Reform UK surge in polls as Starmer's big reset falls flat

Nigel Farage's Reform UK has made a dramatic three-point jump in the polls in a week.

- DAVID MADDOX

The latest Techne UK tracker poll for The Independent appears to confirm a trend that voters are moving towards his brand of nationalist populism.

The polling of 1,644 voters took place in the wake of Sir Keir Starmer's reset speech at Pinewood Studios on Thursday and appears to suggest it failed to improve confidence in the Labour government.

Support for Labour was down one point to 27 per cent – the lowest level since Jeremy Corbyn was leader – while Reform UK was up three points to 21 per cent. In addition, trust in Sir Keir’s government being on the right track fell four points from 33 per cent to 29 per cent in just a week.

There was worse news for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who has been on a visit to Washington DC this week, with her party down two points to 25 per cent. The Liberal Democrats’ leader Sir Ed Davey’s bid for Christmas No 1 does not seem to have helped his party’s standing – it also slipped back one point to 12 per cent – while the Green Party was up one to 7 per cent.

The shift appears to reflect findings in other polls which in the last week have put Reform UK as high as 24 per cent in second place above Labour, according to the polling company Find Out Now. Mr Farage told