It is day one of Reform UK’s conference today and thousands are flocking in to the Birmingham NEC. But while those attending today are the true-teal Farage faithful, what do the millions outside the conference hall make of the lifelong Brexiteer? Merlin Strategy has done some polling for The Spectator to dig into what Britain thinks of the man trying to fashion himself as Britain’s next Prime Minister…
Asked whether Farage is a ‘racist’, some 44 per cent say he is not, compared to just over a third (34 per cent) who say he is. Among those considering backing the party, this figure drops, with 27 per cent believing the accusation to be accurate against 52 per cent who say it is not. However, there is less good news when it comes to the question of whether ‘Farage is too close to Trump.’ Some 43 per cent say that this accusation is correct, compared to 31 per cent who argue it is not.
Moreover, 40 per cent believe he will ‘privatise’ the NHS against 28 per cent who say he will not. More believe he will ’embarrass Britain on the world stage’ than not and that he is ‘not experienced enough to be Prime Minister.’ However, by 40 per cent to 38 per cent voters do believe he is in touch with ‘working people’ and that by 41 to 33 he would not represent ‘more of the same’ if elected PM.
Intriguingly, when asked whether ‘Reform UK is just a party for the previous Conservatives’, some 32 per cent believe that this statement is ‘true’ compared to 42 per cent who believe it is not. With Nadine Dorries and others keen to follow, will those numbers shift dramatically in a year’s time?
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