Nigel Farage’s popularity dips as Reform UK surges in polls
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Nigel Farage’s popularity has dipped in recent months even as Reform UK has surged ahead of Labour and the Conservatives in opinion polls, signalling challenges ahead as he seeks to convince voters his insurgent party is fit to govern.
Sixty-four per cent of the UK public view the Reform UK leader unfavourably, up from 59 per cent in June 2025, according to new favourability ratings published by polling company YouGov.
Some 27 per cent approve of Farage, down from a peak of 32 per cent in May and August last year.
The same data, published on Thursday, suggested Sir Keir Starmer had enjoyed a slight uptick in public support over the past month, but his popularity has plummeted since he took office in July 2024 and he remains deeply unpopular.
Political analysts attributed the increase to greater public sympathy after the prime minister faced calls to resign in the fallout of the Lord Peter Mandelson scandal.
About 69 per cent of people view Starmer negatively, down from 75 per cent in January, while 22 per cent hold a favourable view of the prime minister, up from 18 per cent last month, YouGov found.
Ben Ansell, professor of politics at Oxford university, said Farage’s plateauing popularity reflected a “big problem” for the MP for Clacton, “that more than 60 per cent of people don’t think favourably of him”.
“It’s a challenge for Farage because . . . when you come to power your favourability always dips,” he said.
The uptick in support for Starmer was probably a “sympathy rebound” caused by “some rallying among committed partisans” after he defied calls to leave Number 10 this week, Ansell said.
Voters saw events in Westminster, started thinking about who might replace Starmer in Downing Street and concluded “maybe we don’t actually like the alternative”, he added.
The YouGov figures come as political parties gear up for elections to local councils in England and the devolved Scottish and Welsh parliaments on May 7.
Farage plans to announce a Reform “shadow cabinet” next week. His party is leading national opinion polls on about 28 per cent of support, compared with Labour on 19 per cent and the Tories on 16 per cent.
The move is part of a push to show the electorate and potential donors he is willing to delegate responsibilities and form a credible government.
Robert Jenrick, the former minister who defected from the Conservatives last month, is expected to shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, while Zia Yusuf, Reform’s head of policy, is billed for the role of shadow home secretary, according to a senior party figure.
Yusuf previously said he would be keen to serve as chancellor in a Reform government.
Others in the party cautioned Farage could change his mind before making any announcement. Reform did not comment.
Although half of voters still view her negatively, the popularity of Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has also picked up, with her overall favourability at its highest level since November 2024, YouGov said.
With just eight MPs in the 650-strong House of Commons, Reform is not the official opposition. The Conservative Party has 116 MPs, while the Liberal Democrats have 72.
Anthony Wells, global head of politics at YouGov, said Farage’s favourability had held steady since around 2023 because he was such a well-known figure and most voters had already made up their minds.
“He’s not a politician who reinvents himself. There’s never been a Nigel Farage relaunch,” Wells said.
While its leader’s popularity may have dipped, there was no evidence that Reform UK’s popularity had hit a ceiling, with scope for the party to take more votes from the Tories, he added.
Starmer’s popularity had received “a bit of a boost” after the prime minister condemned President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on European allies opposed to US control of Greenland, Wells said.
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