Great Britain: Farage Overtakes Sunak in Polls

When Rishi Sunak called the British elections for July 4, Nigel Farage announced that he would not run this time. “I want to focus our efforts on supporting Donald Trump,” said the politician known as the “father” of Brexit. Only to change his mind shortly thereafter and announce his candidacy to head Reform UK, a party he himself had helped found, much to the consternation of the Conservatives, who, already at a distinct disadvantage compared to Labour, saw the risk of losing votes to the right.

Sunak’s nightmares seem to be coming true and are scarier than he expected. According to a recent poll, Farage’s camp has even outperformed the Conservatives, establishing itself as the second force in the country behind Keir Starmer’s Labour Party. This resulted from a YouGov poll, prepared for the Times on June 13, which puts the Reform UK share at 19% compared to 18% for the Tories. Starmer, on the other hand, will maintain a lead of about 20 points.

“We are now the real opposition to the Labour Party,” said a pleased Farage, while Sunak warned the Conservative electorate that a vote for Reform UK would be tantamount to handing the country over to the left. “If this poll is confirmed, it gives the Labour Party carte blanche,” Sunak said from Italy, where he is attending the G7 summit.