A LABOUR frontbencher insisted Jeremy Corbyn led an ineffectual “party of protest” after official membership figures plunged by a whopping 23,000 this year, drawing attention to its much larger membership under Mr Corbyn.

Shadow Treasury minister Darren Jones played down the appeal of the former leader’s left-wing policies today after the party’s national executive committee heard the total had fallen to just over 366,000 from a high of more than half a million.

Labour has faced criticism from members over its response to the invasion of Gaza and for ditching its £28 billion Green Prosperity Plan.

Mr Jones told Good Morning Britain: “There was also a huge surge in membership of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn — many supporters preferred a party of protest as opposed to a party who have had to make difficult decisions around the trade-offs in its preparation for government in the hope that we get to run this country.

“We’ve still got plenty of Labour Party members across the country, I think more than any other party.”

He added that the party had more work to do to convince voters, despite its significant lead in the polls.

A recent survey has suggested that Rishi Sunak’s Tories could be reduced to fewer than 100 MPs at the general election.

The 15,000-person poll was used to create a seat-by-seat breakdown, which indicated the Conservatives would be wiped out in Scotland and Wales, and hold just 98 seats in England.

The research put Labour on 45 per cent with a 19-point lead over the Tories on 26 per cent and suggested Sir Keir Starmer’s party could be on course for a landslide, winning 468 seats.