Yahoo News Jeremy Corbyn loses the youth vote as Theresa May and the Tories fight back in opinion polls
Jeremy Corbyn is losing support among younger voters, a survey has revealed.
The latest data from the Observer Opinium poll shows that prime minister Theresa May is now more popular than the Labour leader with the younger demographic.
Up to now, every published survey since last year’s general election had placed Mr Corbyn ahead of the Conservative Party leader with young people.
But in the latest poll, Mrs May is ahead of Mr Corbyn by 4% among 18 to 34-year-olds.
Last July, Mr Corbyn’s lead over the Tory leader was as high as 22%.
It marks a significant turnaround in leader and party fortunes, with Mr Corbyn bearing the brunt of Labour’s recent internal battle with anti-Semitism.
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Overall, the Observer poll found that the Conservatives have opened up a four-point lead over Labour.
The Tories have increased their monthly popularity by three points to 43%, with Labour down one point to 39%.
The Liberal Democrats dropped one point to 6%, with Ukip on 4%, also dropping a point.
When asked who would make the best prime minister, 36% said they would prefer Mrs May, compared to 23% for Mr Corbyn.
The survey reveals that both party leaders are yet to convince on the thorny issue of Brexit – 44% are not happy with Mrs May’s performance in this area, compared to 32% who approve.
However, Mr Corbyn is faring even worse, with 48% disapproving of his Brexit strategy and only 19% saying they are happy with it.
Meanwhile, 40% of Leave voters say they back the prime minister on Brexit, but only 26% of Remain supporters think the Labour leader is doing well on that issue.
When asked if they would like a second referendum on Brexit, 49% said they were opposed and 37% backed the idea – marking no significant change since last year.
