YouGov: Labour opens up biggest poll lead since last year after Burnham's first conference as leader

Labour has opened up a five-point lead over Reform UK in the polls after Andy Burnham’s first party conference as leader, in a YouGov survey for The Times — the party’s largest lead since January 2025, when the firm restarted polling after the last general election.

The poll puts Labour on 27 per cent, up three points on last week, with Reform UK down three points on 22 per cent. The Conservatives are in third place on 20 per cent, while the Liberal Democrats and the Greens are both on 11 per cent.

The survey suggests Burnham is winning back wavering supporters: 61 per cent of Labour’s 2024 voters would vote for the party again if an election were held tomorrow, up from 42 per cent in May. It also indicates he is succeeding in squeezing voters on the left, with the Liberal Democrats and the Greens both polling below their pre-Burnham levels.

Burnham’s conference speech was well received, The Times reports, as he opened the door to rejoining the EU, pledged to back electoral reform, and announced plans to scrap the pensions triple lock to pay for a national care service. Separate YouGov polling for The Times found the EU pledge popular: 52 per cent would vote to rejoin in a second referendum against 27 per cent to remain outside — though 64 per cent believe any rejoin decision must go to a second referendum, with only 23 per cent saying the government could rejoin without one.

On Monday the prime minister held a cabinet away-day at Chequers to discuss his ten-year plan, which will be announced later this year. He said his “bold” conference announcements had been the “right decision” because they had left his opponents “losing their footing”, adding: “Politics has become too suffocating, we need greater ambition.”