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Reformers lead Conservatives by three points in shock poll

Posted on by angelo
Reformers lead Conservatives by three points in shock poll

The Conservatives appear on the brink of disaster in the general election, with a new poll giving Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party a three-point lead.

The Whitestone poll for Reach plc newspapers puts the Reform Party on 21%, the Conservatives on just 18% while Labor maintains a clear lead at 38%.

Mr Sunak’s devastating result means the position of opposition leader, coveted by Mr Farage, appears to be wide open.

However, according to electoral calculations, in a general election the Conservatives would have only 50 seats, giving the Reformists 29, but the Liberal Democrats would form the official opposition with 74 seats.

Britain's Reform Party leader Nigel Farage has sought to distance himself from his campaigners' comments (Paul Marriott/PA)
Britain’s Reform Party leader Nigel Farage sought to distance himself from his campaigners’ comments (Paul Marriott/PA) (Sound wire)

The shock vote comes despite a series of scandals which have hit the Reform Party and Mr Farage over the past week.

Last night Channel 4 broadcast footage of a reform activist from Clacton, where Farage hopes to become an MP, caught making racial slurs at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

It followed the withdrawal of a party candidate over historical comments praising Hitler and Mr Farage’s own accusation of “appeasing Vladimir Putin” by blaming the West for the invasion of Ukraine.

But the poll shows that anger against the Conservatives among their traditional supporters appears to continue to fuel the Reform Party’s rise in the polls.

The gambling scandal that engulfed the Conservatives appears to have had a much greater impact on voters.

Mr Farage claimed his party was ahead of the Conservatives everywhere outside London and Scotland.

Lachlan Rurlander, consultant at Whitestone Insight, said: “With just a week to go until polling day, these results suggest the position of opposition leader is still up for grabs.

“Reform UK managed to maintain some momentum and secured a three-point lead over the Conservatives, despite what was widely seen as a difficult week for Nigel Farage. »