Labour overtakes Reform in voter poll for first time since March 2025 | Labour

Labor has overtaken Reform in a voter intent poll for the first time in more than a year as it capitalizes on the momentum gained by Andy Burnham in his first week as prime minister.

It comes after weeks of negative headlines about undeclared gifts and donations for Reform UK and its leader Nigel Farage, a consultant who is a convicted fraudster and a by-election that turned into farce, according to nonprofit organization More in Common’s weekly voting intention tracker.

The poll shows Labor up four points to 28 per cent, while Reform England and the Greens are down two and three points to 24 per cent and 8 per cent respectively. The Conservatives remained unchanged at 22 per cent, while the Liberal Democrats rose one point to 12 per cent.

Luke Tryl, UK director at More in Common, said: “It’s only been a week since he took office, but it’s clear the momentum is in the prime minister’s favour. “After a week full of high-profile policy announcements and media coverage, Labor is on the rise in our weekly poll.

“Despite all warnings that this is just a poll, Labor is ahead for the first time since March last year and has its highest vote share since the first months of this government in 2024. With both the Reform and Green parties falling to their lowest vote shares for months, it seems that such an early focus on the cost of living has appealed to voters Labor has lost on the left and right.

“It is too early to see whether this lead in the polls will be sustainable as Burnham makes his first moves and becomes more involved in governing practices, but for the first time in a long time the government’s electoral chances look set to improve.”

In response to the survey, Burnham said she wasn’t “going to get carried away” but was happy to “connect with people.” The Prime Minister told reporters during a visit to Portsmouth: “I talk a lot about getting Britain to believe again and get its hope back… I think we need to have a little more spring in our step.”

He added that this week he would tackle “big issues” such as youth unemployment, social care and housing.

Burnham, who returned to the House of Commons on June 18 after winning the by-election in Makerfield and was appointed prime minister a week ago, occupied the agenda of the British media with her policy announcements last week.

Although the policies put forward in the prime minister’s first week were subject to criticism; tax deduction on energy bills; a cap on bus fares; and cuts to business rates for pubs and clubs have generally reached a good point.

Burnham, who returned to the House of Commons after an almost decade-long absence while serving as mayor of Greater Manchester, also emerged unscathed from her first major broadcast interview at the weekend. Speaking without gaffes in front of the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Burnham explained her stance on Ukraine and social care and ruled out a snap election.

Farage, meanwhile, has been unable to escape the sordid allegations that have dogged him since the Guardian revealed in April that he had been given £5 million by crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne shortly before he announced he would stand in the 2024 British general election.

The parliamentary standards watchdog launched an investigation in May into whether £5 million complied with rules requiring MPs to declare any potential gifts or donations received in the 12 months before entering parliament.

Meanwhile, Farage’s long-time aide George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster in the US, was revealed to be funding the Reform UK leader’s operation, including staff, security and accommodation.

Payments to Reform UK, first revealed by the Guardian, are currently being investigated by the Metropolitan police. The investigation examines payments made to the party through a company controlled by the party’s deputy chairman, Richard Tice.

Scotland Yard is assessing two £250,000 donations made to the party by Britain Means Business in the weeks before the 2024 general election.

Reform UK has denied any wrongdoing in relation to the full allegations.

Farage resigned from his seat in Clacton earlier this month to trigger a by-election that he said would be a contest between “the people and the establishment”.

Critics said it was an attempt to distract from allegations about his and the party’s finances and delay the standards watchdog’s investigation. Regardless, the by-election became the butt of many jokes as none of the major political parties failed to field a candidate, leaving Farage to vie for the seat with a cast of comedy characters, including Count Binface.