The Reform party, led by Nigel Farage, continues to lose popularity as its annual conference begins in Birmingham.
Although Reform made gains in regional and local elections in May this year, the party later became embroiled in controversies over donations to Farage, faced competition from the right by Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain party, and lost its lead in voting‑intention polls after Andy Burnham took office.
A YouGov voting‑intention poll published on Wednesday showed the parties neck and neck, each at 23 points. By comparison, in August the poll gave the Labour Party 24 points and Reform 22, a two‑point Labour lead.
Decline in support for Reform and Farage
The share of Britons willing to consider voting for Reform has gradually declined since September last year, when it stood at 27 percent. Meanwhile, the share of those who regard Reform as their main choice fell by five points to 16 percent. Overall support for Reform has now returned to roughly the level it was at before the 2025 local elections, according to YouGov.
This decline is accompanied by a sharp deterioration in attitudes toward Farage: his latest net favourability rating is -44, well below the peak of -27 recorded last summer. Confidence that he is doing well as Reform’s leader has dropped by 51 points—from +18 at this time last year to -33 today.
In a separate YouGov poll, nearly six in ten Britons said they consider Reform an untrustworthy party that serves its own interests, is biased, and is extremist. The poll, conducted on the eve of the party’s conference, which begins today, also found that 56 percent view it as incompetent and caring only about certain groups rather than ordinary people.
When asked to describe Farage in their own words, about 71 percent used at least one negative term. The most common were racist (15 percent) and liar (12 percent).
Meanwhile, 27 percent used at least one positive term, most often patriotism (5 percent) and honesty (4 percent). About 19 percent believe he looks like a future prime minister, down seven points from June.
Rise in Labour Party popularity under Burnham
These figures suggest that Burnham may be winning back voters who had previously turned away from the Labour Party under Sir Keir Starmer. Only 49 percent of former Labour voters said they would support the party after the former prime minister’s resignation in June; the latest poll shows this has risen to 61 percent.
Support among young people aged 18 to 24 has also risen markedly under Burnham, climbing from 14 to 32 percent. By comparison, just 3 percent of Britons in that age group would vote for Reform.
The latest voting‑intention data also showed that 20 percent of all adults would vote for the Conservative Party, 13 percent for the Green Party, and 12 percent for the Liberal Democrats if an election were held tomorrow.
The surge in Labour’s popularity under Burnham has sparked calls for an early election, which, if successful, would give him a mandate of at least five years to implement the major changes he has promised as prime minister.
However, polling experts warn that holding an election now may not benefit the Labour leader, as the so‑called «Burnham bounce» may have already peaked.
For Farage, the timing may also be unfavorable: he remains under investigation by the parliamentary standards committee amid his likely return to Westminster this week. This investigation could ultimately lead to him losing his seat in Parliament.
According to: The Independent UK
