Voting intention: 2nd September 2026
See the full data tables here.
Labour has slightly extended its lead over Reform UK in Opinium’s latest poll for the Observer, while Andy Burnham remains the only political leader tested with a positive net approval rating.
The poll also takes a closer look at perceptions of Nigel Farage and Reform UK, with both receiving negative ratings across many key leadership and governing attributes. Most fieldwork was conducted before the Channel 4 News investigation into Reform was reported, meaning the results should largely be viewed as a pre-controversy snapshot.
Labour extends its lead over Reform
Labour stands at 28%, up one point from the previous poll, while Reform falls one point to 24%. This gives Labour a four-point lead.
Andy Burnham remains the only politician tested with a positive net approval rating, unchanged at +14. Kemi Badenoch improves to -1, while Ed Davey stands at -6. Zack Polanski records -21 and Nigel Farage falls three points to -26.
Burnham also maintains substantial Best Prime Minister advantages, leading both Badenoch and Farage by 22 points.
Farage receives negative ratings across all leadership attributes
Nigel Farage is rated negatively on every leadership characteristic tested.
His weakest score is on being trustworthy, at net -33, with 55% disagreeing that the description applies to him. He also scores poorly on looking like a Prime Minister in waiting (-29), being trusted to take big decisions (-27) and being likeable (-27).
Even Farage’s strongest characteristics remain in negative territory: he records -4 for being decisive and -5 for sticking to his principles.
Ratings have also deteriorated across every attribute since these questions were last asked in July, with the largest falls on being decisive and being able to get things done, both down eight points.
Reform struggles to convince voters it is ready for government
There are similar challenges for Reform UK as a party.
Its strongest rating is for knowing what it stands for, which receives a net positive score of +5, while voters are evenly divided on whether the party has a clear sense of purpose.
However, Reform records negative scores across the remaining attributes tested. In particular, it scores -31 on being tolerant, -29 on being ready for government and -25 on being trusted to take big decisions.
Just 25% agree that Reform is ready for government, compared with 54% who disagree.
Labour judged to have had the strongest week
As conference season gets underway, voters were also asked whether each party had experienced a good or bad week.
Labour performs strongest, with 35% saying the party had a good week compared with 27% saying it had a bad one, giving a net score of +8.
Opinion is more evenly divided on the Conservatives, with 25% saying they had a good week and 26% a bad week. Reform fares less well: 19% say it had a good week compared with 31% who say it had a bad week.
Many voters remain unsure about the smaller parties, with 66% unable to say whether the Liberal Democrats had a good or bad week and 60% saying the same of the Greens.
Fieldwork
Opinium conducted a nationally and politically representative survey of 2,050 UK adults aged 18+ between 2nd and 4th September 2026.