Almost a quarter of Brits are thinking about voting for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party in the future, according to a new poll.
Research from YouGov has found 24% of UK voters might back the new right-wing party when they next got to the ballot box.
It’s a huge boost for leader and co-founder Farage, especially as Reform only had five MPs elected at last year’s general election.
The party previously had just one MP, Lee Anderson, who defected from the Tories last year.
Those Brits thinking about backing the party were not overwhelmingly positive about Farage, though – only 4% said they might start supporting them because of its leader.
The most popular reason given by voters for backing Reform was that they are not Labour or the Tories, with 19% of those polled giving that explanation.
A total of 18% said they supported the party’s immigration policies, with 11% saying they supported Reform’s “general values”.
Some 8% said they liked the party’s honesty and 7% claimed they felt Reform represents the average Brit.
For those considering voting for Reform, 28% said they would have no reservations backing the party – but 11% feared the relatively new party’s lack of experience.
A further 9% said they thought it would be a wasted vote, and 8% said they were worried they would be the same as other political parties.
A total of 7% said they feared Reform were too right-wing, with 3% accusing the party of racism, 2% criticising their immigration policy and 2% slamming their NHS plans.
It comes after a Labour source told HuffPost UK that it was considering using Farage’s plans of introducing a French-style insurance system for the NHS to tackle the surge in support for Reform.
They said: “The public cares deeply about the NHS, and the principle of it being free at the point of use is non-negotiable for almost everyone.”
They added: “That’s why it’s important that we highlight the danger of Nigel Farage’s consistent position on moving to a fee-paying model.”
Meanwhile, the right-wing party surged ahead of both Labour and the Tories for the first time in an opinion poll released on Friday, with Reform on 26%, the Conservatives on 23% and Labour on 22%.
Farage has been jubilant about the party’s recent success, claiming earlier this month: “I actually do believe that we will win the next general election.
“I do believe I can become the next prime minister, and do so quickly while Trump is still in office.”