Diane Abbott has leapfrogged Dame Tessa Jowell as Labour supporters’ choice to be the party’s contender for London Mayor in 2016, a new poll reveals today.
The findings will reignite manoeuvring at Westminster where Dame Tessa was previously seen as the frontrunner.
Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP Ms Abbott is backed by 17 per cent of people intending to vote Labour at the 2015 general election, compared to 14 per cent for Dame Tessa, according to the YouGov survey.
A similar poll last October had former Olympics minister Dame Tessa, MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, on 20 per cent, and Ms Abbott 13 per cent.
Former frontbencher Ms Abbott said the latest results were “encouraging”, adding: “We have got a year to go before Labour selects its candidate and I certainly don’t rule out running for Mayor.”
Labour’s candidate is set to be chosen in a “primary” where people register as a supporter of the party and pay a small fee to take part in the vote.
But Dame Tessa still has more appeal among the wider electorate than Ms Abbott, eleven per cent comapred to nine per cent, with far greater support from Conservative and Liberal Democrat supporters.
Comedian Eddie Izzard ruling himself out as Labour’s challenger for 2016 had “opened up the field” for other candidates, said Tanya Abraham of YouGov.
“Although Tessa Jowell has the overall lead, her support among the wider public and Labour supporters has fallen slightly in the past few months,” she added.
“Instead, it is currently Diane Abbott that Labour voters think would be the party’s best candidate to replace Boris. However, we are still two years out from the election in London and a lot is likely to change between now and then.”
Read More
Tottenham MP David Lammy is third among Labour supporters, on nine per cent, followed by shadow London minister Sadiq Khan on eight per cent.
Tooting MP Mr Khan is seen as the most active potential mayoral candidate and is credited with having led a successful local election campaign which saw Labour do better in London in May than in other regions.
After suggestions that Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Stephen Lawrence’s mother, could enter the mayoral race, she is supported by six per cent of Labour supporters, just ahead of former Transport Secretary Lord Adonis.
But while Ms Abbott may have nudged into the lead, less than half of voters have yet to back any of the candidates, with 30 per cent asked in the poll saying “none of these” and an equal number stating they “don’t know”.
