Spain's ruling Socialist party, albeit with a little help from their far-left friends, is facing tough, although not 100% convincing competition from the centre-right Partido Popular, which has a little help from its friends, the far-right party Vox. In last Sunday’s regional elections in Aragon, the PP, despite losing two seats compared to the last election, emerged as the largest political group but has to now rely on Vox - the third biggest party in the region, which increased its number of seats to 14 from seven with 18% of the vote.
However, the Socialist party of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez lost five seats, matching its worst result ever in the region. The Socialists now have the support of around 27% of the national electorate, according to a poll by 40dB in mid-January, behind the PP which had 31%. Vox had 18%.
And in the UK, Sanchez’s great buddy Sir Keir Starmer is not doing too well either.
As of February 2026, and not factoring in the Mandelson impact, UK political polling indicates a historic shift, with Reform UK consistently leading national voting intentions. The governing Labour Party has seen its support fall significantly since the 2024 General Election, now often polling in second or even third place. Labour are on 19.6%. Both parties have been hit by scandal. Don’t politicians ever learn?