Andy Burnham could beat Nigel Farage in a UK general election, poll suggests

"The Greater Manchester mayor beats the Reform UK leader in head-to-head polls by 14 percentage points, pollsters More in Common (MIC) found. The findings will be a boost to Mr Burnham's supporters, who argue that he has to replace Mr Starmer to prevent Mr Farage becoming prime minister. But MIC also warned that a potentially "dangerous" Brexit row within Labour could cost Mr Burnham his chances of winning the Makerfield by-election, where he has been chosen as Labour's candidate, and with it the chance to challenge Mr Starmer for the keys to 10 Downing Street."

"In a briefing on this month's election results, which triggered the crisis in Labour's leadership, Luke Tryl from MIC said that in a straight head-to-head, Mr Burnham would beat Mr Farage by 14 percentage points, albeit with "lots of don't knows". Mr Burnham also performed about 10 points better than Mr Starmer against Mr Farage."

""This is a hypothetical. One thing always to remember is [as Mr Burnham has done in Manchester] when people go outside of Westminster, they tend to do better. But he performs about 10 points better than the prime minister against Farage.""

"A head-to-head poll also does not capture how voters would vote in a potential general election where they would also be judged on their party's record and manifesto. However, it is likely to be seized on by Mr Burnham's supporters as evidence that he would have more chance of beating Mr Fa"

Andy Burnham has a stronger chance than Keir Starmer of winning a general election against Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, according to head-to-head polling by More in Common. Burnham beats Farage by 14 percentage points, while also performing about 10 points better than Starmer in the same comparison. The results may encourage Burnham supporters who argue he should replace Starmer to prevent Farage becoming prime minister. More in Common warns that a potentially dangerous Brexit dispute within Labour could cost Burnham the Makerfield by-election, where he is Labour’s candidate. Labour has moved the writ for the election, likely to be held on June 18, and Burnham must win the seat to challenge for Labour leadership.

Read at Irish Independent