Kemi Badenoch’s Tories have received a major blow with the latest poll suggesting that as much as a third of their voters from the 2024 election have switched to Reform UK.
According to the weekly tracker poll by Techne UK for The Independent, 33 per cent who said they voted Tory last year are now backing Nigel Farage’s party.
And Reform UK are now joint top of the poll for the first time, putting it in line with YouGov poll earlier this week.
Reform (up 1 point) and Labour (down 1 point) received 25 per cent of the support from the survey carried out on Wednesday and Thursday, while the Tories trail by two points at 23 per cent (unchanged).
It comes as a FindOutNow poll today put Reform at 29 per cent, four points ahead of Labour at 25 points and 11 above the Tories at just 18 per cent. The Lib Dems were up one point on 13 per cent with Greens unchanged on 7 per cent.
Mr Farage described the latest polls as “astonishing” just a day after he had launched a campaign to reverse a Labour decision to cancel many local election contests this May.
The crisis in support for the Conservative Party comes amid apparent splits at the top with shadow justice secretary and leadership contender runner-up Robert Jenrick refusing to rule out a deal with Reform, while a spokesperson for Ms Badenoch insisted it would not happen.
The Tory leader also last night launched a hardline immigration policy to discourage low-paid workers from coming to the UK in an apparent move to counter the threat from the right posed by Reform.
But the poll results will do nothing to counter the growing whispering campaign within the Tories raising questions about Ms Badenoch’s leadership, a little over three months since she was elected.
Techne UK chief executive Michela Morizzo said: “Our regular tracker poll this week brings continued success for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK who are for the first time neck and neck with the Labour Party. The Conservatives stay steady at 23 per cent of national vote but this does mean they are now two points behind both Labour and Reform.
“At this time, looking towards the next by-elections too, the Tories should do some soul-searching by analysing the reason for this situation.
“If nothing is done, the risk for the Conservative Party is to lose the appeal and no longer be competitive in the electoral challenges. And this must be done now, time flies and watchful waiting is not the right strategy, in this historical moment in particular!”
