Sir Keir Starmer is set to leave Downing Street on 20 July and a majority of Brits believe Andy Burnham should call a snap election when he takes over. Nearly two thirds of voters (65 per cent) believe a new Prime Minister should call an immediate general election as opposed
Mauricio Alencar
Tuesday 07 July 2026 5:00 am | Updated: Monday 06 July 2026 5:57 pm
Sir Keir Starmer is set to leave Downing Street on 20 July and a majority of Brits believe Andy Burnham should call a snap election when he takes over.
Nearly two thirds of voters (65 per cent) believe a new Prime Minister should call an immediate general election as opposed to 29 per cent who believe Starmer’s successor should govern without a clear mandate, according to the latest City AM/Freshwater Strategy poll.
Labour voters were the only section of the electorate who believed that the incoming leader could govern without calling a general election.
Figures also showed that just 25 per cent of people said they would be more likely to vote for Labour with Burnham as Prime Minister while 49 per cent said it would make no difference. Around 21 per cent said they would be less likely to vote for the party.
Polling suggests that Burnham will likely face immediate pressure from the public as he looks to implement radical reform to the UK’s political structure and institutions.
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The former Manchester mayor has focused his political messaging on devolution through opening a ‘Number 10 in the North’ while handing over more control of utilities and transport to local councils, though he has not spelt out further details on taxation, defence spending or welfare reform.
While Burnham enjoys higher favourability ratings than the likes of Ed Davey and Nigel Farage, the imminent change of guard in Downing Street has also had little impact on national polling figures.
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Reform UK still leads the polls even as recent scrutiny over Farage’s financial arrangements with the crypto entrepreneur George Cottrell and the Tether investor Christopher Harborne has put party officials in an awkward position.
Around 29 per cent of voters would back Farage’s party in an election compared to 20 per cent for Labour and 21 per cent for the Conservatives, which has failed to materially translate Kemi Badenoch’s relative popularity among voters into voting share gains.
Both the Greens and the Liberal Democrats hold 12 per cent of the current vote share.
In head-to-heads, Burnham proves marginally more popular than Farage and Badenoch with 30 per cent saying they would prefer him to become Prime Minister compared to 29 per cent for the Reform leader and 28 per cent for the Tory leader.
Risks to Burnham’s popularity remain as voters take a dim view of Ed Miliband, who is the favourite to become Chancellor. Around 29 per cent of voters believe Wes Streeting should replace Rachel Reeves compared to 23 per cent in favour of Miliband and a similar proportion who think the Chancellor should not be changed.
Method note: Freshwater Strategy interviewed n=1,240 eligible voters in the UK, aged 18+ online, between 3 – 5 July 2026. Margin of Error +/- 2.8%. Data are weighted to be representative of UK voters. Freshwater Strategy are members of the British Polling Council and abide by their rules.
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