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A damning poll after Labour’s by-election disaster shows more than a third of the party’s voters think Jeremy Corbyn should be replaced as leader.

And almost one in six believe the party does not have the right ­policies to win a general election.

The ComRes poll, commissioned by the Sunday Mirror on Friday, is a fresh blow to a party already reeling from the catastrophic defeat in Copeland.

Although the party won in Stoke, where it was expected to struggle against UKIP, the loss of a seat it had held for 80 years cut deep.

It was the first time a governing party has gained a seat from its opposition in a by-election since 1982.

And today’s poll goes some way to showing where the problems lie.

It shows a fifth of Labour voters feel the party is too left wing.

(Image: London News Pictures Ltd)

Among non-Labour voters the judgment on the party is even harsher – 77 per cent do not believe that Labour has the right leader and 73 per cent do not ­believe it has the right policies.

The poll found 71 per cent of this group believe Labour has lost touch with working-class people.

Almost half of those surveyed believe it should do more to “appeal to people’s aspiration and ambition”.

One senior backbench MP told the Sunday Mirror: “This shows what we have known all along. There is a fundamental problem with the Labour Party at the ­moment.

“I don’t think it’s as simple as ­saying that it’s the leader.”

Referring to two Labour figures who have been tipped as possible leaders and Tony Blair ’s triumph 20 years ago, the MP added: “If you brought in a Dan Jarvis or a Clive Lewis, there’s not going to be some sort of 1997 surge.

“But we need to be talking to the electorate. They need a clear vision of our policies and where we stand on the big issues.

“Jeremy is a quiet and thoughtful person who everyone thinks is a nice bloke.

“But lots of people think that those qualities – the ones that got him to this point – are not the ones the public want.

(Image: Getty)

“At the moment there is a stand-off in the party and until that is ­resolved one way or the other we can’t move forward.

“And we desperately need to. The country needs us to be a strong opposition, especially at a time like this.

“Labour looks old-fashioned and out of touch. We’re a 19th century party trying to operate in a 21st ­century world.

“The Tories, UKIP, and the Lib Dems are playing the game better than us.”

But even former rebels say changing the leader is not the answer.

One former frontbencher said: “I’m just telling colleagues to dig in.

“We’re going to have to let the whole thing play out whether we like it or not. If anyone made a move against Corbyn it will be the usual ‘it’s just Labour MPs having a go at him.’ But what you have to say about this time round is the Parliamentary Labour Party are not at fault.

“The whips made it very clear they wanted everyone to do their bit in both by-elections.

“Everyone went. Some people went to Copeland six times.

“But it is clear what’s happening on the doorstep. People don’t buy into him. He’s one of the problems but there’s a lot more going on than that.”

ComRes interviewed 1,047 adults for our poll. Across all age groups, genders and regions, voters would be more likely to choose ­Labour under a different leader.

And people who vote for other parties would consider Labour under a different leader.

(Image: Leon Neal)

The poll found 57 per cent of Lib Dem voters would switch to Labour if Mr Corbyn stood down.

And almost a quarter of UKIP voters said that move would change their minds. Even 34 per cent of ­Labour voters say they would be more likely to support the party with a different leader.

But more than half say a change at the top would make no difference, which makes some Labour MPs despair. One senior party source said: “I’m resigned to him leading us into 2020 and we all know what that’s going to mean.

“He’s not going anywhere. But Copeland was a Labour seat. That’s a seat we’ve held for 80 years. It’s not a marginal, no matter what people are saying about it. We’ve got no business losing a seat like that.”

Former cabinet minister Lord Mandelson and ex-PM Tony Blair both rounded on Mr Corbyn’s performance before the by-elections.

The source said of Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell: “He is already out there trying to blame Mandelson and Blair.

“I thought it was hard to disagree with Blair although his timing was bad. He should have made that speech after these elections.

"But by no stretch of the imagination is it his fault. There’s a problem here. But the thing is, no-one really wants another leadership election. There’s no stomach for that at the moment.

“Jeremy is not going to go ­anywhere so we have to sit down and work out what we are going to do as a party.”

The poll shows the most popular alternative to Mr Corbyn as leader would be London Mayor Sadiq Khan .

(Image: Getty)

However, while 19 per cent said him taking over would make them more likely to vote Labour, 23 per cent said they would be less likely.

Leeds Central MP Hilary Benn – widely tipped as a possible successor – showed up neutral with as many being put off voting Labour as being more inclined to.

Among Lib Dem voters, seen as a potential source of support for ­Labour, 47 per cent would vote for Mr Khan. Other popular choices would be Mr Benn (40 per cent), Mr Blair (34 per cent) and MP Chuka Umunna (36 per cent).

A source close to Mr Corbyn, who has triumphed in two leadership contests since Labour’s election defeat in 2015, said: “The message is there, it’s just a case of getting it out and engaging with people.

“Jeremy has a mandate. He won both contests fair and square. There’s no way he’s going to go. Why would he? We saw off UKIP in Stoke and that was a big win for us.

“The Copeland result was ­disappointing but hopefully we will learn from it.

“Jeremy has a lot of work still to do but there are signs that colleagues are supporting him.

“We know what the polls say but there is a long way to go.

“There are difficulties coming up for the Government in terms of Brexit and we can build on that.

“If we all pull together then of course we can present an alternative.

“We can make a success of this.”