Anti-immigration party Reform UK was virtually neck-in-neck with British leader Keir Starmer's Labour in a YouGov poll released six months after both parties made significant gains in a general election.

The Reform party of hard-right figurehead Nigel Farage stood at 25 percent in the poll released on Monday, just behind Labour's 26 percent.

Reform pushed the Conservatives into third place (22 percent) in YouGov's first voting intention survey since the July election.

The shift shows a drop of nearly 10 percentage points for Labour compared to the election results.

That was mirrored by a 10-point rise for Reform, which has won support for its hard-right policies on immigration. These include demanding a freeze on what it calls "non-essential immigration". 

According to the poll, the Conservatives -- now led by Kemi Badenoch -- have lost 15 percent of their 2024 voters to Reform. The Tories are struggling to get back on their feet following their historic general election defeat.

And, after a rocky first six months in power, just 54 percent of those who voted for Labour in 2024 said they would back the governing party in another election.

Starmer swept into power on promises of delivering growth and slashing immigration. 

Keir Starmer’s Labour party, which ousted the Conservatives from power in the last UK election. Photo: AFP

But his popularity has taken a hit since the election due to poor results in both areas and several unpopular budget decisions.

The poll comes as Starmer's finance minister Rachel Reeves is under pressure to regain market confidence amid rising borrowing costs and sluggish economic growth.

YouGov's polling for the Times newspaper found Reform was the most favoured to handle immigration, while the Tories were backed as the most "trusted" to tackle Britain's flagging economy.

Labour was the favourite to fix the National Health Service, falling into second place for immigration and the economy.

The UK's first-past-the-post electoral system has historically favoured larger parties, resulting in decades of elections fought between the Tories and Labour.

Recent gains by smaller parties, including by centre-right Liberal Democrats and Reform, signal a potential shift in the playing field for future elections.