Andy Burnham will soon be Prime Minister (Image: Getty)
Britons are braced for Andy Burnham to hike up taxes, deepen Britain’s debt and add to borrowing. Exclusive research reveals voters expect the soon-to-be prime minister to hike up the tax they pay personally. It also lays bare an utter lack of public enthusiasm for any of the potential candidates that Mr Burnham may pick to succeed Rachel Reeves as Chancellor.
The polling by Ipsos also exposes a key dividing line between Nigel Farage and soon-to-be prime minister Mr Burnham. Sixty-one percent of Britons are clear about what the Reform UK leader stands for – but just 37% say the same about the former Mayor of Greater Manchester.
Confusion about what Mr Burnham stands for has deepened the closer he has got to Downing Street, with the share of the country saying they are “not clear” about him rising from 38% in mid-June to 43% at the end of the month.
But when it comes to the economy, 56% think he will increase government borrowing and the national debt and 54% expect he will put up the taxes they pay personally.
A Reform UK spokesman said: “It’s no surprise that Brits have no idea what Burnham stands for. He has been coronated as Labour leader with no proposed agenda for government and minimal scrutiny by the media. Even during the Makerfield by-election, he avoided the press like the plague. This country needs a general election; otherwise it risks being led by a completely illegitimate prime minister with no plans or ideas.”
There is scant support for any of the contenders to become Mr Burnham’s Chancellor. Just 7% thought Energy Secretary Ed Miliband would do the best job, but this was more than for former Health Secretary Wes Streeting (6%), incumbent Ms Reeves (5%) or Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper or ex-deputy prime minister Angela Rayner (both 4%).
The country thinks Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch would take a radically different approach to the economy to Mr Burnham if she became Prime Minister.
Just 39% think she would increase borrowing and the national debt, and only four in 10 respondents expect she would hike up the taxes they pay personally.
While 47% think Mr Burnham will increase spending on public services, the same share think Mrs Badenoch would cut it.
The expected arrival of Mr Burnham as prime minister on July 20 will create new challenges for Mr Farage and Mrs Badenoch as they confront a radically different Labour leader to Sir Keir Starmer.
The incoming Labour PM and the Reform boss are almost tied when it comes to voters thinking they have “lots of personality” (47% for Mr Farage; 46% for Mr Burnham). Just 16% say this of Sir Keir.
But while 44% say Mr Burnham is “in touch with ordinary people”, fewer than one in three (32%) say this about Mr Farage.
Four in 10 think Mr Burnham is a “likeable person” but just 23% say the same about the Reform leader.
Nearly a third of respondents (32%) consider Mr Burnham an “honest person” but only 18% think this about Mr Farage.
Green party leader Zack Polanski performs poorly in the polling. Just 25% think he understands the problems facing Britain and only 22% think he acts with integrity.
Mr Burnham’s team were invited to comment. He has previously pledged to stick to Labour’s manifesto commitment not to increase the main rates of income tax, VAT or National Insurance.