Prime Minister Andy Burnham has become the most popular political leader in Scotland, but his arrival in Downing Street has yet to translate into increased support for Labour north of the border.
New polling released today finds Mr Burnham is the only leader to record a positive net favourability rating among Scottish voters.
However, Scottish Labour remains some distance behind the SNP in voting intentions, with little evidence that Labour’s improvement in polls elsewhere in Britain has been replicated in Scotland.
Almost four in ten Scots (37%) view Mr Burnham favourably, compared with 28% who view him unfavourably, giving the Prime Minister a net score of +9. All other leaders scored negatively, including SNP leader and First Minister John Swinney (-6) despite him winning the election in May.
The survey was conducted over the past fortnight by Edinburgh-based research agency Diffley Partnership using the Survation online panel.
The poll also finds voters are more likely than not to believe Mr Burnham has improved Labour’s electoral prospects. Nearly half (46%) agree that Labour has a better chance of winning the next General Election under Mr Burnham, while 21% disagree.
However, opinion is more divided on his personal impact. While 37% agree that he understands the concerns of people like them, 32% disagree. Similarly, 36% believe he will be an effective Prime Minister, while 26% disagree.
Asked who would make the best Prime Minister, 45% select Mr Burnham, significantly ahead of both Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch, who each attract support from 16% of voters.
Despite Mr Burnham’s relatively positive ratings, UK Parliament General Election voting intention figures suggest Scottish Labour has not yet experienced any meaningful improvement in support.
The SNP remains the largest party on 34%, three points higher than in the previous Scottish Survation poll conducted in April. Labour remains unchanged on 19%, while Reform UK sits close behind on 18%.
| Party | UK General Election Vote Intention- 24 August 2026 (%) | UK General Election Vote Intention- Survation poll- 21 April 2026 (%) | Change |
| Scottish National Party (SNP) | 34 | 31 | +3 |
| Scottish Labour Party | 19 | 19 | = |
| Reform UK | 18 | 21 | -4 |
| Scottish Conservative Party | 11 | 10 | +1 |
| Scottish Liberal Democrats | 8 | 8 | = |
| Scottish Green Party | 5 | 7 | -2 |
| Restore Britain | 4 | – | – |
| Another Party | 1 | 2 | -1 |
While Labour has improved its position in a number of recent Great Britain-wide polls following Mr Burnham’s election as leader, these Scottish figures suggest that any positive effect has yet to materialise north of the border. The party remains 15 points behind the SNP and level with its support recorded in Survation’s previous Scotland poll conducted in April 2026.
Mark Diffley, founder and director of Diffley Partnership, said: “While Andy Burnham appears to have succeeded in improving Labour’s image, there is little evidence so far of a corresponding ‘Burnham bounce’ in Scotland.
“Turning personal popularity into votes, and rebuilding Labour’s competitiveness in Scottish politics, remains a significant challenge.”
Little public interest in Scottish Labour leadership contest
The survey suggests awareness and engagement with the contest to replace Anas Sarwar as Scottish Labour leader remains relatively low.
Just 4% of voters say they have heard “a great deal” about the contest, while 25% say they have heard “a fair amount”. Half of voters (50%) say they have heard “not very much”, while 22% say they have heard nothing at all.
Michael Marra records the highest level of support, with 8% of voters selecting him compared with 7% for Joe Fagan.
Commenting on the poll, SNP depute leader, Keith Brown MSP, said: “For all the talk of a ‘Burnham bounce’, the only think that has bounced up is SNP polling.
“SNP voting intentions are up 3 points, miles in front of the Westminster parties, as the Scottish people demonstrate their support for the only party that will put Scotland’s interests first.”
Burnham a ‘Prime Minister of England’
The SNP has branded Andy Burnham the “first Prime Minister of England” as his cost-of-living listening tour will end without a visit to Scotland.
A series of announcements have been made by Andy Burnham which relate to England with his latest cost of living listening exercise branded a “tik tok tour”.
SNP MSP, David Linden, said: “Andy Burnham’s cost of living listening tour will end without a single visit here – he is the first Prime Minister of England.
“We’ve had a series of announcements from Andy Burnham that all concern England as all Scotland got was a warning that our democratic right to decide our own future was ‘off limits’ “.
In a comment last month, Daily Business said:
Daily Business Bulletin: Subscribe here for our free morning bulletin of breaking news
#Scottish #Labour #sees #gain #Burnham #bounce #Daily #Business