Only 18% of Britons would back a deal under which the Conservatives and Reform UK agree to field a single candidate per constituency. Some 48% oppose it. That is the finding of Ipsos polling for Sky News, based on interviews with 2,518 adults aged 18 and over across Great Britain, conducted online from 20 to 24 February 2026.
Supporters of the two parties involved are not united either. Among Reform UK supporters, 38% like the idea and 30% do not. Conservative supporters lean the other way: 39% are against it, 31% for.
The question put to respondents was simple. Would they support or oppose pacts in which, in each constituency, only one party in the pact would stand a candidate? The same question was asked about two combinations on the centre-left.
Left-of-centre pacts fare slightly better
A Labour and Liberal Democrat arrangement draws 22% support and 39% opposition overall. Around half of Labour supporters (52%) and Liberal Democrat supporters (46%) back it; 20% of Labour voters and 24% of Liberal Democrats oppose it.
A three-way pact adding the Greens gets 23% support and 38% opposition. Backing from Labour supporters stands at 49% (19% opposed) and from Green supporters at 44% (25% opposed). Liberal Democrats are more divided, at 40% for and 26% against.
Ipsos notes that party supporters are somewhat warmer to these deals than the public at large, and more so on the left than for a Conservative and Reform pact.
Who voters might choose
Asked how likely they are to consider each main party at the next general election, 32% said Reform UK. Labour followed on 28%, with the Conservatives and the Greens each on 27%. Seven percentage points separate Reform from the Liberal Democrats, the party Britons are least likely to consider. At least 60% say they are unlikely to vote for any given main party.
Ratings on a 0 to 10 scale show how unpopular the field is. Reform UK is the most liked party, with 18% scoring it 8 to 10, followed by the Greens at 12%. But Reform is also the most disliked, with 46% giving it 0 to 2, ahead of Labour at 43% and the Conservatives at 41%.
Nigel Farage is both the best-liked leader, at 18% scoring 8 to 10, and the most disliked, with 47% scoring him 0 to 2. Keir Starmer is close behind on the dislike measure at 46%.
The data were weighted to match the population profile. Ipsos cautions that all polls are subject to a range of potential sources of error.
