Nearly half of Britons have a favourable opinion of Burnham, whose latest net favourability rating of +13 is the highest recorded for any Prime Minister since Boris Johnson in the early stages of the Covid pandemic in May 2020, according to YouGov’s favourability tracker

This comes shortly after five other national polls landed Labour on top for Westminster Voting intention, marking the first time in more than a year that the party has led the polling. In the latest poll, Labour’s support has risen to 24% putting the party two points ahead of Reform who are on 22%.These figures mark a shift from the polling picture seen over the past year, when Reform had generally held the lead over Labour. 

Despite the Landslide win in Clacton, opinion towards Nigel Farage remains in a similar ballpark to that seen in recent months, with only 23% of Britons holding a favourable opinion of the Reform UK leader. While a net favourability rating of -44 is not an all-time low, it is down 17 points from last May in the aftermath of Reform UK’s breakthrough at the 2025 local elections. 

“The latest polling provides an early indication that the party may be beginning to regain ground lost to Reform over the past year”

Burnham’s overall rating extends beyond Labours traditional support base, with significant variation between different groups of voters – 68% of those who backed the Lib Dems in 2024 hold positive opinions of Andy Burnham as well as 53% of those who backed Green and 31% of Conservatives.  The biggest shift has come among those who voted Green in 2024, among whom net favourability of the Labour leader has risen 72 points. 

Whether Burnham’s strong personal rating can translate into sustained support for Labour remains to be seen. But the latest polling provides an early indication that the party may be beginning to regain ground lost to Reform over the past year.