Overview
- Fresh polling underscores the scale of Labour’s slide, with a Deltapoll putting Reform on 30%, Labour on 20% and the Conservatives on 19%, while Sky News’ poll average shows Reform at 29.4% and Labour at 18.2%.
- Labour chair Anna Turley said Sir Keir Starmer will “absolutely” still be prime minister next Christmas and pledged that people will start to feel improvements in their pockets in 2026.
- Health Secretary Wes Streeting insisted he gives Starmer his “absolute support” and dismissed reports of a joint leadership ticket with Angela Rayner, even as speculation about potential successors persists.
- Downing Street is pitching 2026 as a “year of proof,” with No 10’s Morgan McSweeney defending the Budget and the abolition of the two‑child benefit cap, which he says will lift 350,000 children out of poverty, despite OBR warnings of stagnant living standards.
- The government has launched an investigation into alleged foreign electoral interference following the conviction of former Reform figure Nathan Gill, and the May 2026 local and devolved elections are framed as a pivotal test for Starmer’s leadership.