Voters want Labour’s next leader to make a decisive break with Jeremy Corbyn’s agenda, but are not impressed by any of the potential candidates to succeed him, a new poll has revealed.

In a finding that will cast doubt over Mr Corbyn’s claims to have “won the argument” during the general election campaign, the BMG survey for The Independent found that voters think Labour must ditch its current approach to taxation, public spending and national security, and shift towards the centre ground.

The public wants the next Labour leader to abandon radical plans to raise taxes and embark on a huge public spending spree, including £500bn of borrowing to fund investment in infrastructure.

Mr Corbyn will step down early next after leading Labour to its worst general election result in 85 years. Despite his party losing 59 seats, he insisted that Labour had “won the argument”.

However, the BMG poll suggests that his economic agenda and his stance on national security issues were both particularly unpopular.

It found that 46 per cent of voters think Labour should ditch its current agenda on tax and change course, while just 27 per cent are in favour of policy similar to Mr Corbyn’s.

Forty-five per cent of voters also want Labour’s current positions on public spending and nationalisation to be dumped, while in both cases 28 per cent do not.

The gap is even wider on security issues, with 48 per cent saying that the new leader should break with Mr Corbyn’s approach to defence. Just 21 per cent support the current policy.

Even among Labour voters, only around half say the next leader should definitely continue Mr Corbyn’s approach to tax and nationalisation.

By contrast, Labour’s current health policies are much more popular, with a majority (42 per cent versus 33 per cent) wanting them to be maintained. The party’s position on climate change is also slightly more popular than unpopular.

Prospective candidates have already begun jockeying to succeed Mr Corbyn ahead of the formal start of the leadership contest in January.

Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, and Clive Lewis, the Treasury minister, have announced their intentions to stand, while Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, Rebecca Long Bailey, the shadow business secretary, and Lisa Nandy, the Wigan MP, are expected to run. Backbenchers David Lammy, Yvette Cooper and Jess Phillips are also eyeing up a bid.

The finding that voters want Labour to shift towards the centre ground will cause problems for leadership hopefuls, given that the party base is likely to demand the next leader promises to continue much of Mr Corbyn’s left-wing agenda.

Those most likely to ditch Mr Corbyn’s approach, including Ms Phillips and Ms Cooper, are thought to be highly unlikely to be chosen by the left-wing membership.

The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Show all 8 1 /8 The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Keir Starmer The former director of public prosecutions undoubtedly has announced that he is standing for the leadership. He is highly-regarded by both left-wingers and centrists in the party. As Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary, he played a key role in the party’s eventual backing of a second referendum. Before becoming an MP, he was a human rights lawyer - conducting cases in international courts including the European Court of Human Rights. Launching his bid, Starmer said that Labour must listen to the public on how to change "restore trust in our party as a force for good." A YouGov poll places him comfortably in the lead as the preferred candidate of 36% of party members EPA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Lisa Nandy Wigan MP Lisa Nandy has announced she wil stand for the leadership. In a letter to the Wigan Post she said she wanted to bring Labour "home" to voters in its traditional strongholds who have abandoned the party. Nandy went on to say that she understands "that we have one chance to win back the trust of people in Wigan, Workington and Wrexham." A YouGov poll shows that Nandy is the first preference for 6% of partymembers. Getty The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Rebecca Long Bailey A key ally of the current left-wing leadership of the party, the Salford & Eccles MP is viewed in some quarters as the natural successor to Mr Corbyn and describes herself as a “proud socialist”. Highly regarded by the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell. She won also won plaudits for her performance filling in for Corbyn both at prime minister’s questions and during the general election debates. The shadow business secretary grew up by Old Trafford football ground and began her working life serving at the counter of a pawn shop. Launching her leadership bid, Long Bailey said the party needs to make the positive case for immigration as a "positive force." She also broke with Corbyn over Trident, saying "If you have a deterrent you have to be prepared to use it." PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Angela Rayner - Deputy leadership Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner has joined the contest for deputy leadership of the party. After ruling herself out of running for the leadership, the Ashton-under-Lynne MP launched her bid for deputy warning that Labour faces the "biggest challenge" in its history and must "win or die." She is close with leadership contender Rebecca Long Bailey PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Rosena Allin-Khan - Deputy leadership Shadow sport minister Rosena Allin-Khan said Labour need to listen with "humility" to lost voters as she launched her bid for the deputy leadership. Writing in The Independent, the MP for Tooting refelcted: "We shouldn’t have ignored the warning signs in Scotland, and now we’ve paid the price in northern England, across the midlands and in Wales." PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Dawn Butler - Deputy leadership Shadow women and equalities secretary Dawn Butler was first to announce her bid for the deputy leadership. The Brent Central MP has served in Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet since 2016 PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Ian Murray - Deputy leadership Labour's only MP in Scotland said that the architects of the party's "catastrophic failure" in the December election can not be allowed to lead the party forward PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Richard Burgon - Deputy leadership Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon is standing as a continuity candidate, flaunting his loyalty to Jeremy Corbyn and saying it is wrong to blame the current leader for the election defeat PA

Robert Struthers, research manager at BMG, said: “As the Labour Party enters a period of soul searching, this polling suggests that there is much that the public would like the next Labour leader to change with respect to the party’s policy platform.

“From the areas listed, the NHS and climate change are areas where more voters feel Jeremy Corbyn’s positions are in the right place. For instance, in the case of the NHS, close to half of the public think the next Labour leader should pursue a similar agenda, including three-quarters of those who backed Labour at the ballot box earlier this month.

“More concerning are areas such as defence, taxation and nationalisation, where many more think the next Labour leader should change direction. Indeed, in terms of defence and security – an area where Mr Corbyn often clashed with his critics on the right of the Labour party – it is particularly telling that more of even those who still backed Labour just two weeks ago think the next Labour leader should change course than believe they should stick with Corbyn’s platform.”

The BMG poll revealed that voters are not yet impressed by any of the potential candidates.

When the public is asked who should succeed Mr Corbyn, Sir Keir is the most popular option, but he is backed by just 9 per cent of voters – narrowly ahead of Ms Phillips (8 per cent) and Ms Cooper (6 per cent).

Emily Thornberry condemns Corbyn's advisers

In a blow to Ms Long Bailey, who is seen as Sir Keir’s main rival as frontrunner, only 2 per cent of people polled said they wanted her to replace Mr Corbyn, while 61 per cent said they had never heard of her. The Corbyn ally comes behind Mr Lammy, the Tottenham MP, and Ms Nandy, the Wigan MP, when voters are asked who should be the next Labour leader.

Sir Keir is also the most popular choice among Labour voters, with 16 per cent preferring. He is ahead of Ms Phillips (11 per cent) and Ms Cooper (7 per cent).

Among Tory voters, many of whom Labour will need to win over if is to win the next election, Sir Keir is marginally less popular than Ms Cooper.

The poll found that many members of Labour’s top team have barely registered with voters. Ms Cooper was the best known, with 60 per cent of people saying they had heard of her, followed by 55 for Ms Thornberry, 50 per cent for Sir Keir and 48 per cent for Mr Lammy.

The figure drops to 28 per cent for Ms Nandy and 23 per cent for Mr Lewis.