Support for Farage’s Reform UK falls after Ukraine comments

SUPPORT for Nigel Farage's right-wing Reform UK party has fallen ahead of a July 4 election, a poll showed on Thursday (27), after he said the West had provoked Russian president Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

The BMG Research opinion poll for the i newspaper, carried out June 24-26, put support for Reform on 16 per cent, down from a record high of 19 per cent last week. Prime minister Rishi Sunak's Tories were on 20 per cent, up from 19 per cent previously.

Keir Starmer's opposition Labour Party remained far ahead on 42 per cent.

A separate YouGov poll conducted on June 24-25 reported a one point drop in support for Reform to 17 per cent, with the Tories and Labour also down one point each on 18 per cent and 36 per cent respectively.

In an interview with the BBC aired last Friday (21), Farage said he stood by previous comments that Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a consequence of the eastward expansion of the European Union and NATO.

The remarks by Farage, one of the country's most recognisable and divisive politicians, drew strong criticism across the British political spectrum, but he went on to repeat them again during campaigning this week.

Britain has been a vocal backer of Ukraine since the February 2022 invasion and polls taken earlier this year showed British public support also remained solid.

The dip in support for Reform could ease some of the pressure on the Tories after Farage's surprise entry into the election race threatened to divert right-of-centre votes away from Sunak's party.

"This is a glimmer of hope for the Conservatives as the Reform surge appears to have stalled," Rob Struthers, BMG research director said.

"However, the overall picture for Rishi Sunak remains extremely bleak ... Labour's lead over the Conservatives remains above 20 points. This leaves little doubt that the Conservatives are fighting to avoid a near wipeout next week."

Reform said on Thursday it had won the backing of former Newcastle soccer club owner John Hall, who has previously donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to the Tories and has now made a "substantial donation" to Farage's party.

Any hope that the Tories could narrow the gap on Labour in the final weeks has been tested after five people from the party, including two candidates, were investigated over bets on the timing of the election.

In a boost for Labour, the Economist magazine on Thursday gave it their backing. Under the headline "Keir Starmer should be Britain's next prime minister," it said while no party fully subscribed to the ideas it held dear, the choice was clear.

"If we had a vote on July 4, we, too, would pick Labour, because it has the greatest chance of tackling the biggest problem that Britain faces: a chronic and debilitating lack of economic growth," it said.

(Reuters)