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Rebecca Long-Bailey is trailing in last place in the Labour leadership contest among the ordinary voters who the party most needs to impress, an exclusive poll reveals today.

The Left-winger dubbed “Continuity Corbyn” has even fallen behind Emily Thornberry when it comes to public support, found Ipsos MORI, despite being backed by some trade union leaders and Labour branches.

The findings are a major setback to the Long-Bailey bandwagon, which started out as favourite to inherit the Labour crown from mentor Jeremy Corbyn. Her campaign failed to gather momentum amid divisions among supporters and internal rows over tactics. Researchers from Ipsos MORI asked which of the four candidates had “what it takes to be prime minister” and whether people would be likely to consider voting Labour with them in charge.

Sir Keir Starmer, the current frontrunner and shadow Brexit secretary, had the best score with 32 per cent of the public and 45 per cent of Labour voters saying he has what it takes to run Britain. Some 35 per cent of the public said they could back Labour with him in charge.

Lisa Nandy, the long-shot rising star of the campaign, came second with 23 per cent of the public and 33 per cent of Labour voters saying she is made of the right stuff for a premier. Some 32 per cent said they would be tempted to back a Labour party led by her.

Shadow foreign secretary Ms Thornberry, who is struggling to make it onto the ballot paper because she lacks union and local Constituency Labour Party branch (CLP) backing, was third placed with 19 per cent of the public and 28 per cent of Labour supporters. A third of the public felt they could vote Labour under her leadership.

But Ms Long-Bailey came in even lower in the eyes of ordinary voters, with just 14 per cent of the public saying she had the makings of a prime minister, and just 27 per cent of Labour supporters. Moreover, only 28 per cent said they were likely to vote Labour if she took charge.

The regional findings of the poll shatter Ms Long-Bailey’s claims that she “can unite all of our heartlands from Blyth Valley to Brixton”.

Sir Keir is well ahead as “prime ministerial” in London, the North of England, the Midlands, South and Scotland.

Ms Long-Bailey comes last in the Midlands, the South and Scotland. In the North, her own stamping ground, she came third for being a good premier-in-waiting, and last for attracting voters to Labour. When it comes to attracting people who do not currently support Labour, Ms Long-Bailey again comes last. An overwhelming 79 per cent of non-Labour voters said they were unlikely to endorse the party if she led it. For the others, the figures were Sir Keir 71, Ms Thornberry 76 and Ms Nandy, 71.

Today’s poll reveals Labour is a full 17 points behind the Conservatives, meaning the next leader will have a mountain to climb to win office.

Conservatives are on 47 per cent, up two points from the election result of December 12, and Labour is down three to 30 per cent. The Lib Dems are down a point to 11 with the Greens up two to five. Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party has faded to just one per cent, suggesting it is currently deemed redundant in Boris Johnson’s Britain.

The leadership poll attracted a high number of “don’t knows”, suggesting many people have yet to make up their minds.

Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos MORI, said: “Awareness of all the Labour leadership candidates is low, so there is time for them to build a better public profile. But while Keir Starmer starts in a stronger position [and also is more palatable to Liberal Democrat supporters], Rebecca Long-Bailey has more of a challenge to turn negative perceptions around. None of them, though, face an easy task persuading more voters to vote Labour.”

Ipsos MORI interviewed 1,001 adults across Great Britain by phone from January 31 to February 3. Data are weighted. Details at www.ipsos-mori.com