MOST Labour activists think their party should focus on attracting non-voters rather than appealing to Tories, a new survey suggested yesterday.

The poll of over 2,000 people on grassroots site LabourList also revealed that the vast majority have already voted for the party’s new leader.

Research after this year’s general election suggested that Ed Miliband lost the election due to a significant proportion of those who had promised to vote Labour failing to turn out on polling day.

The survey says 45 per cent of the rank and file believe Labour should prioritise that demographic in its electoral strategy.
Only 17 per cent of respondents thought the party should target Conservative voters.

The issue has proved a dividing line in the Labour leadership election, with Liz Kendall being the strongest advocate for reaching out to Tory voters.

The argument that Labour should target non-voters has mainly been advocated by supporters of left-wing frontrunner Jeremy Corbyn.

Almost three-quarters of those surveyed have already voted in the leadership poll, suggesting that the final few weeks of the contest will be less significant.

It was also revealed that the media hysteria over the contest being “infiltrated” by political opponents is not shared by the party grassroots.

A majority (51 per cent) said that they were more concerned about Labour supporters losing their right to vote.

Only 20 per cent said they were most worried about non-supporters being given a vote.

Last week the party apologised to a longstanding member and former council candidate who was “accidentally” purged.