LONDON — Andy Burnham is determined to put his Northern English identity and experience at the center of his pitch to run the U.K., but he already risks alienating voters in the South, according to a new POLITICO Poll.
Even before Burnham takes over as British prime minister, as is expected later this month, research from Public First for POLITICO shows a vast difference in how the former Greater Manchester mayor is seen in Southern and Northern England.
While he has an overall net trust rating of +11 percent nationally, this masks a large regional gap. When asked, “Do you trust Andy Burnham?” voters in Northern England answered “yes” by a margin of +22 percent over those saying “no,” while adults in Southern England were far more skeptical, giving Burnham a negative net trust score of -3 percent.