A plurality of Labour voters believe the grooming gangs scandal came as the result of a cover-up, a new poll conducted exclusively for GB News has revealed.
Friderichs Advisory and JL Partners, who conducted the representative poll of 2,002 British adults between January 10 and January 13, found 40 per cent of 2024 Labour voters strongly or tend to agree that the grooming gangs scandal came as the result of a cover-up.
Around one-in-five Labour voters disagree with the suggestion of a cover-up, with the remaining 41 per cent neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
In fact, every group in the population, including BAME voters, think it is more likely that the scandal was caused by a cover-up than not.
Sir Keir Starmer with insets of grooming gang abusers and the poll conducted for GB News
PA/Friderichs Advisory and JL Partners
Almost half of all respondents, 46 per cent, strongly or tend to agree that the scandal followed a cover-up, with the number disagreeing falling to just 14 per cent.
The proportion of respondents agreeing with the suggestion of a grooming gangs cover-up exceeds 50 per cent among both 2024 Conservative and 2024 Reform UK voters.
The poll also found that the British public supports holding a national inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal and backs imprisonment for both the guilty rapists and public sector officials who covered up the scandal.
Other stunning findings include that just 24 per cent of Labour voters agree with Sir Keir Starmer that those calling for a national inquiry are “jumping on a bandwagon” to cause division.
By contrast, almost two-in-three Britons believe that “those calling for a national inquiry are motivated by getting justice for the victims”.
When it comes to what best explains the cover-up, 42 per cent of respondents blame corruption followed by 38 per cent who believe that the problem stems from political correctness.
The 2015 Casey report into the Rotherham grooming gangs scandal found that some Labour councillors covered up the abuse.
It also found that many people shied away from the crisis because of nervousness about being seen as racist.
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British voters believe the grooming scandal was caused by a cover-up
Friderichs Advisory and JL Partners
And there is clear support for those behind the cover-ups to also be met with proper punishment.
Eight-in-ten respondents believe that public servants who covered up or neglected to investigate should face prosecution, with only 10 per cent disagreeing.
Some 66 per cent of Britons who want prosecutions for failed public servants say this should result in prison time. And only one per cent say it should result in no punishment.
When it comes to child abuse perpetrators, the public remains split between life in prison or the death sentence.
Nearly half (47 per cent) think life in prison should be the sentence for child rapists, with 30 per cent saying the death penalty is the appropriate punishment. Only 13 per cent support a prison sentence without a life term.
The only coalition which sees the death penalty as the top choice is Black and Ethnic Minority voters and Reform UK voters.
Labour voters, like the general population, also want to see foreign national grooming gang perpetrators deported.
Sixty-eight percent of Starmer’s 2024 backers support deportation plans amid many controversies surrounding rapists being given legal aid to fight their cases against being removed from Britain.
British voters support deportation of those found guilty of child rape if they are dual national
Friderichs Advisory and JL Partners
But when it comes to a possible inquiry and who the public trust to investigate the scandal, just over one-in-five (23 per cent) choose Reform UK as the party they trust most to handle the issue of grooming gangs, closely followed by Labour on 22 per cent and the Conservatives on 16 per cent.
Friderichs Advisory and JL Partners’s poll comes just weeks after GB News exclusively revealed that Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips had rejected calls from Oldham Council to hold a national inquiry.
Phillips instead argued that the local authority was best-placed to carry out any future probe.
Despite Starmer accusing MPs who support an inquiry of “jumping on a badwagon” and “amplifying what the far-right is saying”, a growing number of Labour bigwigs now want a national probe.
Labour MPs Dan Carden, Sarah Champion and Paul Waugh joined Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham in urging Starmer to rethink his position.
A number of grooming gangs survivors have also called for Starmer to back a national inquiry.
A graphic on which political party is most trusted to handle a grooming gangs inquiry
Friderichs Advisory and JL Partners
Sam told The People’s Channel: “A Government inquiry is the only way to hold Oldham Council and GMP accountable for their huge failures that led to hundreds of survivors being mistreated and not listened to.
“A Telford-style inquiry will give answers to survivors but it won’t give justice to those who deserve it.”
Jack, whose daughter was another grooming gangs survivor, added: “Let’s just get on with it and put this to bed for good.
“People of this country deserve to know what our children are facing and they’re facing it today.”
In response to calls for full, independent inquiry, a Government spokesman previously said: “No child should ever suffer sexual abuse or exploitation and it is paramount we do more to protect vulnerable children – which is why we are working at pace across Government to drive forward real action to implement the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, chaired by professor Alexis Jay.
“The comprehensive independent inquiry ran for seven years and continues to work with survivors of these heinous crimes – and this Government is committed to working closely with survivors and expert groups like Act on IICSA.”