Surveys have shown that Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was significantly more popular among Conservative voters than Chancellor Rishi Sunak in 2019, with the populist party on track to overtake the Conservatives in the opinion polls.
A survey by JL Partners has found that pro-Brexit Nigel Farage has a commanding lead over Rishi Sunak among those who supported Boris Johnson in the 2019 general election.
The survey found that Mr Farage has a +15 approval rating among Conservative voters in 2019, compared with just +8 for the Prime Minister. The pollster said Mr Farage, a Brexit supporter, was up two points since last week when he announced he was returning to the forefront of politics by reclaiming his position as leader of Reform UK and standing for Parliament to represent Clacton.
During the same period, Sunak, who became Chancellor in 2022 against the wishes of Conservative party members, saw his personal approval rating plummet by a staggering eight points among Conservative voters in 2019. Polling companies put this down to his disastrous decision to miss a ceremony to mark the Normandy landings for World War II veterans and return home early to record an election interview with ITV.
talk ExpressJames Johnson, co-founder of JLPartners Said“I think there are two important things going on – D-Day has hurt Mr Sunak’s approval ratings and Mr Farage is generally seen as a strong man and someone who speaks his mind – two of the most desirable qualities in a politician these days.”
Mr Farage, who attended the ceremony in Normandy and said he raised more than £100,000 for veterans, was quick to seize on the scandal, claiming it showed a lack of “patriotism” from the prime minister.
Speaking to the BBC at the weekend, Mr Farage said: Said“This guy doesn’t understand. He’s not patriotic. He doesn’t care about our history or our culture. He’s completely disconnected from how ordinary people in this country feel because of his class and his privilege. I think he made that perfectly clear when he left Normandy early.”
“Now millions of people who voted Conservative – not Redwallers but traditional Conservative voters – are thinking: ‘Should I continue to support the Conservatives or should I support reform?'”
What’s new: Nigel Farage is more popular than Rishi Sunak among Conservative voters in 2019.
Latest (Post D-Day) translation: @JLPartners Survey In this group, Mr Sunak has a net rating of +8 and Mr Farage a net rating of +15.
table: https://t.co/clqqzVlble
Podcasts: https://t.co/ySDjg9yijU pic.twitter.com/5cz91echwl— James Johnson (@jamesjohnson252) June 11, 2024
In addition to overtaking Sunak in popularity, another vote A YouGov poll published on Tuesday showed the Conservatives in name only leading by just one percentage point, with Sunak’s Conservatives on 18 percent, compared with 17 percent for Reform UK, Mr Farage’s renamed Brexit Party.
With just three weeks left in the election campaign, the survey suggests that an insurgent populist party could overtake the Conservative Party, one of the most successful political parties in world history, in terms of total vote share.
Given the peculiarities of the UK electoral system, it is unlikely that the Reform Party will win more seats than the Conservative Party in July’s general election, but Farage argues that the election will show that the Reform Party should be the real opposition to Labour and be in a better position to challenge left-wing parties in the 2029 general election.
Meanwhile, Mr Farage, a Brexit supporter, has suggested his party is more popular than pollsters claim. The major pollsters have faced criticism over his decision to prioritise the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, who lag behind the Reform Party in many polls, while classifying it as “other”.
Farage Said “It must be stopped,” the pollsters demand, as they seek to “curb” Trump’s populist political movement.
The end of the Conservatives? Farage’s Reform Party closes gap with mainstream Conservatives to just 2 points https://t.co/rNxZDUH9Xl
—Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 6, 2024
