The POLITICO Poll: Even Andy Burnham will struggle to save Labour – POLITICO

LONDON — Andy Burnham is the only Labour leadership contender with a plausible chance of slowing the march of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and — in the best case — saving his party from a catastrophic rout at the next election, according to polling from POLITICO’s polling partners Public First.

Burnham’s victory in Thursday’s Makerfield by-election, in which he crushed his Reform rival, is already seen by his backers as clear proof that the outgoing mayor of Greater Manchester can be Labour’s savior. But the Public First research lays bare the scale of the challenge facing Burnham, or anyone else who leads the U.K.’s governing party.

Even in the most optimistic scenario — with Burnham in charge and tactical voting factored in — a Burnham-led Labour Party would still fall more than 80 seats short of a majority in parliament, according to Public First. That would leave Labour relying on support from other parties to form a viable government.