Burnham fails to win over voters in first 100 days, new poll shows

Andy Burnham has yet to win over the public as he approaches his 100th day in office, with voters split on his performance, a new poll suggests.

One in three of those who expected the Labour leader to do well as prime minister say they have been disappointed, the YouGov survey found.

Mr Burnham will mark his 100th day in Downing Street on Tuesday, just a day before a key test for his new government when chancellor John Healey unveils his first Budget.

Overall, the poll found that 23 per cent said that the new PM has so far met their positive expectations, although 12 per cent said they had expected him to do well and been dismayed.

Another 23 per cent said he has done as poorly as they anticipated, while 14 per cent who thought he would perform badly said he has done better than expected and most of the rest said they did not know.

Polling expert Lord Hayward said the findings suggested Mr Burnham was seen as “adequate so far, but untested. And it happens that his first big test comes immediately after his 100 days.”

To improve Mr Burnham “will have to show that he can govern effectively,” he added.

“And his problem will come in that the Budget, from what we’re hearing, is not governing – it is delaying. And I think therefore it is likely that the people who will be disappointed as a proportion will rise.”

Earlier this month Mr Healey indicated that the public should prepare for a challenging Budget, which may not grant government departments extra cash to cover pay rises for doctors and nurses.

Attending an International Monetary Fund (IMF) meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, the chancellor said the British public recognised the pressure on state finances caused by global turmoil, expecting departments to “manage with the budgets we’ve got”.

YouGov, which carried out the poll, said that while the findings were “not overwhelmingly positive” they were still markedly better than after Keir Starmer’s first three months in power.

At that stage just 12 per cent said Labour had met their positive expectations, while 30 per cent, including 47 per cent of Labour voters, said they were disappointed.

Dylan Difford, data journalist at YouGov, said: “Three months into his premiership, our research shows that views on how Andy Burnham measures up to expectations are split on partisan lines, but with positivity among Labour, Lib Dem and Green voters offsetting a view among those who voted Conservative or Reform at the last election that he is living up to their low expectations. This comes as our favourability tracker shows Burnham has held on to positive personal ratings for longer than any PM in nearly a decade.

“Notably, this poll’s findings are a striking contrast to when we asked a similar question about Keir Starmer’s government after three months in power.”

The YouGov survey asked 5,394 adults on 22 October 2026.

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