Labour surge to their largest poll lead since the general election - with Tories ahead of Reform UK as Kemi Badenoch's popularity grows

Labour has surged to its largest poll lead since the 2024 general election as the party continues to enjoy a 'bounce' under Andy Burnham's leadership.

The latest Ipsos in the UK survey puts Labour on 32 per cent support, which is up five percentage points from last month.

This gives Labour an eight-point lead over the Tories, who are on 24 per cent (up three points) and in second place for the first time since June last year.

After a slew of recent controversies for Nigel Farage's party, Reform UK has slipped below the Tories to 20 per cent support following a three-point fall since last month.

The Greens are down five points to 8 per cent as Zack Polanski's outfit continues to battle an anti-Semitism crisis in the wake of their party conference earlier this month.

The rise in the Tories' popularity comes as Kemi Badenoch enjoys her highest personal ratings since she became Leader of the Opposition in November 2024.

The latest Ipsos poll, conducted between 15 and 22 October, found 35 per cent are satisfied with the job Mrs Badenoch is doing as Tory leader - up seven points since September.

Meanwhile, 39 per cent are dissatisfied with Mrs Badenoch's performance (down seven points), to give the Tory leader her highest satisfaction rating with Ipsos so far.

The same proportion (35 per cent) are satisfied with the job Mr Burnham is doing as Prime Minister (up four points), but 45 per cent are dissatisfied (down one point).

Mr Polanski has seen a significant worsening of his satisfaction ratings, with only 17 per cent satisfied with the job he is doing as Green leader (down one point).

Some 56 per cent are dissatisfied with the self-described 'eco-populist', which is the highest level of dissatisfaction with Mr Polanski since he became Green leader in September last year.

The poll also found Labour and the Tories' position is improving because they are losing fewer voters to Reform and the Greens.

The Tories are losing 16 per cent of their 2024 vote to Reform, which is down from 22 per cent last month.

Labour are losing 5 per cent of their 2024 support to the Greens, which is down from 12 per cent in September.

The Government's net satisfaction score of -43 is the highest recorded since Boris Johnson was PM in 2022.

Some 23 per cent are satisfied with how the Government is running the country (up five points) and 66 per cent are dissatisfied (down 4 points).

Keiran Pedley, director of politics at Ipsos in the UK said: 'Whilst the headline figures do show a striking change, they confirm a pattern we have been seeing in the underlying data for some time.

'The Labour Party under Andy Burnham is resurgent, consolidating voters on the Left behind them.

'On the Right, the tectonic plates have been shifting recently and now this is reflected in the Conservatives – not Reform UK – being in a clear second place.

'However, we should be mindful against overreacting to one poll.

'The Government faces a challenging Budget this coming week and the lesson of the last year is that British politics is volatile.

'The picture today is very different to six months ago and it could be different again in six months' time too.'