UK Election: YouGov Poll Shows Reform Ahead of Tories
UK Election: YouGov Poll Shows Reform Ahead of Tories
The Facts
A new poll conducted by YouGov for The Times shows Nigel Farage’s Reform UK pulling ahead of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s ruling Conservatives, marking the first time the right-wing upstart party surpassed the Tories.
YouGov's latest poll, published on Thursday, shows Reform UK to be the second most popular amongst UK adults as found in data gathered between June 12-13. Responses in favor of the party (19%) sat a percentage point above the Conservative Party's 18%, and behind the Labour Party's 37%.
The Spin
Nigel Farage and Reform have surpassed the Tories as the main party on the British right, and Thursday’sthis YouGov poll is just the beginning of a seismic political shift. After years of being let down by the milquetoast Conservatives, patriotic Brits are flocking to Reform’s common-sense message of limiting immigration and putting the UK first. The Tories are in deep trouble, and leaders, suchincluding asPrime Minister Rishi Sunak, only have themselves to blame for betraying their constituents.
While many Brits have grown tired of the Tories after over a decade of rule, the answer does not light in a hard-right turn. Labour has been poised to win this year’s election for quite some time, and Reform’s recent polling rise cannotshouldn't be considered a long-term indicator of sentiment. The political pendulum will always swing back and forth, and the Conservatives will only regain power by running as a center-right party, not a Faragist, nationalist party.
Nigel Farage has completely upended the Tories like a human wrecking ball. His brand of politics is on the fringe, but he's is exposing a major divide on the British right at the expense of a weak Conservative Party thatlacking lacks in grassroots support. It remains to be seen how Reform will perform on electionElection dayDay, but the party’s rise could facilitate a massive majority for Labour.