Support for Reform UK has surged since Nigel Farage became the party’s leader and announced he is running to be an MP.
In a nightmare scenario for Rishi Sunak, four new opinion polls tonight showed the right-wing party is squeezing Tory support across the country.
That means the Conservatives are at risk of losing even more seats than would otherwise have been the case – putting Labour well on course for a thumping Commons majority.
A Redfield and Winton Strategies poll put Reform on 17%, just two points behind the Tories, who are down 1 point on 19%.
Survation showed support for Reform had soared by 7 points since last week, putting them on 15%. The Tories were on 23%, again down 1 point.
Pollsters Focaldata also showed Reform support growing, this time by 2 points to 14%, with the Tories down 1 point on 25%.
And BMG Research have Reform up 5 points on 16%, with the Conservatives dropping by 4 points to 23%.
All four polls were carried out in the wake of Farage’s surprise announcement that he was taking over from Richard Tice as Reform boss and standing as the party’s candidate in Clacton.
Aaron Chown – PA Images via Getty Images
They also gave Labour leads of between 19 and 23 points, more than enough to hand the party a thumping win on July 4.
The results are yet another crushing blow to Sunak’s hopes of pulling off a surprise result, with polling day now just four weeks away.
The PM had hoped that calling the surprise poll could give the Tories a chance of an unlikely comeback.
But those hopes are now fading fast, with the Conservatives on course for their worst election result in more than 100 years.
