Burnham ranked a 'more capable' future Prime Minister than Farage and Badenoch, LBC poll reveals
But voters are split on whether Burnham is ready for the top job, with 4 in 10 saying he isn’t.
The number of people who think Andy Burnham would be the most capable person to lead the country is almost double the number who think Nigel Farage would make a fit leader, exclusive polling has revealed.
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Almost a third of people polled believe Andy Burnham would be the most capable Prime Minister for the country, while only 16 per cent think Nigel Farage could capably lead the UK, according to polling conducted by Ipsos for LBC.
When forced to choose between leading political figures, 30% of respondents backed Burnham, while 13 per cent backed Kemi Badenoch as PM - with the Reform UK leader polling 3 per cent above the Tory leader.
However, when asked about leaders' readiness, the same survey found that 40 per cent believe Burnham isn't ready to take on the top job.
More than 1,000 adults aged over 18 were interviewed by IPSOS on their views of the main parties and their leaders.
It comes as Burnham positions himself to become Britain's PM by the end of July, with the newly-appointed Makerfield MP and Labour-leader-in-waiting lining up to replace Sir Keir Starmer.
It comes after Burnham ruled out the possibility of a General Election after Starmer steps down, as he answered questions on online forum Reddit on Friday.
Read more: Burnham vows to change Britain, but his exclusive LBC interview leaves one big question: How?
When asked whether Burnham has what it takes to be a good PM, 28% agreed, 33% disagreed, and the rest were neutral or said they don't know.
His figures compared favourably with Kemi Badenoch, with 23% agreeing she has what it takes and 46% disagreeing.
And only 21% of respondents said Nigel Farage has the makings of a good Prime Minister, and 62% disagreed.
However, Mr Burnham is the only one of those surveyed who is not currently a party leader, and he faces a wait to see if any leadership contenders come forward. If uncontested, he will become Prime Minister by 17 July.
The poll also showed that Labour is closing the gap to Reform when it comes to voting intention. If there were an election tomorrow, 26% of people surveyed would vote Reform UK, and 24% would vote Labour. That reflects a dip for Reform and a rise for Labour.
However, the public is split on whether Burnham is ready to be prime minister. A third think he’s ready, but four in 10 don’t. By comparison, more than six in 10 think Reform UK isn’t ready to govern, and a similar number doubt the Conservatives.
But whoever becomes the next prime minister, Keir Starmer will leave Number 10 as its most unpopular occupant on record, although only by 1 percentage point. 76% of people are dissatisfied with Keir Starmer’s performance; when Rishi Sunak was voted out in 2024, 75% of people were unhappy with him.
The aspect of Keir Starmer’s performance that people were least happy with was how he dealt with the cost of living. Rachel Reeves is currently tied for the most unpopular chancellor with Kwasi Kwarteng, who delivered Liz Truss’ disastrous mini-budget.
The overall government performance rating is similarly poor: a fifth of people think it is doing a good job, versus three quarters who think it is doing a bad job.
Kemi Badenoch has the highest overall satisfaction of the party leaders tested at 28%, as well as the highest net satisfaction at minus 22. Nigel Farage has a net approval rating of minus 37, as more than two in three people are unhappy with him, while Keir Starmer is in last place with minus 59.
