Nearly six in ten Britons describe Reform UK as an “extreme” party, while only 22% believe it is ready to form the next government, according to new Ipsos polling.
The survey also places Labour four points ahead of Reform on voting intention and gives Prime Minister Andy Burnham a commanding lead over Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch when voters are asked who would make the most capable prime minister.
Labour stands on 27%, followed by Reform on 23% and the Conservatives on 21%. The Greens are on 13% and the Liberal Democrats on 8%.
For Reform, the more damaging findings concern how the public sees the party and its leader.
Most voters do not believe Reform is ready
Ipsos found that 58% of British adults believe the word “extreme” applies to Reform UK.
That is four points lower than a year ago, but still considerably higher than the equivalent figures for every other major party. The Greens were described as extreme by 39%, while no more than a quarter said the same about Labour, the Conservatives or the Liberal Democrats.
The polling also found that 60% disagree with the statement that Reform is ready to form the next government. Only 22% agree. Support for that proposition has fallen from 29% in September 2025 and 25% in January.
The verdict on Farage himself is almost identical. Just 20% believe he is ready to become prime minister, while 61% disagree.
Farage is also the least popular opposition leader measured by Ipsos. Only 24% are satisfied with his performance as Reform leader, compared with 61% who are dissatisfied.
The results follow a separate YouGov poll that gave Farage his worst personal rating in the company’s decade-long tracker.
Reform continues to attract close to a quarter of likely voters, so its support has hardly disappeared. The problem is that a much larger section of the country remains unconvinced that the party could be trusted with government.
Burnham leads Farage by 21 points
When Ipsos asked which of the three main contenders would make the most capable prime minister, Burnham was chosen by 35%.
Badenoch received 15%, while Farage came third on 14%. A further 14% said there was no difference between them, 10% chose nobody and 7% did not know.
That result gives Burnham a 20-point advantage over Badenoch and a 21-point lead over Farage.
Labour also has a clear advantage on the wider question of governing competence. Some 37% said “fit to govern” applied to Labour, compared with 25% for the Conservatives and 20% for Reform and the Liberal Democrats. The Greens scored 17%.
On understanding the problems facing Britain, Labour narrowly led Reform by 38% to 34%.
Perceptions of Labour have improved substantially since September 2025. The proportion describing the party as fit to govern has risen by ten points, while 41% now believe it is concerned about people in real need, up 14 points.
Labour is ahead, but the public remains unhappy
The figures are encouraging for Burnham as he approaches his first Labour conference as prime minister, but the poll is not an endorsement of everything his government is doing.
Seven in ten Britons remain dissatisfied with the way the country is being run. Only 18% are satisfied.
Burnham’s own rating is negative, with 31% satisfied by his performance as prime minister and 44% dissatisfied. The number expressing dissatisfaction has risen by 14 points since August, largely because fewer voters now say they do not know.
Only 27% believe the Government is competent, while 47% disagree. Those numbers remain poor, although they have improved since August, when just 19% described the Government as competent and 52% disagreed.
Ipsos politics director Keiran Pedley said there were “plenty of reasons” for Burnham to be cautiously optimistic, including Labour’s improved image and his personal lead over Badenoch and Farage.
But he added:
“Labour’s poll lead is narrow and 7 in 10 are still dissatisfied with how the country is being run.”
That is the central tension in the poll. Labour has recovered enough ground to move ahead, and Burnham is comfortably preferred to his rivals, but the public mood remains deeply hostile towards Westminster.
Reform’s money has not yet solved its political problem
The poll arrives shortly after Reform received £72 million from cryptocurrency billionaires Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne.
That money can fund organisers, staff, advertising and a more professional national campaign. Farage has already announced plans to recruit hundreds of campaign managers as Reform prepares for the next election.
But a large campaign fund cannot by itself change how voters view the party.
Reform is only four points behind Labour, and the gap falls within the range of potential polling error identified by Ipsos. It remains firmly in contention.
Yet its route to government depends on reaching voters beyond its existing support. A party seen as extreme by 58%, unready for government by 60% and led by a man whom 61% do not consider ready to be prime minister still has considerable work to do.
Ipsos questioned a representative sample of 1,031 British adults online between 10 and 15 September. The company says there is a nine in ten chance that each party’s true level of support is within four points of its reported figure.
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