Labour has overtaken Reform UK at the top of the polls following Andy Burnham's first week as Prime Minister, according to new surveys from More in Common and Survation. This marks the first time in over a year that Nigel Farage's party has been knocked off the top spot, suggesting Labour MPs may have been right to replace Sir Keir Starmer with Burnham as leader.
Meanwhile, Green Party leader Zack Polanski is facing a police investigation after sharing an Instagram post that included an image of a man wearing a T-shirt with a guillotine and the slogan 'we're only making plans for Nigel' – a reference to Farage. Polanski's spokesperson said the leader 'was tagged in a post with 20 images and clicked accept without realising there was more to it than he had seen', adding that he 'condemns' the T-shirt graphic.
Reform UK reports Polanski to police
Reform UK has reported Polanski to the Metropolitan Police, with home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf declaring: 'If Zack Polanski is not in police custody by this time tomorrow, the Police will have declared open season on Members of Parliament.' The Met confirmed it had received a report, adding: 'We take reports of this nature extremely seriously, and officers are conducting enquiries into the matter.'
The furious response from Reform UK comes as the party continues to process the death of its prominent spokeswoman Ann Widdecombe earlier this month. However, critics note that the party has previously lionised Lucy Connolly, who was jailed for tweeting that migrants should be burned alive, and invited her to speak at their conference.
Greens and Reform struggle in polls
Survation puts the Greens on 10%, tied with the Liberal Democrats and 11 points behind the third-placed Tories. More in Common gives them a dire 8%, placing them in distant fifth place. This is a far cry from spring when Polanski's party briefly overtook both Labour and the Tories to claim second place in several polls.
Polanski gave the Greens a significant boost after being named leader in September last year, but faced backlash in April over a social media post criticising police who responded to the Golders Green attack. Since then, his headline-grabbing has fizzled out, and his favourability – as tracked by YouGov – remains weak.
For now, Burnham appears content to let the Greens and Reform brawl in the background while he captures attention with policy announcements. It remains to be seen how the polls will settle when his honeymoon period wears off.
