Boost for Burnham as Labour surges in polls ahead of Tories and Reform

WorldPolitics
20 Oct 2026 • 7:36 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Boost for Burnham as Labour surges in polls ahead of Tories and Reform

  • A new YouGov survey of 2,520 adults has placed Reform UK in third place behind the Conservatives for the second consecutive week, with Labour leading on 27 per cent, the Tories on 23 per cent, and Reform on 22 per cent.
  • The setback for Reform UK follows a difficult period featuring an ITV investigation into allegations of racism and misogyny within the party, alongside ongoing donation scandals involving key figures and a standards probe into Nigel Farage.
  • Labour's three-point increase offers a timely boost for Andy Burnham ahead of the upcoming Budget, indicating that voters may be returning from the Greens after Labour rejected any future coalition deals with them over antisemitism concerns.
  • Smaller parties also saw declines, with the Liberal Democrats falling to 11 per cent and the Greens dropping to 10 per cent, a projection that Electoral Calculus suggests would leave Labour short of an overall majority and reliant on Liberal Democrat support.
  • Reform UK allies have dismissed the YouGov results as inconsistent, but the party has lost more than 10 points in opinion polling over the last year as Nigel Farage prepares a rally in Plymouth to shore up support.

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