Andy Burnham would face a struggle to beat Reform UK in the next election if he replaces Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister, new polling suggests.
Labour led by Burnham would be backed by 20 per cent of voters at the next election – two points ahead of the party led by Starmer, but still three points behind Reform on 23 per cent, according to the latest BMG Research poll for The i Paper.
A Burnham-led Labour would cause two-point falls in support for Reform and the Greens (9 per cent), although there was a slightly higher proportion of voters saying they were not sure, or would not vote when compared with Starmer remaining leader.
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Cold water shock explained as 12 die during heatwave
Temperatures remain above average for much of the UK after a record-breaking spell of hot weather saw 12 people die in open water and a yellow heat health alert remains in force.
An exceptional bank holiday heatwave is currently bringing record-breaking weather to England, with temperatures forecast to climb into the low 30s by Monday (Photo: Finnbarr Webster/Getty)
Warning over increased risk of drowning
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) alert for eastern and South East England and London runs until 8pm on Saturday. Water-related incidents could increase during this time, with the agency warning of cold water shock and drowning.
NEWS
4 min read
LIFESTYLE
2 min read
What is cold water shock?
Cold water shock is the body’s natural physical reaction to sudden immersion in cold water.
The response is immediate and can lead to drowning, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) said.
Anyone who suddenly enters cold water is at risk, and they may accidentally fall in or jump in.
Cold water shock can affect anyone regardless of swimming ability.
NEWS
3 min read
What happens when you have cold water shock?
It causes gasping, panic and loss of swimming ability, all of which can lead to drowning, the National Water Safety Forum (NWSF) said. It also causes a spike in heart rate and blood pressure, which can result in a heart attack, even if the person is fit and healthy.
People gathering in the river Thames in South Bank in London (Photographer: lorenzo grifantini
Provider: Getty Images
Source: iStock Editorial)
LIFESTYLE
5 min read
How cold is water in the UK?
Many inland waters remain at 16°C or below even in summer. This temperature is considered hazardous for cold water shock.
Even on a hot day water can be cold. Average UK and Ireland sea temperatures are 12°C and rivers such as the Thames are colder.
Monger was brilliant in the water (Photo: BBC/SBX Studios Ltd/Daniel Weiss)
Water can take many weeks to warm up. Sea water around the UK does not get to its warmest until late August or early September.
NEWS
Two adults and a child die in London after fall from building
Caption: General view of the high-rise block of flats on Churchyard Row, Elephant and Castle, in south London, where a man, a woman and a child have died after a fall on Wednesday. Their deaths are being treated as unexpected. Picture date: Friday May 29, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Erik Olsson/PA Wire
Photographer: Erik Olsson
Provider: Erik Olsson/PA Wire
Source: PA
A man, a woman and a child have died after falling from a high-rise block of flats in south London, the Metropolitan Police said.
Officers were called to the Uncle building in Elephant and Castle at 7.29am on Wednesday to reports that people had fallen from a height.
Emergency services arrived in minutes
Our first paramedic arrived in around four minutes. Very sadly, despite the best efforts of our crews, three people were pronounced dead at the scene.
London ambulance service spokesperson
Emergency ambulance on city street in London, UK – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Deaths treated as ‘unexpected’
The deaths are being treated as “unexpected” and no other injuries have been reported, the force said. Their next of kin has been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.
The Met Police said officers attended alongside the London Ambulance Service, London’s Air Ambulance and the London Fire Brigade.
Caption: General view of the high-rise block of flats on Churchyard Row, Elephant and Castle, in south London, where a man, a woman and a child have died after a fall on Wednesday. Their deaths are being treated as unexpected. Picture date: Friday May 29, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Erik Olsson/PA Wire
Photographer: Erik Olsson
Provider: Erik Olsson/PA Wire
Source: PA
LIVE
1 min read
Adding new pill could help incurable blood cancer patients live well for longer
A new once-daily pill could help patients with a with an incurable blood cancer live longer without the disease getting worse, according to researchers.
A trial found that patients on the new treatment lived more than twice as long without their cancer progressing.
(Photo: Jeff Moore/PA).
What you need to know about multiple myeloma
Every year, about 6,200 people in the UK are diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer that develops from abnormal plasma cells in bone marrow.
But there are few options for patients whose multiple myeloma has returned or stopped responding to standard treatments.
Epstein-Barr virus is not as harmless as we once thought (Photo: Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library/Getty)
Analysis
4 min read
A closer look at the detail
But US researchers, who presented their findings at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago, found that adding a new once-daily pill to a combination of drugs already used on the NHS could help patients live well for longer.
Caption: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), computer illustration. EBV, also known as human herpes virus 4, is 1 of 8 herpes viruses that infects humans. It is best known as the cause of infectious mononucleosis (glandular fever), but is also associated with some forms of cancer, including Burkitts lymphoma. In both infections, the virus infects one type of white blood cell, the B lymphocytes. Infection with EBV is common and usually harmless; additional factors potentiate the development of more serious diseases.
Photographer: KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRA
Provider: Getty Images/Science Photo Libra
Source: Science Photo Library RF
Copyright: Science Photo Library
Of the 108 NHS Trusts that reported full data for each year since 2015/16, 73 saw a rise in the number of breaches of the 28-day reschedule standard (Photo: Jeff Moore/PA Wire)
The trial to test the the triplet therapy – which included the new treatment mezigdomide – included 479 people with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.
What difference does it make?
Some 288 patients were given the new triplet drug of mezigdomide, carfilzomib, and dexamethasone, while 191 had just carfilzomib and dexamethasone.
After a follow-up period, those in the mezigdomide group lived for a median of 18 months without their disease progressing. That is more than double the 8.3 months for the group given the two-drug combination.
Newsletter (£)
5 min read
CULTURE
5 min read
How does it work?
Mezigdomide works by attaching to a specific protein in the body.
It then pulls in all the disease-causing proteins – like a magnet, and degrades them.
By wiping out these cancer-fuelling proteins, the drug also stimulates the immune system to attack and kill remaining cancer cells.
LIFESTYLE
5 min read
Promising results
There are several pivotal studies with mezigdomide…
Its ability to reverse immune exhaustion and enhance immune activity makes it an ideal partner to current immunotherapies as well as other novel oral agents, and numerous trials are now under way.
Paul Richardson, director of clinical research at the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Centre at Dana-Farber
High angle view of doctor with patient sitting on examination table in clinic – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
PROPERTY
The seaside hotspots where house prices are growing fastest
The beach at Aberporth on the Welsh coast in Ceredigion (Photo: Anna Stowe/Loop Images/Universal Images Group/Getty)
Coastal towns in Merseyside and Wales are rising coastal hotspots where house prices are climbing the fastest – and outpacing the rest of the UK, according to new analysis from Rightmove.
To be beside the seaside…
House buyers are increasingly flocking to the seaside, which has ticked up local property prices.
Bootle in Merseyside tops the list, with data showing that the average asking price has jumped 11 per cent compared with last year.
That said, house prices in the coastal town remain well below the national average at £141,680.
Another Merseyside hotspot, Crosby, was second fastest – growing with house prices up by 9 per cent to an average of £330,900.
TRAVEL
5 min read
A closer look at the detail
Several Welsh towns have also seen some of the biggest jumps in house prices along the coast. The cost of a home in Penarth, near to the capital Cardiff, was up by 8 per cent to an average of £433,091– sitting well above the national UK average of £378,304, according to Rightmove.
Penarth is a desirable town to live
(Photo: Abbie Trayler-Smith)
Penarth Pier and seafront (Photo: Abbie Trayler-Smith)
Average asking prices are currently 0.3 per cent lower in Britain compared with last year, but several seaside locations are defying this dip.
Top 5 seaside locations with the highest year-on-year house price growth
1Bootle, Merseyside, up 11 per cent to £141,680.
2Crosby, Merseyside, up 9 per cent to £330,900.
3Penarth, South Glamorgan, Wales, up 8 per cent to £433,081.
4Llantwit Major, South Glamorgan, Wales, up 8 per cent tto £340,033.
5Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales, up 7 per cent to £201,570.
Top growers still dwarfed by southern British towns
The seaside towns with the highest year-on-year growth remain dwarfed by some of the more sought after areas down south.
The average price of a home in Sandbanks, Dorset – the most expensive seaside town in Britain – is £1,119,945, followed by Canford Cliffs, Dorset, at £1,045,533.
PROPERTY AND MORTGAGES
3 min read
TRAVEL
5 min read
RETIREMENT
The people choosing ‘half-retirement’ in their 50s and 60s
For generations, retirement was seen as the reward at the end of working life. Put money into a pension, pay off the mortgage, stop working in your 60s and finally relax.
But a growing number of older Britons are quietly rewriting the script and opting for what has become known as “half-retirement”.
Lifestyle over ambition
This so-called “half-retirement” is when someone continues to work part-time, taking on flexible side jobs or reshaping their career around their lifestyle rather than ambition.
Dog licking mature woman in back yard – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
(Hours/Getty)
Some are doing it because the cost of living has made retirement more expensive, and others want extra money for travel, helping children financially, or simply maintaining a comfortable lifestyle.
half-retiree
David Samuel, 59, falls into this category
David Samuel has saved more than £300,000 into a pension Photographer: Jo Worthington
His mortgage is paid off, his children are grown up and married, and he has a considerable £300,000 nest egg to get him through his golden years.
But he doesn’t plan on retiring.
Newsletter (£)
6 min read
Slowing not stopping
Despite technically being in a position where I could begin winding down towards a more traditional retirement, I have no desire to stop… Instead, I believe I have discovered something better – half-retirement.
David Samuel, 59, told the i paper
Bank money piggy save tax plan saving retirement financial invest sits on wooden desk top beside modern calculator used for tracking personal income concept planning budget goals – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Reduced hours
For David, this means working 20 hours a week at his business, which coaches other business owners.
While he has largely handed over the reins, he now focuses more on working directly with his clients.
To view of a senior woman working from home using laptop computer – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
LIFESTYLE
8 min read
And he’s not alone…
According to figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), 10 per cent of working adults aged between 40 and 75 are semi-retired.
Caroline and Murray Sims, both 65, are also among those finding new ways to make retirement income stretch further, by working part-time.
The role involves caring for homeowners’ properties and pets while they are away, and it can earn people up to £150 a week alongside food and travel allowances, Caroline said.
Big Read
7 min read
Two charged after bystander fatally shot outside Sheffield bar
A man and a woman have been charged in connection with the death of a mother-of-one who was shot outside a bar in Sheffield, police said.
Caption: Undated handout photo issued by South Yorkshire Police of 30-year-old mother-of-one Shanice Brookes who has been named woman who was fatally shot outside a bar in Sheffield on Monday. Issue date: Wednesday May 27, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: South Yorkshire Police/PA Wire
NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Photographer: South Yorkshire Police
Provider: South Yorkshire Police/PA Wire
Source: PA
What happened?
Shanice Brookes, 30, was found with serious injuries outside the bar One Four One in the early hours of Bank Holiday Monday. She later died in hospital.
South Yorkshire Police said the charity worker was “an innocent bystander” on a night out. Her family said she was working for young adult care charity, Zest, while studying for a university degree.
Caption: A police cordon at the scene near the One Four One bar on West Street, Sheffield, where a 30-year-old woman died following a shooting. Three people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after officers were called to the scene at 2.45am on Monday morning. Picture date: Monday May 25, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Dave Higgens/PA Wire
Photographer: Dave Higgens
Provider: Dave Higgens/PA Wire
Source: PA
Copyright: PA
Investigation
6 min read
What happens now?
Jemele Rhone, 30, has been charged with murder, while Deiryen Dyce, 32, has been charged with assisting an offender. The pair are due to appear at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court.
Caption: Screengrab taken from CCTV footage dated 25/05/26 issued by South Yorkshire Police of a white Audi at the junction of Eldon Street and West Hill Street near the One Four One bar in Sheffield, where a 30-year-old woman died following a shooting on Monday. Three people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after officers were called to the scene at 2.45am on Monday morning. Issue date: Tuesday May 26, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: South Yorkshire Police/PA Wire
NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Photographer: South Yorkshire Police
Provider: South Yorkshire Police/PA Wire
Source: PA
Copyright: PA
Caption: A police cordon at the scene near the One Four One bar on West Street, Sheffield, where a 30-year-old woman died following a shooting. Three people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after officers were called to the scene at 2.45am on Monday morning. Picture date: Monday May 25, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Dave Higgens/PA Wire
Photographer: Dave Higgens
Provider: Dave Higgens/PA Wire
Source: PA
Copyright: PA
Rhone is also charged with possession of a firearm and possession of criminal property, police said. Dyce is also charged with possession of ammunition, possession of drugs with intent to supply and possession of criminal property.
‘Truly one of a kind’
Detective Chief Inspector, Andy Knowles, of South Yorkshire Police, said: “Shanice was an entirely innocent bystander who should’ve been able to enjoy a night out in our city without the fear that she wouldn’t come home safely.”
He added that her family and young son, “now face the harrowing reality that they will never get to see her again”.
Shanice’s family described her as “truly one of a kind” and said she had the “biggest heart and the kind of energy you could never forget”.
OPINION
4 min read
The finding – on the specific question of who voters would back at the next election with Burnham or Starmer as leader, which operates differently to headline voting intention polling – defies a recent survey which suggested Labour would come out on top if the leadership frontrunner took over as PM because he would deliver an eight-point boost to the party’s support.
The Greater Manchester mayor was nevertheless the clear favourite to take over if Labour changes leader on 23 per cent, well ahead of his nearest rival Wes Streeting on 4 per cent.
Burnham was also the only frontline Labour politician with a positive perception score (+2), with Streeting in third place on -23, behind Shabana Mahmood (-19).
Jack Curry, pollster at BMG, said: “When we tested likelihood to vote for Burnham’s Labour against Starmer’s, there was a small increase in those who would back the party under Burnham, but even if he wins the Makerfield by-election and becomes Labour leader, it is by no means guaranteed he would turn around Labour’s electoral fortunes straight away.”
Burnham is currently fighting against Reform’s Robert Kenyon to become an MP in the Makerfield by-election on 18 June, with victory and a return to Parliament likely to be a precursor to a leadership bid to replace Starmer.
He has pledged to put Labour “solidly on the side of working class people” and promised to tackle inequality, saying the party’s failure to deliver change in this area has left voters going “further to the extremes”, thought to be a reference to Reform.
But he would face immediate pressure for a general election, with nearly half (48 per cent) of voters saying there should be an early poll if Labour elects a new leader, while only around a third (32 per cent) said they should continue until the next scheduled vote. Although much of the pressure for a snap election would come from Conservative and Reform supporters.
In a sign that Labour supporters may be thinking twice about ousting Starmer, the percentage of those wanting to replace him has fallen by five points to 37 per cent with a two-point increase in those who want him to remain (48 per cent).
Among the general public, many more voters want to see Starmer replaced than stay.
But there were signs that his attempted fightback was having some impact as support for Labour ousting him among the wider electorate fell by six percentage points and those backing him staying on rose by five percentage points.
Curry said: “There has been a slight shift towards those who want Starmer to stay as leader, with backing for him to remain ticking up since April. But the underlying picture remains uncomfortable for the Prime Minister, with a clear majority of those expressing a view still wanting him gone.”
There was small comfort for Starmer in headline voting intention figures on who people would back if there were an election today, with Labour up two points to 21 per cent, cutting the lead of Reform (stable on 29 per cent) to eight points.
This has been accompanied by a four-point drop for the Greens from a 16 per cent high watermark to 12 per cent, suggesting Zack Polanski’s honeymoon period as leader is over after his controversial response to the Golders Green attack. He also faced difficult headlines after the British Red Cross disputed his claim that he’d acted as a spokesperson for the charity and it emerged he was being investigated for possibly failing to pay council tax when he lived on a houseboat in London.
The Tories meanwhile remained stable in third place on 17 per cent while the Liberal Democrats were now neck and neck with the Greens on 12 per cent.
Starmer’s dire personal ratings improved by just one point with a net satisfaction score of -48 in the aftermath of local elections and the challenge to his leadership.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch continued to record the highest net satisfaction score among party leaders of -3, driven by the highest “satisfied” rating of her leadership so far on 28 per cent, although many more voters are still yet to make up their mind about her compared with others.
Farage’s net satisfaction rating remained consistent on -15, suggesting the standards probe into his £5m donation from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne was not impacting the public’s view of his leadership, although he recorded his highest-ever dissatisfied rating (45 per cent) since becoming an MP.
Reform also led among voters on 15 key issues, including the two deemed most important – cost of living (five point lead over Labour) and immigration (18 point lead).
Starmer’s party leads on only two issues – the war in Ukraine and education, although it was gaining ground on social care and the economy.
“Labour will take small comfort from this month’s numbers, but only small,” Curry said.
“The local elections and front-bench resignations have left the party visibly bruised, and the polling reflects a public that has largely stopped listening.”
A Reform UK spokesman said: “Reform has all the momentum in British politics and we have now had the lead in nearly 300 opinion polls in a row. This latest polling proves exactly the same as we are seeing in Makerfield – only Reform can beat Labour.”
:: BMG surveyed a representative sample of 1,511 GB adults between 26 and 28 May. BMG are members of the British Polling Council and abide by its rules.