Nigel Farage leads the field of party leaders in Britain in terms of who the public feels best understands the problems facing the country, a poll released on the eve of local elections in the UK found.
A survey from IPSOS released this week found that 38 per cent of the public believe that Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has the best understanding of the issues facing the country.
The Brexit champion was followed by Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch at 33 per cent, Labour Party Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Liberal Democrat Ed Davey at 32 per cent, and Green Party leader Zack Polanski at just 28 per cent. Yet, concerningly for the Prime Minister, 52 per cent of the public said they do not believe that Starmer fully understands Britain’s problems.
Mr Farage was seen as having the right plans for Britain at 28 per cent, followed by Badenoch and Starmer at 24 per cent, Polanski and Davey at 22 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively. Another majority of 55 per cent said they do not believe Prime Minister Starmer has the right plans for the country.
The Reform UK boss also leads the field as the most capable leader at 30 per cent, a strong leader at 35 per cent, someone who shares their values at 25 per cent, and someone who gets the “big decisions right” at 22 per cent.
According to IPSOS, Farage came out on top in seven of the most important qualities considered by voters when choosing a leader, while only trailing significantly in terms of who is seen as the most honest person, with Ed Davey leading the way at 32 per cent, Badenoch at 26 per cent, Polanski and Starmer at 24 per cent, and Farage at 20. While 55 per cent said they did not believe Farage was honest, 52 per cent said the same of Prime Minsiter Starmer.
Meanwhile, separate polling from YouGov found that Farage’s Reform UK continues to hold a commanding lead in overall Westminster voting intention at 25 per cent, compared to Labour at 18 per cent, the Tories at 17 per cent, the Greens at 15 per cent, Restore at four per cent, the Scottish National Party (SNP) at three per cent, the Welsh Plaid Cymru at one per cent, and Jeremy Corbyn’s Your Party at zero per cent.
Reform’s lead was even more stark in a survey from Deltapoll for the Daily Mirror newspaper. According to the poll, Reform currently has the support of 29 per cent of the public, compared to Labour at 21 per cent, the Tories at 19 per cent, and the Greens at 12 per cent.
Mr Farage has cast the election as a referendum on Prime Minister Starmer’s leadership, with Thursday’s elections being the first chance most voters have had a chance to weigh in on the government’s performance since Labour came to power just over two years ago.
At a final campaign rally on Tuesday in Wales, the Reform leader accused the Labour Party of abandoning its working-class roots in favour of metropolitan elites and those living off the state, saying: “This is not a Labour party. It’s a welfare party.”
“I chose to come here this evening for my last big speech of the campaign rally because what is about to happen here is that the party that has been able to take Wales for granted for over a 100 years, on Thursday will deservedly get smashed to smithereens by the electorate.”
While the local Welsh government has long been in the hands of the Labour Party, a series of mistakes by the Starmer government, including nearly allowing the Chinese to shut down the UK’s largest steelworks in Port Talbot, have seen their support in the country erode, leaving room for a potential victory by Reform.
Overall, Reform is projected to win around 1,500 council seats across the UK on Thursday, in what the party hopes will provide a springboard base to launch a campaign to confront the Westminster establishment and take control of Downing Street.
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