Labour has overtaken Reform UK in a voter intention poll for the first time in more than a year, as Andy Burnham benefits from the momentum built in his first week as prime minister.
Reform and its leader, Nigel Farage, have had weeks of negative headlines concerning undeclared gifts and donations, an adviser who is a convicted fraudster and a byelection that has descended into farce.
Poll Details
The weekly tracker of voting intention by the non-profit agency More in Common shows Labour up four points to 28% while Reform and the Greens have dropped two and three points respectively to 24% and 8%. The Tories remain unchanged at 22% while the Liberal Democrats are up one point to 12%.
Reactions
Luke Tryl, the UK director at More in Common, said: “It’s only been a week since he entered office, but it’s clear that momentum is on the prime minister’s side. After a jam-packed week of high-profile policy announcements and media appearances, the Labour party has surged in our weekly poll.”
In response to the polling, Burnham said he would not get “carried away” but was pleased to have “connected with people”. The prime minister told reporters on a visit to Portsmouth: “I am talking a lot about Britain believing again and getting its hope back … I think we should have a bit more of a spring in our step.”
He added that he would address “big issues” this week, including youth unemployment, social care and housing.
Burnham's First Week
Burnham, who returned to the House of Commons on 18 June after winning a byelection in Makerfield and was appointed prime minister a week ago, has dominated UK media in the last week with a flurry of policy announcements. The policies put forward – a tax cut on energy bills; a cap on bus fares; and a cut to business rates for pubs and clubs – have broadly landed well, while not without criticism. Burnham, who re-entered the Commons after serving as mayor of Greater Manchester, also emerged from his first major broadcast interview over the weekend unscathed.
Farage's Sleaze Allegations
Farage has been unable to shake off sleaze allegations that have been dogging him since the Guardian revealed in April that he was given £5m by the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne shortly before announcing he would stand in the 2024 general election. The parliamentary standards watchdog launched an investigation in May into whether the £5m fell within rules requiring MPs to declare any potentially relevant gifts or donations received in the 12 months before entering parliament. Farage denies any breach of parliamentary rules.
In the meantime, it emerged that George Cottrell, a longtime aide to Farage and a convicted fraudster, provided funding for Farage’s operation, including for staffing, security and housing. Payments to Reform revealed by the Guardian are now being investigated by the Metropolitan police. The inquiry is scrutinising payments made to the party via a company controlled by its deputy leader, Richard Tice. Scotland Yard is looking at two donations of £250,000 made to the party by Britain Means Business in the weeks before the 2024 general election. Reform UK have denied any wrongdoing in relation to the allegations.
Clacton Byelection
Farage resigned his seat as an MP in Clacton this month to trigger a byelection, which he said would be a contest between the “people and the establishment”. Critics said it was an attempt to distract from the allegations concerning his and the party’s finances and delay the investigation by the standards watchdog. The byelection has become the butt of many jokes after none of the other major political parties fielded a candidate, leaving Farage to contest the seat with a cast of comedy characters, including Count Binface.
