Andy Burnham seen as most likely to do a good job as Prime Minister

•    35% of Britons think Andy Burnham would do a good job as Prime Minister, 24% a bad job.
•    29% think Kemi Badenoch would do a good job and 37% a bad job; 27% think Nigel Farage would do a good job and 53% a bad job.
•    Public prefer a contest (39%) to a Burnham coronation (13%).
•    61% not confident the Labour Party can provide strong and stable leadership.

Andy Burnham and Labour’s future

A third of Britons (35%) think Andy Burnham would do a good job as Prime Minister, 21% neither a good nor bad job, and 24% a bad job. 

Similar proportions of Britons think Kemi Badenoch (29%) and Nigel Farage (27%) would do a good job as Prime Minister. However over half of Britons think Nigel Farage would do a bad job (53%), compared to 37% who think Badenoch would do a bad job. 

Burnham’s ratings are in contrast to other Labour colleagues that were asked about in the survey: 
-    Angela Rayner: 16% good job, 48% bad job
-    Ed Miliband: 14% good job, 47% bad job 
-    Wes Streeting: 14% good job, 37% bad job. 

In terms of what Labour should do next, following Andy Burnham’s victory in the Makerfield by-election, 39% of Britons said Keir Starmer should resign and that there should be a leadership contest to see who should replace him. 13% said Starmer should resign and Andy Burnham should take over as leader and Prime Minister, whilst 19% said Starmer should not resign and should stay as Prime Minister for the foreseeable future. 16% had no preference and 11% did not know.
 

If Burnham became the next leader and Prime Minister, Britons are split on whether this will have a positive impact on Labour’s  election fortunes. 42% think Labour are more likely to win with Burnham as leader and Prime Minister, whereas 7% think they are more likely to win with Keir Starmer. A third (36%) think it would make no difference. This contrasts with Wes Streeting, someone else who was touted as a possible leadership challenger. 15% of Britons think Labour would be more likely to win with Streeting as Prime Minister, 14% with Starmer, whilst over half (52%) think it would make no difference.
Out of a list of Labour politicians, Andy Burnham continues to be seen as most likely to do the best job as leader (23%). This rises to 34% among 2024 Labour voters. Burnham is followed by Keir Starmer (7%), Angela Rayner, and Wes Streeting (both 3%). Despite this, half of Britons say either none of them (27%) or that they don’t know (23%) who would do the best job.

Providing strong and stable leadership for the country

29% are confident that Labour and the Conservatives can provide Britain with strong and stable leadership. 60% are not confident that the Conservatives can provide this, while 61% are not confident in Labour’s ability to do this.
-    Labour’s rating on this metric have got worse since this question was last asked in January 2024 (before the last election). In January 2024, 39% said they were confident Labour could provide strong and stable leadership, with 53% not confident.
-    The Conservatives’ rating have slightly improvement since January 2024 when 25% were confident they could provide strong and stable leadership (70% not confident). However their ratings are worse than immediately after Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister (35% confident/ 54% not confident). 

In terms of the other parties: 
-    28% are confident Reform UK can provide strong and stable leadership, 63% not confident.
-    23% are confident the Liberal Democrats can provide strong and stable leadership, 62% not confident.
-    23% are confident the Green party can provide strong and stable leadership, 65% not confident.

Ipsos Director of Politics Keiran Pedley said: 

Given that Andy Burnham is seen as more likely to do a good job as Prime Minister than Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch it is reasonable to suggest that a Burnham led Labour Party could improve in the polls once he takes office. However, given than 6 in 10 lack confidence that Labour can offer strong and stable leadership, there is work to do for the expected incoming Prime Minister to show that Labour has the answers for the long term.

Notes:

•    For media queries, please contact Owen Evans at [email protected] 
•    For the full findings, please visit the Ipsos website.
•    Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,131 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain. Interviews were conducted online between the 19 – 21st June 2026. 
•    Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.