As Tory MPs start jostling for position at the start of the Tory leadership race, they and their allies will be making claims and counter-claims about who would be best placed to take on Corbyn with one eye on their own prospects. Perhaps it might be worth asking a more objective sample of experts who might be best placed to beat Corbyn? Labour activists for example?

LabourList did a massive survey of 4,478 readers last week which they have just published. They asked: “Which of the following potential candidates do you think would be most difficult for Jeremy Corbyn to beat in a general election?”

Labour frontbenchers and Owen Jones might bluff that they don’t fear Boris, in reality they remember he beat them twice in London, a City they consider their fiefdom. The opponent Labour activists most fear is Boris. They know. The clique of Tory MPs who are trying to block Boris are making a strategic mistake that risks delivering a Marxist government in Britain.