Reform UK’s support has dropped by two-points in the days following Rupert Lowe’s suspension from the populist party, a new opinion polls has revealed.
Lowe, who is facing separate police and KC-led investigations over alleged bullying and threats of violence, appears to have caused a schism in Reform UK’s support after continuously denying the allegations on social media.
YouGov revealed Reform’s support slipped from 25 per cent to 23 per cent, with the Tories witnessing a one-point boost to take Kemi Badenoch’s party to 22 per cent.
The slump comes after a Reform UK insider yesterday told GB News that as many as 2,000 members have looked to leave the populist party following Lowe’s suspension.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage
GETTY
Despite the Great Yarmouth MP’s spat with Nigel Farage remaining a major issue, Reform UK also came under fire for its lukewarm support for Ukraine and strong backing for Donald Trump.
Farage was accused of being a “plastic patriot” after appearing to side with the US President following his spat with Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.
However, although Labour retained top spot in YouGov’s latest poll, the survey suggested support for Sir Keir Starmer dropped two-points since the beginning of March.
The Liberal Democrats received a slight boost in the polls, taking the centrist collection to a post-election peak of 15 per cent with the well-regarded pollster.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
YouGov recorded a slump for Reform UK
YOUGOV
Meanwhile, the Green Party’s support stood still in YouGov’s latest poll at nine per cent.
Despite hitting a bit of a wall following Lowe’s suspension on March 7, Farage yesterday stressed the populist party remains fixated on the upcoming Local Elections.
After addressing the allegations against Lowe, the Clacton MP said: “I could do without this. It’s a huge distraction for the party, for me.
“I’ve spent seven months since the General Election trying to get this party match fit to fight the Local Elections in England on May 1. And that is still my focus.”
Reform UK is preparing to host an enormous rally in Birmingham later this month to kick off its campaign, with Farage already appearing in a number of key battlegrounds ahead of the spectacle.
However, the latest opinion poll puts the three main parties in a dead-heat, with a margin of error splitting first from third.
Rupert LowePAAnalysis by Electoral Calculus suggests that such a scenario would still hand Labour a slight advantage, retaining its plurality of seats despite losing more than 200.
However, the Tories would retake a key second place finish, claiming around 20 seats more than a resurgent Reform UK.
The populist party might need to stretch its resources on May 1 after it was hinted that the upcoming Runcorn & Helsby by-election could take place on the same day.
Britain Predicts’s Nowcast model puts Labour just three-points ahead of Reform UK, drastically cutting Mike Amesbury’s 35 per cent lead from the last General Election.
