Labour Narrows Reform’s Lead as Burnham Settles In
Labour has closed much of the gap on Reform UK since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister, polling suggests, though Reform still holds a narrow lead. A YouGov survey put Reform on 23 per cent, the Conservatives on 21 and Labour on 20 — the closest the parties have been in a year. Mr Burnham is also the public’s preferred prime minister, according to Ipsos, ahead of Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch.
Other pollsters tell a similar story: Opinium put Labour on 22 per cent, its highest since April and close behind Reform, while Survation had the two parties roughly tied. YouGov found Mr Burnham on 38 per cent favourability against Mr Farage’s 22, the Reform leader’s lowest in years. The figures suggest a modest “Burnham bounce”, though most fieldwork predates his first turbulent week in office. With no general election due for years, the immediate test is whether the honeymoon survives the oil shock and the strikes. Watch the first polls taken wholly under his premiership.