Thursday 28 July 2016 3:57 pm

The yawning gap between Labour supporters and the general public has been illustrated by a new survey

A new survey has revealed the widening gulf in opinion between Labour supporters and the voting public, with the two sides disagreeing on which of the party's leadership candidates would make the best Prime Minister.

In a survey of 1545 UK adults, pollster BMG found that 57 per cent of voters said that leadership challenger Owen Smith would make a better leader for the UK.

However, when it comes to those who voted Labour in 2015, 60 per cent prefer Jeremy Corbyn.

And among those intending to vote Labour in the next election, a whopping 75 per cent back Labour's current leader.

Michael Turner, Research Director at BMG Research, said: “People who currently would not vote for the party but say they may consider it are far more in favour of a party led by Mr Smith. He is also more attractive to current Liberal Democrat and UKIP supporters.

“But Mr Corbyn is still hugely more popular among current Labour backers.”

Similarly, just over one-in-three voters said that Corbyn is putting his own interests first after refusing to resign when he overwhelmingly lost a vote of no confidence among his own MPs.

But 44 per cent of Labour supporters said the leader's refusal to go showed him acting in the interests of the whole party.

However, in an intriguing quirk, despite the strong support for the current leadership among Labour backers, there is also an acknowedgement of the failings of the party.

44 per cent of those Labour supporters, who so overwhelmingly back Corbyn, say that the party is currently failing to provide a proper opposition to Theresa May's government.