The Tories have had a poll boost after John Healey’s first budget
Kemi Badenoch’s party has gone up in a YouGov poll after the Budget (Image: Getty)
Conservatives have dramatically closed the gap with Labour in the party’s best polling since the 2024 general election. Almost a quarter of voters (24%) would now back the Tories, a 2% rise from last week before John Healey’s maiden Budget. Meanwhile Labour dropped one point to 26%, a YouGov poll found. That is still well above the 19% Labour’s support had slumped to in the week before Andy Burnham took office.
The poll boost for the Tories comes as rumours of an early general election continue to swirl around Westminster. Tory sources have previously said that Mrs Badenoch has put her party on a “war footing” ahead of a possible early vote. Mr Burnham has attempted to quell rumours of an election soon by insisting he will not call one within the next year.
The next general election must be called by August 2029,
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has said he thinks there could be a general election in May.
His party is on 21% in the YouGov poll for The Times, a point up from one of their polls last week and its lowest number since the general election.
Mr Burnham’s first Budget was a flop with the public, who saw it as “tinkering” and do not believe it will help with the cost of living, cut their energy bills or provide enough funding for defence.
Voters believe the Prime Minister is focusing on what is popular rather than what is right for the country.
That brutal verdict on last week’s Budget was delivered in a poll by More in Common released on Monday.