Poll shows Bunting 18 points ahead of Phillips

A just-released Rise United-commissioned Don Anderson poll is showing People's National Party (PNP) leadership aspirant Peter Bunting 18 points ahead of incumbent Peter Phillips in favourability rating.

The poll, conducted from July 20 to August 2 among 700 respondents, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 per cent.

It found that 39 per cent of respondents believed Bunting is better suited to lead the 80-year-old party at this time compared to the 21 per cent in favour of Phillips.

Bunting, who is leading the Rise United campaign, and Phillips, the leader of the 'One PNP' camp, will face off in a high-stakes leadership election in Kingston on September 7.

Meanwhile, 25 per cent of those polled said they were not sure who is better suited to lead the PNP at this time and 16 per cent said none of the two was suitable.

What if an election were to be called now

According to the Rise United-Don Anderson poll, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) would come out on top if an election were to be called now.

The poll found 35 per cent support for the JLP compared to  30 per cent for the PNP.

However, 36 per cent of the respondents believed that with Bunting as party president, PNP will have a better chance of winning against the Andrew Holness-led party in the next election compared to 16 per cent for Phillips.

The PNP now holds 29 seats in Parliament compared to the 34 held by the JLP.

Over the past two years, the JLP has won two by-elections to increase its original 32-31 majority following the 2016 general election.

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