LONDON, June 27 — Kemi Badenoch’s refusal to strike a deal with Nigel Farage commands the backing of 78 per cent of voters, an exclusive new poll has found. The survey, conducted by the polling agency Find Out Now, reveals that only 22 per cent of the electorate support the idea of a pact between the Conservative Party and Reform UK. Among Tory voters, 60 per cent endorse Mrs Badenoch’s stance, as set out in an article in last week’s The Mail on Sunday.
Even 52 per cent of Reform supporters agree with her position. Against this backdrop, the Tory leader is surging in confidence.
Her adept performances in the Commons and victory in the Aberdeen South by-election have strengthened her hand. The poll, however, points to an increasingly fragmented political landscape: Reform stands on 26 per cent, Labour on 19, and the Tories on 17. The wider picture suggests a hung parliament at the next election is a growing expectation.
Mr Farage, meanwhile, is licking his wounds. His defeat at the hands of Andy Burnham in the Makerfield by-election has been compounded by intense scrutiny over a £5million donation from crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne.
Friends of the Reform leader admit that he “needs a rest”; the previously all-conquering Farage no longer looks indestructible. The arrival of Mr Burnham in Downing Street is likely to deliver an electoral bounce for Labour, however short-lived. Parties could soon be neck-and-neck.
It has been previously suggested that the Tories and Reform could form a coalition to beat the Labour Party in a General Election. But the poll numbers suggest the public, including Reform’s own voters, is not buying it. The “Farage factor” has lost its sheen.
With the next election approaching and the arithmetic tightening, Mrs Badenoch’s gamble — a clear refusal to deal — appears to be paying off, at least for now.
