Labour Favourites To Win Next General Election In Surprise Comeback With The Bookies

Labour has been installed as the bookies’ favourites to win the next general election after 18 months out in the cold.

Keir Starmer’s party has been trailing in both the opinion polls and the betting odds for most of the prime minister’s time in office, but it looks like Labour are finally enjoying a stroke of luck.

Star Sports have narrowed Labour’s odds of winning the most seats at the next general election to13/8 from 15/8 last week.

Meanwhile Nigel Farage’sReform UK has gone the other way as the party’s odds drifted from 13/8 to 15/8.

William Kedjanyi, political betting analyst at Star Sports, said Labour have been going up in the market after ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe unveiled his rival party: Restore Britain.

The right-wing party appears to have threatened Reform’s success, with 10/1 odds compared to 20/1 last week.

They’re getting closer to the Greens, who sit at 17/2 and the Conservatives at 6/1 as betters try to predict who will be most popular at the next general election.

Kedjanyi said: “It’s been 18 months since we saw Labour as favourites to win most seats at the next General Election, but Keir Starmer’s party have been in the ascendency in the market, shortening into 13/8 from 15/8 in the past week to supplant Reform at the head of the betting.

“That change has largely been driven by the introduction of Restore Britain to the growing number of political parties set to contest the next General Election, and they look likely to eat into the Reform vote.

“As a result, Nigel Farage’s party has drifted out to 15/8 from 13/8 and now have ground to make up on Starmer’s Labour in the betting.”

The odds looking at who might be the next permanent prime minister after Starmer also favour Labour, with former deputy PM Angela Rayner leading with 7/2 odds and health secretary Wes Streeting just behind her on 6/1.

Farage comes in third on 7/1 closely followed by energy secretary Ed Miliband on 8/1.

The bookmakers’ update will come as a relief to Labour, as the party has been struggled to connect with disillusioned voters frustrated with a series of government scandals and Starmer’s policy U-turns.

However, pollsters at YouGov have still put Labour on 19% in the opinion polls, trailing behind Reform who sit comfortably in the lead on 24%.

The Conservatives are snapping at Labour’s heels on 18% while the Greens are on 17% and the Lib Dems are on 13%.

A Labour source said: “We know people are impatient for change and that there’s more to do. But we are beginning to turn the corner, with NHS waiting lists, interest rates and inflation falling because of the hard decisions we’ve taken to invest in public services and tackle the cost of living.”