The Mayor of Greater Manchester may not be in Westminster but he has poll ratings which will be the envy of party leaders
Andy Burnham has twice run for the Labour leadership (Image: Getty)
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham now leads both Reform UK’s Nigel Farage and Labour leader Sir Keir when Britons are asked who would make the best Prime Minister. When asked by pollsters Ipsos to chose between Mr Burnham and Mr Farage, one in three picked the Mayor with 29% opting for the veteran Brexiteer. In September, Mr Farage had enjoyed a three point lead over Mr Burnham.
And when asked whether Mr Burnham or Sir Keir would make the best PM, 28% said the Mayor would with just 15% naming the actual Labour leader.
The low support for the PM reflects deep concern about the state of Britain. A mere 12% said the country is going in the right direction with 71% saying it is heading in the wrong direction.
Three in 10 people had a favourable opinion of Mr Burnham – a higher rating than that of Mr Farage (29%), the Liberal Democrats’ Sir Ed Davey (24%), the Conservatives’ Kemi Badenoch (23%), the Greens’ Zack Polanski (20%) or Sir Keir (17%).
The polling also shows that Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Budget has not won her fans. Sixty-one per cent have an unfavourable opinion of her; just 13% have a favourable one.
When voters were asked to chose between a Labour Government led by Sir Keir Starmer and a Reform UK Government led by Mr Farage they were split, with 37% backing each option.
And when asked whether they thought Sir Keir or Mrs Badenoch would makes the best PM, 26% opted for the Conservative leader with 25% choosing the Labour leader. Last December, Sir Keir had enjoyed a 14 point leader over Mrs Badenoch.
Voters are split on whether Mr Farage or Mrs Badenoch would be the better PM, with 25% opting for the Reform leader and 24% choosing the Leader of the Opposition. In December last year, Mr Farage had been seven points ahead of Mrs Badenoch.
Reform and the Conservatives top the table when it comes to parties the public are willing to consider backing at the next election. When asked which parties they were likely to think about voting for, Reform came first on 36%, ahead of the Conservatives (32%), the Liberal Democrats (29%) and the Greens and Labour (both 26%).
Andy Burnham potential as a party leader is regularly discussed in Labour circles (Image: Jason Roberts / Manchester Evening News)
Mr Burnham’s strong showing in the polling will encourage his supporters to think he remains a contender to lead Labour. However, he lacks a seat in Westminster and Reform would seek to beat Mr Burnham in any by-election contest.
Newly-elected deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell has appealed for party unity ahead of May’s local, Scottish and Welsh elections, saying: “[We] must all get behind Keir Starmer, so we don’t gift our opponents – especially Reform – councils to run badly, or a power base in Wales or Scotland to run amok.”
Keiran Pedley, director of UK Politics at Ipsos said: “Burnham holds net positive favourable ratings and is preferred as Prime Minister to Keir Starmer and slightly leads Nigel Farage too. Meanwhile, Kemi
personal poll ratings – and relative position versus Starmer and Farage have improved.
“Of course, both still face significant obstacles to becoming Prime Minister. Andy Burnham isn’t in parliament and whilst Badenoch’s personal ratings have improved, there is no notable uptick observed for her party.”
