Andy Burnham live: Labour draws level with Reform in fresh poll as new leader declares he is ‘ready to lead’

Andy Burnham live: Labour draws level with Reform in fresh poll as new leader declares he is ‘ready to lead’ Mr Burnham promised to be a leader in ‘all places’ as Britain’s next prime minister - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Labour has caught up to Reform UK and polled its highest since November, as Andy Burnham was crowned the party’s leader on Friday. A voting intention poll from Survation, conducted over the last week, has put both parties 24 per cent. The five-point surge for the Labour Party is its largest single upward movement since the general election. It is also Nigel Farage’s party’s lowest polling since just after the local elections in May 2025 and comes amid intense scrutiny over the leader’s finances. Mr Burnham, who shared the poll to his social media, has promised to set a political direction that is “distinctively Labour” and not “out-Green the Greens or out-Reform Reform”. Britain’s next prime minister said he would work with other parties where possible, but do so knowing “exactly where we stand.” As he was crowned the leader of the Labour Party, he declared that he was “ready to lead” the country and promised to “answer the calls” of the public. When Sir Keir formally recommends Mr Burnham to the King as his successor on Monday, he will be sworn in as prime minister. Farage demands immediate election saying Burnham has no mandate for power Nigel Farage has demanded an immediate general election as he claimed Andy Burnham had no mandate to run the country. The Reform UK leader said his party could produce a “historic upset” but Mr Farage claimed that if he failed to enter No 10 Britain risks “turning into a third world country” within 10 years. He said that “nothing will get better under Andy Burnham”, who will become prime minister on Monday after being confirmed as the new leader of the Labour Party. Mr Farage, who is fighting a by-election in Clacton after resigning as an MP in protest at parliamentary and media scrutiny of his finances, said: “The only certainty with Burnham is we’re going to get more of the same, but they’ll go further to the left than they already are.” He said “nothing will get better under Andy Burnham” and “he says he wants to have the biggest change of direction in politics in 40 years, outside of 25,000 voters in Makerfield he has literally no mandate for this at all”. Comment: Burnham’s speech was the most backward-looking rubbish I’ve ever heard Chief political commentator John Rentoul writes: It is said of Andy Burnham that he talks left and acts right. In his acceptance speech to the Labour Party, though, he talked backwards – and we have to hope that his actions will take him forwards. It was the most backward-looking speech I have heard from a front-rank politician. It was an explicit call to return to the 1970s, before everything went wrong in the 1980s. He talked nostalgically of steel works and iron works, the coal fields, the shipyards of Scotland and the north-east and the dockyards of Liverpool and London. He even spoke of “the mills across the Pennines”. It was as if Blake’s “Jerusalem” had been turned into a manifesto. His buzzword, “reindustrialisation”, cropped up a couple of times. So far it has been a feel-good notion, conjuring up images of high-tech precision engineering, reinventing our manufacturing past in a modern setting. But today, it sounded like a threat – to send teenagers down the pits and destroy Ed Miliband’s net zero plans that way. Read more: Burnham’s speech was one of the most backwards-looking I’ve ever heard Labour catch up with Reform in new poll Labour's has polled its highest since November 2025, drawing level with Reform as Andy Burnham becomes leader. In a voting intention poll from Survation, Labour and Reform are now tied at 24 per cent each. It is also Reform's lowest polling since just after the May 2025 local elections. Labour’s +5 is their largest upward movement since the general election. NEW: Westminster Voting Intention — Survation. (@Survation) July 17, 2026 RFM 24% (-3) LAB 24% (+5) CON 21% (+1) LD 11% (-1) GRN 11% (=) SNP 3% (=) RB 2% (=) PC 2% (=) OTH 4% (=) F/w 10-14 July 2026. Changes vs 17/06/2026 pic.twitter.com/LU9wYcm3Dl Removal van seen on Downing Street minutes after Burnham crowned new Labour leader Government needs 'courage' to fix things like social care - Burnham Andy Burnham has indicated one of his priorities as prime minister will be to fix social care, pledging to “expend quite a lot of political capital” on what he said has been a long-neglected sector. He vowed to “grasp the nettle” of adult social care reform as a health charity warned his words will be “a benchmark against which his government will be measured”. Mr Burnham insisted it is a “massive” priority for the public and acknowledged reform will “require something difficult” The incoming prime minister also namechecked the issue in his first speech after being formally named Labour leader on Friday. How adult social care works and is funded in England has been a thorny issue for many governments over the years. Labour faced criticism after the party was elected in 2024 for scrapping plans for an £86,000 cap on the amount anyone in England would need to spend on their personal care over their lifetime, having argued the proposals were not “deliverable” in the time frame. Burnham pledges to be a leader for 'all places' in UK Frontrunners for Burnham’s cabinet revealed as prime minister-in-waiting picks top team Frontrunners for Burnham’s cabinet revealed as next prime minister picks his top team Outline your plans for government next week, Tories tell Burnham The Conservative chair has urged Andy Burnham to outline his plans for the government, saying it is “not too late” for him to answer MPs on Monday. Labour was accused of “running scared” by the Tories after they were denied the chance to delay parliament's recess so he could face scrutiny. Kevin Hollinrake, the party chair, said: "Andy Burnham says he has a plan, so what is it? "The leader of the Labour Party and soon-to-be prime minister should come to parliament and explain it. "Instead, the government spared his blushes by cancelling the Conservatives' vote that would have brought him before parliament on Monday. "It's not too late for Andy Burnham to do the right thing, make a statement, and answer questions from members of parliament on Monday about his 'plan'. "But the truth is that, whether it is Keir Starmer or Andy Burnham, the real problem is the high-tax, high-spend Labour MPs behind them." Burnham shares photo of him officially becoming Labour leader The moment it became official… pic.twitter.com/2zfBSP6Pz3 — Andy Burnham (@andyburnham) July 17, 2026 What are Andy Burnham’s key policies? What are Andy Burnham’s key policies? Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments