𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham is the most “acceptable” successor to Sir Keir Starmer, new polling reveals. He is the only potential Labour leadership contender with a net positive acceptability rating among the public (+20). This contrasts sharply with ratings for Labour heavyweights such as Angela Rayner (-17), Health Secretary Wes Streeting (-8), Energy Security Secretary Ed Miliband (-16) and Chancellor Rachel Reeves (-31). Pollsters Opinium said Mr Burnham was the “clear favourite among the public to replace Keir Starmer if he were to stand down”.

When voters were asked the separate questions of whom they would like to replace Sir Keir, Mr Burnham once again topped the poll as the choice of 18%. He came ahead of Ms Rayner (5%) and Mr Miliband (4%). However, more than one in five (22%) voters chose none of the candidates, while a third (33%) did not know who they wanted.

Mr Burnham was ranked highest as the politician who “most understands the concerns of people like me” (16%), “is most in touch with ordinary people” (18%), “would be the strongest leader” (20%) and “would represent the most real change” (18%). Sir Keir’s approval rating sits at -43, with 56% of the public saying he should resign as leader.

The polling also addressed reshuffle rumours and found Defence Secretary John Healey was the least negatively viewed cabinet minister, with 29% saying he should be kept in his role, compared with 25% who think he should be replaced (net +5). Just one in five (21%) said Ms Reeves should remain Chancellor.

James Crouch, head of policy and public affairs at the pollster, said: “After bruising local election losses, this week’s Opinium poll shows how exposed Labour has become. Keir Starmer’s ratings remain near rock bottom, with most voters saying he should step aside. Labour’s bigger problem is that the public’ preferred successor is Andy Burnham, who is not currently an MP and has no easy route back to the Commons. This leaves Labour with both a leadership crisis and no obvious reset.”