poll for The Independent yesterday found that working-class voters were more likely than middle-class voters to say that they thought Mr Corbyn was “incompetent”, “naive” and an “election loser”.

ComRes interviewed 2,050 adults in Great Britain online on 21 and 22 September 2016. Data were weighted to be demographically representative of all GB adults. Full tables on the ComRes website.