(June 25): Britons said Andy Burnham would make a better prime minister than Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage, according to a poll on Thursday that highlights how Labour’s likely new leader can provide the governing party with an electoral edge.
Some 43% of people surveyed in a YouGov poll said Burnham would make a better premier, compared with 23% who preferred Farage. That 20-point advantage for Burnham is double the lead over the Reform leader enjoyed last month by Keir Starmer, who on Monday said he’s stepping down as prime minister.
Starmer’s resignation triggered a leadership contest, with nominations due to open on July 9. So far Burnham is the only candidate to declare they’re running, with several potential rivals saying they won’t stand, making it increasingly likely he’ll be unopposed.
YouGov’s numbers show how Labour could revive their flagging fortunes by choosing Burnham as their new leader, following his triumphant return to Westminster in a House of Commons by-election last week. The now former Greater Manchester mayor defeated the candidate for Reform by a wider-than-expected margin in an area where Farage’s party had swept all seats available in a round of local elections just six weeks earlier.
In the YouGov survey, Labour’s position also improved under a potential Burnham premiership against leaders of the country’s three other major national parties.
About 32% of Britons say he would make a better premier than main opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, who logged 28%. Last month, Starmer and Badenoch were level-pegging. When compared to Green Party leader Zack Polanski, Britons preferred Burnham by 38% to 11%, a significantly wider margin than the five-point advantage to Starmer last month. And Burnham also beat Liberal Democrat Party leader Ed Davey by 32% to 11%, compared to a four-point deficit faced by Starmer in May.
See also: PMI shows UK economy shrinking for second straight month
Uploaded by Felyx Teoh
