Bombshell poll reveals what Brits really think of Nigel Farage - bad news for Starmer

Britons says Reform UK is doing more than any other party to set the agenda in Britain. New polling will add to the excitement in the party as activists gather for their conference in Birmingham.

Forty-four per cent of Britons think Nigel Farage's party - which has made headlines in recent weeks with its plan for mass deportations - is doing more to set the agenda than Labour (14%), the Conservatives (3%), or the Liberal Democrats or the Greens (both 1%). This is despite that party having just four of Westminster's 650 MPs.

The Tories will be concerned that 59% of people who voted Conservative in last year's election say Reform is making the political weather.

The YouGov polling shows that 69% of these Tory voters - and 48% of all Britons - think Mr Farage is doing well as Reform UK leader. Just three in 10 think the veteran Brexiteer - who this week raised concerns about freedom of speech in the UK during a visit to the US Congress - is doing badly.

The polling also highlights a challenge Reform UK may face at the next election if supporters of Left-leaning smaller parties swing behind Labour to stop Mr Farage becoming prime minister.

When people were presented with a straight choice between a Labour Government led by Sir Keir Starmer and a Reform Government helmed by Mr Farage, 43% of Britons chose the former with 37% opting for the latter. While 63% of people who voted Tory last year would rather see Mr Farage in Number 10, there was overwhelming support for Sir Keir staying as PM among those who backed the Liberal Democrats (72%) and the Greens (67%).

Despite Reform's efforts to win over traditional Labour voters, 73% of people who voted for Sir Keir's party last time would rather he remains as PM than see Mr Farage take over.

The polling shows Reform UK needs to convince voters it would improve the state of the nation if it took power. While one in four Britons (24%) think a Government led by Mr Farage would do a good job of running the country, nearly half (49%) said it would do a bad one - with 15% saying it would do an "average job".

And when people were asked if they thought the country would get better or worse with Reform in Government, 32% said the UK would improve and 11% thought it would be "about the same", but 48% thought it would worsen.

Four in ten (41%) said they trust Reform UK at least a fair amount on immigration and just over a third (34%) said the same when it came to crime and "representing people like you" (31%). However, there was less trust for the party on the issues of housing (26%), poverty (25%), the environment (21%) and protecting minorities (20%).