Welcome to Episode 26 of The Opinion Brief podcast.

In this episode, Luke Tryl breaks down the latest UK political polling ahead of the Labour Party Conference. We also analyse whether the “Burnham Bounce” is holding up, where Labour is winning back voters, and where they are struggling.

Plus, we examine a growing gender gap in voting intention and why Labour’s voter base is currently more male than Reform UK’s.

Later, we are joined by Anoosh Chakelian (Britain Editor at The New Statesman) to discuss local community decline, the “Pride in Place” agenda, local government funding, and why social cohesion is critical to national resilience.

Finally, we dig into the cat versus dog debate – does being a cat person influence how you might vote?