The UK public sees Reform UK as the leading party on the right in British politics, polling has shown, underlining the dominance of Nigel Farage’s party over the Conservatives.
More than two-fifths of the public – 43% – said Reform was the main party on the right, with swathes of Tory voters from the last general election now seeing Kemi Badenoch’s group as the secondary party.
The survey from More in Common, seen exclusively by the Press Association, showed the figure for the Conservatives had dropped sharply to 17%, while more than a fifth of respondents were undecided.
Among Tory voters from 2024, 40% still saw the party as the major influence on the right, with 38% saying Reform.
Voters who backed the other main parties in the 2024 general election all saw Reform as the primary party on the right.
More in Common surveyed 2,599 people between May 15 and 19.
More than one in 10 Reform voters from 2024 now see Rupert Lowe’s Restore Party as the main group on the right.
Restore had greater appeal, nearly a 10th of those polled, for people who are among the least financially secure.
According to those who said they can “only just or cannot afford (their) costs”, 9% see Mr Lowe’s party as the principal one, compared with 40% for Reform and 12% for the Conservatives.
Restore could split the vote for Reform UK at the Makerfield by-election next month, as Mr Farage’s party looks to stop Andy Burnham holding the seat for Labour.
The first by-election polling by Survation this week found Mr Burnham had a slender lead over Reform UK candidate Robert Kenyon, with Restore likely to take votes from him.
The Survation study put Mr Burnham on 43%, Mr Kenyon on 40% and Restore Britain’s Rebecca Shepherd on 7%.
Reform has backed Mr Kenyon despite social media posts coming to light including one about TV presenter and campaigner Carol Vorderman.
The post was defended by Reform MP Danny Kruger, who told the BBC: “The great challenge for social media for private people is that they use it as if they are chatting to their friends in the pub.
“It was a clearly inappropriate thing to say. I’m not going to judge people for what was intended as private conversations. Clearly that is not the kind of comment you would want an elected politician to say.”
.png?w=600)
