The Labour leadership contest is a two horse race between incumbent leader Jeremy Corbyn and Owen Smith, the former Shadow Work and Pensions Minster. But exactly how close is the battle for leadership?

The leadership contest has already been plagued with controversy. Although Labour’s rules stated that politicians need at least 50 Labour MPs to get on the ballot for the leadership contest, Labour’s ruling body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), voted to include Mr Corbyn without 50 MPs due to being the incumbent.

Angela Eagle initially went forward to contest Mr Corbyn for the leadership position but withdrew after Owen Smith entered the race and received more support from MPs.

What the polls say

Latest polls are bad news for Smith and his supporters. According to the recent YouGov poll, Jeremy Corbyn is set to comfortably beat his rival candidate Owen Smith in the Labour leadership election by more than 20 points.

A survey asking eligible voters, which was produced for The Times, put the current Labour leader ahead with a staggering 62 per cent saying that they would vote for him in the leadership race. Only 38 per cent of those who are eligible to vote said that they would vote for Owen Smith despite claims that they he is the “more electable candidate.”