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Barely a third of Unite the Union members are certain to vote Labour in the general election, according to a survey of 75,000 carried out just weeks ago, report Jim Pickard and Peggy Hollinger.

The secret mass poll showed the challenge facing Jeremy Corbyn to win over working class voters in the run-up to Thursday’s general election.

Of those surveyed, 35 per cent were Labour, 19 per cent Conservative, 11 per cent Brexit party and 18 per cent undecided.

The findings are awkward given that Unite is Labour’s biggest single donor, handing the party millions of pounds every years. Len McCluskey, its general secretary, is one of the most powerful figures in the party’s hierarchy.

Unite officials said that the situation had improved since the poll was carried out at the start of the election campaign. A spokesperson said:

This poll of Unite members was carried out about a month ago and is therefore out of date ... It’s also important to note that it was carried out among a self-selecting group of our membership, so not entirely representative.

Mr McCluskey disclosed the existence of the private poll last week when he told Huffington Post that it had showed a large number of undecided members. He did not mention that 29 per cent were planning to vote for the Conservative or Brexit party. “There is still a big don’t know group there and that encourages me to an extent,” he said.

The poll also showed that 7 per cent of Unite members planned to back the Lib Dems, 4 per cent were not voting while 2 per cent were voting Green and 1 per cent Ukip.

The sectoral breakdown shows even weaker support for Labour in some specific areas and regions. In the automotive industry the poll found the Tories at 24 per cent, just a whisker behind Labour on 26 per cent.