# Nigel Farage would lose head-to-head contest to every other political leader except Zack Polanski, poll shows

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/nigel-farage-would-lose-head-to-head-contest-to-every-other-political-leader-except-zack-polanski-poll-shows/
- Published: 2026-10-23T15:36:49+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-23T16:40:29+00:00
- Original publisher: The Independent (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nigel-farage-reform-leader-poll-polanski-green-b3072281.html
- Topics: Art, Culture, Elections, Politics

## Key points

- Farage lost most head-to-head prime minister contests.
- Burnham beat every leader tested.
- Tactical voting could hurt Reform’s prospects.

## Summary

A More in Common survey found Nigel Farage would lose a forced-choice contest for prime minister to every major party leader tested except Green Party leader Zack Polanski. The findings suggest tactical voting could weaken Reform UK’s prospects by drawing voters towards leaders they prefer to Farage.

Andy Burnham led the match-ups, beating Farage 64–36 and winning against all the other leaders tested; his closest contest was with Kemi Badenoch, 58–42. Farage lost to Badenoch 67–33, Ed Davey 56–44 and Restore Britain’s Rupert Lowe 52–48, but beat Polanski 52–48. The survey questioned 3,069 adults from 16 to 19 October; a separate poll of more than 8,000 people suggested tactical voting could put Reform fourth and bring Labour closer to a parliamentary majority.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.