Nigel Farage's Reform Party has overtaken the Conservatives in a national opinion poll for the first time, according to a YouGov survey. The poll, conducted after Rishi Sunak launched the Tory manifesto on Tuesday, shows Reform on 19%, up two points, while the Conservatives have fallen to 18%.
Speaking at an ITV debate, Farage declared: “Just before we came on air we overtook the Conservatives in the national opinion polls. We are now the opposition to Labour.” The poll is the first to show Reform ahead of the Tories, a milestone described by YouGov's Anthony Wells as “politically important”.
Wells cautioned that the margin of error means it is not certain that more voters back Reform, but added: “What it does make clear is that at the very least the Conservatives and Reform are at a very similar level of support to each other. That in itself is remarkable given how close we are to an election when we might otherwise have expected smaller parties’ votes to be squeezed.”
Overall, Labour retains a 19-point lead, while the Liberal Democrats are down one point at 14%. The survey also found that only 13% of voters believe the Conservative plans would be good for them and their family, with 54% of Tory voters and just 15% of Reform voters agreeing. Eight in 10 Reform supporters said a very large Labour majority would be bad for the country.
