Reform UK lawmaker Danny Kruger said Labour had gained support in recent polls, crediting the arrival of new leader Andy Burnham and what he called a more united left.
Speaking to Sky News, Kruger said Labour had regained some support from Reform and described his party’s past year as “very difficult.” He said Burnham looked “more plausible” to voters. Kruger rejected the suggestion that he regretted leaving the Conservatives for Reform UK leader Nigel Farage’s party just over a year ago, despite signs of a Conservative recovery under Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, The Guardian reported.
Polling offered mixed results for the parties. A More in Common poll earlier this month put the Conservatives at 25%, above their share in the 2024 general election for the first time in 18 months. A separate Lord Ashcroft poll put Labour at 31%, the Conservatives at 26% and Reform at 18%.
An Ipsos online survey conducted Oct. 15-22 found Labour at 32%, the Conservatives at 24% and Reform UK at 20%, according to EconoTimes’ earlier polling report. Ipsos said the result marked its widest Labour lead since June 2025 and the first time since then that the Conservatives had ranked second in the poll. The survey also put the Liberal Democrats at 9% and the Greens at 8%.
Kruger said Reform could compete across the UK while Conservative support was concentrated in the party’s heartlands, The Guardian reported. He said he remained confident Reform would win. Tim Montgomerie, a former Conservative activist and government adviser who joined Reform, said he thought the party was unlikely to win the next general election, though it could still become Britain’s main center-right party, the newspaper reported.
The Guardian reported that Reform is awaiting a standards commissioner’s report on whether Farage should have declared a £5 million gift from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne; Farage says the personal gift did not require registration. The newspaper said undercover media investigations led to the departures of two Farage advisers and some councillors; Reform’s general secretary also left the role last week.
