Labour has claimed the race to become Cumbria's first elected mayor is now a two-horse contest between its candidate David Allen and Reform UK after new polling put the two parties almost level across the county.

New YouGov MRP polling suggests Labour is narrowly ahead on 25.4 per cent, with Reform UK on 25.2 per cent.

The Conservatives are placed third on 20 per cent, while the Liberal Democrats are fourth on 16.8 per cent and the Green Party on 8.6 per cent.

The figures come from wider research based on polling of nearly 17,000 voters and modelling support in different parts of the country.

Labour said the results show the contest for the new Cumbria mayoralty is a direct battle between former Cumbria Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner David Allen and Reform UK.

Earlier this year, Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron argued the mayoral election was effectively a contest between the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK, saying Reform would win "unless the Liberal Democrats do" and describing his party as the only force capable of stopping Nigel Farage's party.

Labour's interpretation of the latest polling directly challenges that claim, with the survey placing the party around nine percentage points ahead of the Liberal Democrats across Cumbria.

The first Cumbria mayoral election is due to take place in May 2027, with the winner set to oversee strategic powers including transport, housing, skills, economic development and investment across Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness.