The Badenoch Bounce goes on! Second poll puts resurgent Tories ahead of Reform and Kemi's personal brand hits new high

Published: 10:25 BST, 14 October 2026 | Updated: 10:27 BST, 14 October 2026

The Tories leapfrogged Reform in a new poll today, the second this week to suggest Kemi Badenoch is getting a post-conference bounce after setting out major tax-cutting plans. 

The Conservatives were on 24 per cent with More in Common today, three points ahead of Nigel Farage's party and closing the gap on Labour.

And the poll also showed Mrs Badenoch's personal appeal has grown after she set out her pitch to take on Andy Burnham's leftward-moving government.

She used the annual conference in Birmingham to make the Tory case for tax cuts and also turned her guns on Reform and the chances of them forming a Right-wing coalition government.

Today's poll followed one by YouGov yesterday that similarly showed the Tories moving into second place.

The poll also showed Mrs Badenoch's personal appeal has grown after she set out her pitch to take on Andy Burnham's leftward-moving government

More in Common's director Luke Tryl said: 'The ''Badenoch Bounce'' has two sources.

'Her approvals on the right have risen, rising from last year's budget and hitting +62 with 2024 Conservative voters and +18 with Reform. 

'Her approval rating with Liberal Democrats (-9) and Labour voters (-10) are also up and now relatively high for a Conservative leader.'

After the YouGov poll was released, Mrs Badenoch said the bump was 'just the beginning' and the public was warming to 'common sense plans'. 

She used her big speech last week to make a bold move on inheritance tax, pledging to exempt family homes altogether and give couples a £1million allowance. 

An Opinium poll at the weekend also suggested the Tories had scored a bounce, in a relief for strategists who had feared the leader's improved personal ratings were not feeding through to a wider boost.

But the latest survey could cool fevered rumours at Westminster about the prospect of a snap General Election.

Mr Burnham has denied he is considering an early ballot but Mrs Badenoch's aides were on alert during Labour conference in case he did trigger a contest. 

The Tories have been holding election meetings since July, with a draft manifesto and campaign 'grid' in place detailing the seats Mrs Badenoch will visit and public appearances she will make.

However, the split of support detected by the polls would almost certainly produce a hung Parliament, with the shape of any Government incredibly hard to predict.