Rayner and Burnham most popular with Labour members of opposite sex

Andy Burnham and Angela Rayner are the most popular senior Labour figures with party members of the opposite sex, according to exclusive polling for LabourList.

Indeed, a remarkable 93% of women have a favourable opinion of the Manchester mayor, compared to 89% of men.

While Angela Rayner is just about more popular with women than men, with 86% of women having a favourable opinion of her compared to 85% of men, the next most popular woman among men is Lisa Nandy, at 62%.

Most cabinet members were less popular with men than with women, with John Healey a notable exception, with 52% of men having a favourable view of the defence secretary compared to 51% of women.

READ MORE: One in four Labour members expect Reform to be largest party

It comes after our recent separately published cabinet league table saw Rayner’s net favourability rating – a different measure totalling those who feel favourable minus those who feel unfavourable – rise more than any other cabinet member over the past months.

And the pair are also two of the top picks to be the next Labour leader.

Burnham attracted the most support, with 57% of members placing him among their top three to succeed Keir Starmer and more than one in four (29%) making him their top pick for leader.

But the Deputy Prime Minister was the most popular cabinet member, with 47% placing her in their top three and 20% as their number one.

Subscribe here to our daily newsletter roundup of all things Labour – and follow us on  Bluesky, WhatsApp, Threads, X or Facebook.

Ed Miliband was also very popular with women, with 91% having a very favourable view of the Energy Secretary.

However, when asked who the next leader should be, just 14% picked Miliband as one of their top three choices to succeed the PM.

Both Rayner and Burnham have been at the centre of future leadership bid speculation in recent months.

READ MORE: Poll: Do members back coalition or ruling alone if we fail to keep our majority?

A leaked memo from Rayner to the Chancellor proposed alternative approaches to taxation, and Burnham used a speech at a progressive conference to launch a wide-ranging critique of the government and set out an alternative programme.

The poll is the latest in a series of regular polls LabourList is publishing in partnership with leading pollsters Survation, a member of the British Polling Council and a Market Research Society Partner.

Survation surveyed 1,304 LabourList readers who also said they were Labour Party members between May 30 and June 1.

Data was weighted to the profile of party members by age, sex, region and 2020 Labour leadership vote, targets for which were derived from the British Election Study and the results of the 2020 leadership election.

• SHARE: If you have anything to share that we should be looking into or publishing about this story – or any other topic involving Labour– contact us (strictly anonymously if you wish) at [email protected].
• SUBSCRIBE: Sign up to LabourList’s morning email here for the best briefing on everything Labour, every weekday morning.
• DONATE: If you value our work, please chip in a few pounds a week and become one of our supporters, helping sustain and expand our coverage.
• PARTNER: If you or your organisation might be interested in partnering with us on sponsored events or projects, email [email protected].
• ADVERTISE: If your organisation would like to advertise or run sponsored pieces on LabourList‘s daily newsletter or website, contact our exclusive ad partners Total Politics at [email protected].