Andy Burnham has kicked off his second week in No 10 (both south and north) by handing the Labour Party a rare opinion poll lead.
It marks the first time since March 2025 that Labour has come above Reform UK in a survey by More in Common – which may reassure the party’s MPs that they were right to dump Sir Keir Starmer as leader.
According to the poll, carried out between July 24 and 27, Labour has a four-point lead on Reform, bringing an end to 16 months on top for Nigel Farage’s party.
More in Common boss Luke Tryl emphasised that this is ‘just one poll’, but added it is ‘clear that momentum is on the Prime Minister’s side’.
He said: ‘Labour now leads for the first time since March of last year, and holds their highest vote share since the early months of this government in 2024.
‘And with both Reform and the Green Party dropping to their lowest vote share in months, it seems that this early focus on the cost of living has appealed to voters that Labour has lost across left and right.
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‘It’s too early to see if this lead in the polls will be sustainable as Burnham makes his first moves gets further into the practicalities of governing, but for the first time in a while, it seems that the government’s electoral fortunes could be lifting.’
Burnham chose to spend his first week in charge announcing a series of measures intended to provide ‘breathing space’ on the cost of living.
They included a £2 bus fare cap for England and removing VAT on electricity bills. He also announced a 20% cut in business rates for pubs, clubs and small music venues.
Meanwhile, Reform has suffered through some of its toughest weeks since the 2024 election, with heavy scrutiny of its finances in the media.
A Parliamentary Standards investigation was launched into leader Nigel Farage, over his decision not to declare a £5 million ‘gift’ from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne ahead of that election.
The investigation was paused earlier this month, when Farage announced he was resigning as MP for Clacton in order to rerun in the resulting by-election, which he claimed would be a ‘people versus the establishment’ fight.
However, his move appeared to backfire when every other party declined to take part, meaning his biggest rival for the seat appears to be novelty candidate Count Binface.
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