Kemi Badenoch boosts Conservative Party polling, closing gap with Labour
Kemi Badenoch has given the Conservatives their biggest polling boost since the General Election — putting them within touching distance of Labour, reports BritPanorama.
Support for the Conservatives has jumped to 24 per cent. Labour has slipped one point to 26 per cent, while Reform UK trails in third place at 21 per cent.
The YouGov poll, the first since last week’s Budget, suggests Labour’s surge, following Andy Burnham’s ascension to Prime Minister in July, could be starting to level off. The Conservatives have now been ahead of Reform for three consecutive weeks after trailing for months.
A Tory source stated: “The choice at the next election is becoming increasingly clear — a Conservative Party prepared to take the tough decisions to get Britain working again, or a Labour Party too weak to stand up to its own left-wing backbenchers.”
While the Tories’ latest poll rating is a significant improvement from the 17 to 19 per cent support seen earlier this year, it only brings them back to a level similar to their 2024 election result, where they secured 23.7 per cent of the vote under Rishi Sunak.
Despite these challenges, the figures reflect a boost for Badenoch following last month’s party conference. There are indications she is winning back voters who previously left. Currently, 67 per cent of those who voted Tory at the last election say they would do so again, while support for Reform among that demographic has decreased from 28 per cent in April to 23 per cent now.
The Conservatives are also appealing to younger voters, with 17 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 now backing the party, surpassing both Reform and the Liberal Democrats combined among that age group, although Labour remains ahead at 29 per cent.
The polling results indicate that the Lib Dems remain stable at 11 per cent nationwide, while the Greens maintain their position at 10 per cent.
This polling boost indicates a subtle shift in the political landscape, suggesting that the Conservative Party may be regaining some ground among voters amidst an evolving narrative in British politics.
