The latest survey is the fifth national poll Labour has topped since Andy Burnham entered Downing Street, ending the run that saw Nigel Farage’s party lead in the polls for more than a year
Labour has overtaken Reform UK in yet another poll, as the party continues to see a surge in support after Andy Burnham entered Downing Street.
The latest YouGov survey put Labour on 24 points, two points ahead of Nigel Farage’s party on 22 per cent – the first time a YouGov poll has put Labour ahead of Reform in more than a year.
It is also Reform’s lowest score since March 2025, with the party losing ground to the Conservatives.
The latest survey is the fifth national poll Labour has topped since Mr Burnham became prime minister, ending the run that saw Mr Farage’s party lead in the polls for more than a year.
The polling put the Green Party on 12 per cent, down by one point compared to August 2-3, while the Liberal Democrats were also down by one point on 11 per cent.
The Tories were up two points, putting them on 21 per cent – just one point behind Reform.
The polling will come as another blow to Mr Farage’s party as they spend their final few days campaigning in a crucial by-election in Clacton.
The Reform leader dramatically quit as an MP earlier this summer – before Labour’s ‘Burnham bounce’ in the polls – and could find himself left without a seat in Parliament if he fails to win on Thursday.
When Sir Keir Starmer stood down in June, just 49 per cent of voters who backed the Labour Party at the last general election said they still backed the party. This has now risen to 60 per cent in the latest poll.
Meanwhile, the number of Labour voters who said they would lend their vote to the Greens has fallen from 9 per cent in June to just 8 per cent, the polling commissioned by The Times has found.
Anthony Wells, head of politics and elections for YouGov, told the newspaper that Mr Burnham has gone some way to reunite the left.
“What you see in the numbers is not only that Labour has increased its vote share but both the Greens and the Liberal Democrats have seen a substantial drop in their support, which had been boosted by Labour defectors,” he said.
“At the same time there are signs that, for the moment at least, Reform has peaked and is now losing some of the support it picked up from disaffected Tory voters who are now returning to Kemi Badenoch.
“However, more broadly the polls shows that the public are still deeply divided, with just three points separating the top three parties — which is within the margin or error.”
It comes just one day after an Ipsos poll put Mr Burnham’s party on 28 per cent, three points ahead of Reform on 25 per cent, Labour’s best position in an Ipsos poll for more than a year.
The survey also found Mr Burnham has a significant lead over his political rivals including Mr Farage, when asked who would make the best PM.
Some 36 per cent chose the Labour leader, more than double the 15 per cent who picked Mr Farage or the 13 per cent who selected Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch.
The YouGov polling spoke to 2,417 adults on August 9 and 10.
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