Sir Keir Starmer has comfortably beaten all other major party leaders in a poll on who would make the best prime minister, despite Labour's overall decline in the polls since July's election. The YouGov survey gives the Prime Minister an 11-point lead over Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and a 10-point lead over Reform UK's Nigel Farage.
Badenoch and Farage are tied in the poll, but both are comfortably beaten by Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey in a head-to-head comparison. The findings come as Labour's support has fallen, allowing Reform to catch up and in some cases overtake the party.
Farage has ruled out any electoral pact with the Tories, calling them 'dishonourable' following the 'betrayal' after the 2019 election. Speaking at a farmers' protest in London, he said: 'To do a pact with people, you've got to think, I'm going to shake your hand and you're an honourable person. After the betrayal post the 2019 election, we do not believe them to be honourable. Simple as that, so the answer is no.'
The comments follow reports that Farage's allies met with figures close to shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick to discuss creating a 'mega party' of the Right. However, a senior Tory ally has distanced the party from any such arrangement, and shadow cabinet minister Alex Burghart told the BBC: 'Reform's stated ambition is to destroy the Conservative party, that's a pretty difficult first date.'
Sources close to Farage have indicated he would be open to working with former PM Boris Johnson 'in the national interest' to defeat Labour, but only if Reform maintains a strong poll lead, allowing him to dictate terms such as abandoning net zero targets.
