Burnham’s Labour Rescue Plan Crashes as Reform Still Leads

Labour’s Andy Burnham escape route is already running into a brutal reality check. The party may hope a leadership change could revive its fortunes, but new research suggests even Burnham would still fail to overtake Nigel Farage’s Reform. Michael Heaver looks at the latest polling showing Labour would gain only a limited boost if Burnham replaced Starmer as leader and Prime Minister. He also examines the pressure around a possible early general election, the high-stakes Makerfield by-election, and reports that Labour canvassers may be trying to split the Reform vote by pushing some voters toward Restore. With Labour’s mood described as dire and Reform still ahead under either Starmer or Burnham, the so-called rescue plan looks far weaker than many inside the party hoped.