Fewer than half of Labour voters think Jeremy Corbyn would be the best prime minister, according to a poll for the Observer that finds the Conservatives remain the most trusted party on all key issues except the NHS.

Research by Opinium suggests that given a two-way choice between Corbyn and Theresa May, 14% of voters would choose the Labour leader, compared with 47% for the prime minister. Among Labour voters asked the question, 45% said they would like to see Corbyn in No 10.

Twenty-eight per cent of those questioned said they wanted neither Corbyn nor May.

The Conservatives were the most trusted to lead Brexit negotiations among 35% of respondents, a figure unchanged from March and up from 30% in January. This compares with 12% for Labour, the same figure as March, but down from 13% in January.

Opinium’s findings come as attacks on Corbyn’s leadership continue, despite attempts to draw attention away from party infighting with promises to introduce free school meals for all children, raise the minimum wage, halt closures of high street banks, clamp down on “sweetheart deals” with HMRC and champion small businesses.

The loss of a council seat in Middlesbrough on Friday, even after campaigning support from many Labour MPs, has raised fears that the party is in for a drubbing at council and mayoral elections on 4 May. Tom Blenkinsop, the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP, said Corbyn’s “far left” leadership had been a factor in the loss.

As they were in March, health and Brexit remained the most important issues among respondents. After the attack in Westminster by Khalid Masood, terrorism rose from fifth to third.

The economy sits in a relatively lowly fifth place below immigration, with 23% of respondents citing the former as one of the most important issues facing the country.

Labour was more trusted than the Conservatives only on the NHS, beating the Tories by eight percentage points on 28%. Labour was least trusted on immigration, with 7% rating the party top on the issue.

The Tories lost their double-digit lead over Labour in headline voting intentions, but were still nine percentage points ahead on 38%. It was the first time the Conservatives had polled at less than 40% since the start of February, said the founder of Number Cruncher Politics, Matt Singh.

Opinium/Observer:



CON 38 (-3)

LAB 29 (+1)

LD 7 (-1)

UKIP 14 (+1)

GRN 5 (+2)

SNP 5 (-1)



11th-13th Apr

N=2,002

Tabs https://t.co/puQMIlUPzH pic.twitter.com/V4lHDq44bl — NumbrCrunchrPolitics (@NCPoliticsUK) April 15, 2017

The Liberal Democrats fell by one point to 7%, while Ukip gained one to 14%. The Greens rose by two points to 5%. The Scottish National party was also on 5%, down by one point.

Opinium Research carried out an online survey of 2,002 UK adults aged 18+ from 11 to 13 April 2017. Results have been weighted to representative criteria.



