SCOTTISH Labour’s membership has surged by just 4,000 since new UK leader Jeremy Corbyn was elected, according to reports in the Financial Times.
The effect of the new leader on the party north of the Border is somewhat different to London, where more than 40,000 people have joined up on the back of so-called Corbyn-mania.
According to the FT’s data, “a Labour member is now four times more likely to be a Londoner than a Scottish resident compared with virtual parity a generation ago”. In contrast to Labour, both the SNP and Scottish Greens have seen substantial membership surges in the last year.
Almost 20 per cent of Labour’s membership comes from London, compared to less than five per cent from Scotland. Scottish Labour members used to make up to 10 per cent of the total party.
The paper said the figures were obtained from someone in the London party who said Scottish Labour’s membership had risen to 19,000 since May.
The news comes after it was revealed the party will fight next May’s Scottish Parliament elections with a much reduced campaign budget of £200,000.
Across the UK, Labour’s membership has doubled to more than 370,000 in only six months.
However, another poll yesterday suggested Corbyn had not yet convinced the people of Britain he would be the best person to have responsibility for the UK’s national security.
An ORB poll in the Independent found that only 29 per cent of people trusted Corbyn on the issue while 71 per cent did not.
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