Public prefer a Burnham led Labour government to main alternatives

• Public prefer a Burnham led Labour government to a Farage led Reform one (52% to 28%) and a Badenoch led Conservative one 44% to 30%.
• Andy Burnham continues to be the only politician with a positive net favourability rating.
• Over half of Britons think Labour are doing a bad job reducing the cost of living.

The public’s preferred next Government

When presented with a binary choice, the public prefer an Andy Burnham led Labour government to a Farage led Reform government by a margin of 52% to 28%. This gives Burnham and Labour a 24-point lead (+3 from August 2026).

A Burnham led government also holds a lead over Kemi Badenoch and the Conservatives. 44% would prefer a Burnham led government (-1 from Aug ’26), while 30% prefer a Badenoch led government (+1 from Aug ’26). 

When presented with other binary choices: 

• 45% of the public would prefer a Conservative government led by Kemi Badenoch, to a Reform UK government led by Nigel Farage (23%). 
• Half of Britons (50%) would prefer a Labour government led by Andy Burnham to a Green party government led by Zack Polanski (14%). 

In terms of what the public think will happen at the next General Election, attitudes have shifted slightly compared to earlier in the year: 

• 33% think that Labour will at least be the largest party after the next General Election. This includes 17% who think they will be the biggest party in a hung parliament (+7 from Mar’26) and 16% who think they will form a majority government (+7).
• 21% think Reform UK will at least be the largest party after the next General Election. This includes 11% who think they will be the biggest party in a hung parliament (-2), and 10% who think they will form a majority government (-5). 
• 5% think the Conservatives will form a majority government (-1), while 3% think they will be the biggest party in a hung parliament (n/c). 
• 23% say they don’t know what the result is most likely. 

Favourability ratings

• Ahead of his first Labour Party Conference as Prime Minister, 39% are favourable towards Andy Burnham (-1ppt from August), 32% unfavourable (+5).
• In terms of other Labour politicians, attitudes towards Ed Miliband remain consistent to earlier in the year. 20% are favourable (n/c from July), while 40% are unfavourable (-4 from July). The public continue to hold judgement on Chancellor John Healey. 17% are favourable (-1 from August) while 28% are unfavourable (+2). 
• Favourability towards the Labour Party remains consistent with last month. 30% are favourable (n/c) and 42% unfavourable (+2pts). 

In terms of the other parties and their leaders: 

• 22% are favourable towards Nigel Farage (-4), while 58% are unfavourable giving him a net favourability rating of -36. This is Nigel Farage’s worst net favourability rating since Ipsos started asking about him on a monthly basis in January 2024. 25% are favourable towards Reform UK (-2), 55% unfavourable (+3).
• 28% are favourable towards Kemi Badenoch (+1), 40% unfavourable (+2).
• 18% are favourable towards Zack Polanski (-1), 46% unfavourable (+2).

Performance on key issues

The jury is still out amongst the public in terms of whether public think the Labour government led by Andy Burnham is doing a good job on several key policy areas. 

• 31% think they are doing a good job improving public transport, while 29% think they are doing a bad job. This is the only policy area to record a positive net good job rating. 
• 55% think they are doing a bad job at reducing the cost of living, compared to 16% who think they are doing a good job.
• 52% think they are doing a bad job at managing immigration and asylum, compared to 19% who think they are doing a good job.

In terms of which party the public trust most to delvier on key issues: 

• Labour lead on several key issues. Labour’s shows the strongest levels of trust on improving  public transport (26%), supporting parents and families (26%), improving the NHS (26%) and building more affordable housing (24%). 
• 21% trust Labour to deliver most on managing the economy, compared to 18% who trust the Conservatives. 12% trust Reform the most.
• Reform UK lead on managing immigration and asylum (26%). 
• However roughly a third to around four in ten say they either don’t know or none of these, when it comes to who they trust most to deliver on key issues in Britain.

Direction of the country 

Whilst 61% think the country is heading in the wrong direction and just 15% say right direction. This gives a net right direction rating of -46, which is 4ppts worse than in August 2026.  

Commenting on the findings, Ben Roff, Senior Politics Researcher at Ipsos, said:

As Labour Conference kicks off, Andy Burnham continues to hold strong personal ratings. He has a more positive favourability rating than any of the other political leaders and holds clear leads over Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch on who the public would prefer to lead a government after the next General Election. 

However, the Burnham government faces a challenge to convince the public that they can deliver on key issues. Whilst Labour are most trusted to deliver on the cost of living, over half of Britons think they are doing a bad job improving it. And ultimately if Labour are not seen to deliver on the issues that matter most in the long term they may find their ratings worsen in future.

Notes to Editors:

• For media queries, please contact the Ipsos in the UK Press Office at [email protected] 
• Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 2,284 online British adults aged 18+. Polling was conducted online between 18-23 September 2026. 
• Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.