In a recent survey, Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, has emerged as significantly more popular among voters who supported the Conservative Party in 2019 compared to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Farage’s popularity is on the rise, with a rating of +15 among these voters, surpassing Sunak’s rating of +8. This uptick in Farage’s approval comes shortly after he announced his return to active politics, aiming to run for a seat in Clacton as the leader of Reform UK.
During the week of this announcement, Sunak’s approval rating among 2019 Conservative voters took a sharp dive, decreasing by eight points. This decrease was notably attributed to Sunak’s controversial choice to leave a D-Day remembrance event early to attend an interview for an election campaign, a move that has been heavily criticized.
Farage, who was present at the Normandy ceremonies and helped to raise over £100,000 for veterans, criticized Sunak’s actions as lacking in patriotic spirit and understanding of the nation’s history and cultural values. In an interview with the BBC, Farage expressed his belief that Sunak’s decision demonstrated a disconnect from the concerns and feelings of ordinary citizens, especially long-standing Conservative voters.
NEW: Nigel Farage is now more popular than Rishi Sunak with Conservative 2019 voters.
The latest (post-D Day) @RestIsPolitics @JLPartnersPolls finds Sunak with a net rating of +8 and Farage on +15 with this group.
Tables: https://t.co/clqqzVlble
Podcast: https://t.co/ySDjg9yijU pic.twitter.com/5cz91echwl— James Johnson (@jamesjohnson252) June 11, 2024
With the election campaign underway, there is growing speculation that Farage’s Reform UK could surpass the Conservative Party in vote share. Despite the challenges posed by the UK’s electoral system, which tends to favor established parties, Farage maintains that the upcoming general election will showcase Reform UK as the legitimate alternative to the Labour Party, positioning it as a strong contender for future elections.
Furthermore, Farage has accused polling companies of underrepresenting his party’s popularity by categorizing it under “other” options, instead of listing it alongside major parties like the Conservatives, Labour, and the Liberal Democrats. He argues that this practice suppresses the visibility and momentum of Reform UK and has called for an end to what he perceives as unfair treatment by pollsters.
