Reform lead Labour in national opinion poll for the first time
Reform UK has overtaken Labour in a national opinion poll for the first time, in a potentially symbolic moment for Nigel Farage’s party that will generate alarm for Labour and the Tories.
The YouGov poll, taken on Sunday and Monday, put support for Reform at 25 per cent - a point ahead of Labour.
The Conservatives were pushed into third on 21 per cent, followed by the Liberal Democrats on 14 per cent and the Green Party on 9 per cent.
Just 60 per cent of people who voted for Labour in the last general election in July said they would do so now, compared with 18 per cent who said they would either definitely or probably not support the party.
In contrast, 86 per cent of Reform voters at the last election said they would continue to back the party.
The poll is likely to worry the Conservatives and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who are polling at the lowest level since losing to Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour last summer.
Almost one in four (24 per cent) Conservative voters at the last election said they would back Reform, in a sign that Mr Farage is continuing to attract disgruntled former Tories.
More than four in ten (43 per cent) of Tory voters would be in favour of a merger of the Conservatives with Reform.
All of the polling that has pushed Reform into the lead is within the margin of error, but the results will cause concern for Labour and Conservative strategists ahead of the local elections this May.
Sir Keir Starmer was found to be less popular than both Mr Farage and Ms Badenoch, with a net favourability rating of -36.
Mr Farage’s net favourability has risen by 5 per cent in a month, reaching -27.
But Ms Badenoch’s net favourability rating has dropped 4 per cent in the same timeframe, to -29.
On Sunday, Reform UK said it would hold the “biggest ever” political rally in modern British history.
The party is gearing up for the May 1 local and mayoral elections with a campaign launch rally at the Arena Birmingham, the venue which used to be known as the National Indoor Arena.
The event on March 28 will be “the biggest ever launch rally in modern British political history”, Reform UK claimed.