A new YouGov poll finds support for the Labour leader and his party has not been affected by recent media stories about him.
- Claims that Jeremy Corbyn was a paid soviet informant have had no impact on public support for him according to a new poll.
- The YouGov polls finds a large majority of voters have not changed their mind about the Labour leader because of the stories.
- Labour's support has actually risen one point since the stories began.
- Allegations by a former Czech spy, have been denied by Labour and dismissed by Czech authorities.
LONDON — Claims by a former Czech spy that Jeremy Corbyn was a paid 'collaborator' during the Cold War have not reduced support for the Labour leader or his party according to a new poll.
The YouGov poll for the Times, out on Saturday, found that just 8% of voters thought worse of the Labour leader because of the claims, but 6% thought better of him. The majority, 64%, said the stories had made absolutely no difference to their opinion on Corbyn.
The poll also found Labour's support has actually risen since the stories began. Labour's support has gone up one point to 42%, with the Conservatives unchanged on 40%.
The poll findings follow a week of front page stories in newspapers, including The Sun, Daily Mail and Telegraph which alleged that Corbyn and other senior figures were "assets" of the former Czech spy Jan Sarkocy.
Sarkocy's accounts have continued to dominate the news this week, despite being vehemently denied by the Labour leadership and roundly dismissed by Czech authorities, who say there is no evidence Corbyn was ever a paid informant.
"When you compare the documents which [Sarkocy] had written and signed himself with what he is saying today, based on that he is a liar,"Radek Schovánek, Czech Republic defence ministry analyst told the Guardian.