Latest news with #TechneUK
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Stark poll shows Nigel Farage could become Prime Minister
Electoral Calculus forecasts Nigel Farage would secure a 74-seat majority if an election were held tomorrow, as Reform UK gains traction. The forecast indicates Labour would drop to 136 seats, while the Conservatives would plummet to 22. A Techne UK poll for The Independent shows Reform at a record high of 31 per cent, surpassing Labour at 22 per cent and nearly doubling the Conservatives' 16 per cent. Experts caution against over-interpreting polls, noting that geographical vote distribution is crucial, but others suggest Reform has reached a critical point. Keir Starmer has intensified attacks on Farage, warning his policies would be as damaging as Liz Truss 's, while Reform dismisses these claims as 'project fear 2.0'.
The Independent
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Reform hits 30% landmark as more than half of Tory voters switch to Nigel Farage
Nigel Farage 's Reform UK have hit 30 per cent for the first time in the weekly tracker poll conducted by After a massive victory in May's local elections where the party won 10 councils and 677 seats, Reform's climb in the polls continues while the slide continues for both Labour and the Tories. Ahead of the local elections on 1 May Reform were tied with Labour on 25 per cent each but have gained five points in the last month while Labour have fallen three points to 22 per cent. Meanwhile, the Tories who were on 23 per cent just before the local elections have seen their support collapse six points in a month to 17 per cent, now just one point ahead of the Lib Dems on 16 per cent. The Greens have also benefited rising by two points to 9 per cent. Techne UK's chief executive Michela Morizzo said: 'It seems the political landscape in the UK is evolving more rapidly in a totally new direction than ever before in history.' This week's polling revealed that voters aged over 45 are more likely to support Reform with backing for Farage increasing the older people get. Voters aged 35 to 44 are evenly split at the top between Labour and Reform while voters under 35 are more likely to support Labour. More than half (52 per cent) of Tory voters from last year's election have now switched to Reform. However only 10 per cent of Labour's 2024 election voters back Reform now with more (12 per cent) going to Lib Dems. The figures will only add to questions about Tory leader Kemi Badenoch's ability to survive while they also appear to have pressured Sir Keir Starmer into a U-turn on winter fuel. Since Sir Keir Starmer 's government took over, Labour have seen a decline in support. The Conservatives, too, have been unable to keep momentum in opposition, and have fallen to 21 per cent support. Meanwhile Reform, which won an unprecedented 14.3 per cent of the vote in the July general election, has continued to make steady gains, overtaking the Tories in January, and now sit alongside Labour at the top. It is important to note, however, that national voting intention polls do not tend to accurately reflect the picture at local elections, but they can provide a useful snapshot of political sentiment. For some voters, political parties play little part in their choice for local councillors, while others might vote solely based on party affiliation.
The Independent
14-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Key Farage ally suggests Reform UK leader could replace party chair after chaotic week for party
A key ally of Nigel Farage has suggested that he should look to replace his party chairman Zia Yusuf in a bid to regain stability after a chaotic week for Reform UK. Raheem Kassam, a former aid to Mr Farage who now has close links to Donald Trump 's White House and the Republicans and is close to his former chief strategist Steve Bannon, has suggested that the Reform leader needs make some changes. It comes after days of bitter infighting, with Mr Farage suspending one of its five MPs, Rupert Lowe, amid claims he made 'verbal threats' against Mr Yusuf. Mr Lowe denies the claims and says he has been targeted because he questioned the Reform leader's 'messianic' tendencies. In his defence of Mr Farage, Mr Kassam suggested he should look at reorganising his top team. He said: 'Farage isn't a dictator. He's one of the most reasonable people in politics. He's moved aside when it made sense, and he's returned when asked. 'He's also a meritocrat. If someone comes along who can run the party better than its current chairman, or if a deputy could help augment the work, he'd be all over it.' He went on: 'The problem is everyone has his number and any time anyone has a problem in the party they immediately call Nigel, and drag him into their fights. If he doesn't side with them, or tries to stay neutral, they lash out. I've seen it a thousand times. 'If anything, he needs a militant chief of staff to police his time and keep him above the fray. This is the next prime minister we're talking about now, not the MEP for the South East anymore. They need to get his team right and support him wholeheartedly. No one has put more into this movement than him. We owe him our loyalty.' It comes as Techne UK's latest weekly tracker poll for The Independent, shows that Reform have dropped to their lowest showing since the end of January after the chaos of the past week. According to the result, Reform are down one point to 24 per cent, down two from their peak four weeks ago, while Kemi Badenoch's Tories seem to be the main beneficiaries going up one to 22 per cent. Labour are also down one point to 27 per cent but maintain a three-point lead, while the Lib Dems have hit their highest point in 2025 going up one to 14 per cent. Reform are still favourite to win the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, but pressure is now on Mr Farage and his chairman Mr Yusuf to deliver victory there and prove the party is a serious threat in Labour areas. But Reform's slip in the polls appears to be related to the question marks over Nigel Farage's leadership in the wake of the row with Mr Lowe. The Great Yarmouth MP was suspended after claims were made of bullying in his office and he is being investigated the police over alleged threats to Mr Yusuf. But Mr Lowe and his allies have alleged that he is the victim of a 'witch hunt' as the latest leading figure seen as a threat to Mr Farage following Elon Musk endorsing him as an alternative leader. The row has become the first serious crisis for Mr Farage and Reform since the general election where they at one point appeared to be on trajectory to possibly winning the next general election. However, a number of critics have turned their fire on Mr Yusuf and his running of the party. Techne's UK's chief executive Michela Morizzo, suggested the Reform's vote share going down was a result of a difficult week but also linked it to Mr Farage's close relationship with President Trump. She said: 'Reform UK has registered a one per cent point drop. Although modest, this decline may suggest a waning momentum for populist narratives at a time where Trump's aggressive economic policies are reshaping global dynamics.' But she noted that the issues with Reform are not bringing about a major recovery for the Tories. She said: 'The Conservatives have experienced a slight recovery, now at 22 per cent, which underscores the party's ongoing difficulty in reversing its decline over recent years.'
The Independent
19-02-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Keir Starmer a worse PM than Boris Johnson as staggering unpopularity laid bare in new poll
Sir Keir Starmer 's popularity as prime minister has tanked to below the level of Boris Johnson, in a damning new poll from YouGov. The Labour leader is only ahead of Liz Truss in a list of recent prime ministers and is lagging far behind David Cameron, Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher. After seven months in power, nearly half of Britons (45 per cent) now say that Mr Blair did a better job as prime minister than Sir Keir, according to the poll. Voters also favour Gordon Brown's tenure in Downing Street over Starmer's by a margin of 42 per cent to 12 per cent. The Iron Lady is the Conservative prime minister judged to have performed better than Sir Keir by the largest margin, with 44 per cent of Britons seeing her premiership as better than Starmer's. Boris Johnson, who was embroiled in the Partygate scandal during the Covid pandemic, is also shading Sir Keir in the polling by 3 per cent. It comes after voters branded Sir Keir's government 'incompetent' and 'dishonest', according to another dire YouGov poll for Labour taken in January. Labour has struggled since its landslide election victory in July, dogged by issues including a 'freebies' scandal, the farmer protests and the backlash to Rachel Reeves's Budget. But in welcome news for Sir Keir his opposite number Kemi Badenoch is falling further behind Nigel Farage's Reform UK. The tracker poll from Techne UK showed that the Tories had gone down one point to 22 per cent while Labour had climbed a point to 26 per cent. Reform staying the same on 25 per cent is now three points ahead of the Conservatives. But the poor poll showing for Ms Badenoch came as she dismayed many on her own benches in recent weeks, who are frustrated at her performances at PMQs. Recently the former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson suggested that she had just 18 months to turn things around or she would face the same outcome as many Conservative leaders in recent months – and be ousted from the top job by her own party. Sir Keir Starmer, who will visit Washington next week, has urged America to provide a 'backstop' to any settlement brokered between Kyiv and Moscow. Britain has so far sought to strike a delicate balance between supporting Ukraine and keeping the White House, which has been holding talks with the Kremlin on ending the war, onside. Sir Keir has also indicated he would be willing to commit UK troops to a potential peacekeeping mission in Ukraine as European leaders gathered for an emergency summit on the future security of the continent.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Badenoch not at all worried about ‘protest party' Reform
Kemi Badenoch has dismissed Reform UK as a 'protest party' as Nigel Farage prepares to hold a rally in her constituency. The Conservative leader told broadcasters she was 'not at all' worried about Reform's presence in her North West Essex constituency, adding that talking about Labour's farming policy was 'much more important than having a rally about myself'. The rally, which is expected to see speeches from all five of Reform's MPs, follows a spat between Mrs Badenoch and Mr Farage over party membership figures during the Christmas period. Mrs Badenoch had disputed Reform's claim that its membership had overtaken that of the Conservatives, accusing Mr Farage of 'fakery'. Reform strongly denied the accusation and said it was considering legal action. However, Mr Farage later said he was not going to sue, but would hold a rally with the approximately 400 Reform members in North West Essex to say 'we are coming for you at the next election'. The Reform rally comes as polling suggests the party has pulled level with, and possibly overtaken, the Conservatives. A Techne UK poll published on Friday showed Reform in second place with 24%, one point ahead of the Conservatives on 23% and two points behind first-placed Labour on 26%. Asked about the polling numbers on a visit to a farm in Cheshire, Mrs Badenoch said it was 'not a surprise that at the moment protest parties are gaining in the polls'. 📊 NEW POLL: LABOUR UP AS CONS & LIB DEMS FALL, REFORM STEADY Lab 26% (+1)Cons 23% (-1)Lib Dems 12% (-1)Reform 24% (=)Greens 7% (=)SNP 3% (+1)Others 5% (=) 👥 1633 surveyed | 🔎 29-30 Jan 2025🗓️ +/- 23 Jan 2025🔗 Data: #UKPolitics — Techne UK (@techneUK) January 31, 2025 She added: 'The job that the British people have given me is to fight for them, be the leader of the opposition, hold the Government to account. 'That's why I'm here talking about the family farm tax. It's really important that we tell people what's going on with farming and how Labour's policies are going to destroy it. That's much more important than having a rally about myself.'
