Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Reform overtakes Tories in opinion poll for first time in election campaign

‘We are now the opposition to Labour’, party leader Nigel Farage said as he hailed the result.

David Lynch
Thursday 13 June 2024 15:52 EDT
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said his party is not the main opposition to Labour (Aaron Chown/PA)
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said his party is not the main opposition to Labour (Aaron Chown/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Nigel Farage’s Reform Party has overtaken the Conservatives in a major poll of public opinion for the first time, in the latest blow to the Tories’ hopes in the election campaign.

A YouGov poll commissioned by the Times newspaper had Reform at 19% to the Conservatives 18% of voting intention, in a “crossover” moment for the two parties.

Labour still sits in the lead at 37% of voting intention, with the Liberal Democrats at 14%, the Greens at 7%, the SNP at 3%, Plaid Cymru at 1% and others at 2%.

The poll was conducted on a sample size of 2,211 adults in Britain between June 12 and 13.

Mr Farage lauded the poll and framed his party as the challenger to Labour as he and other senior figures from political parties met for ITV’s latest election debate.

Just before we came on air we overtook the Conservatives in the national opinion polls. We are now the opposition to Labour

Nigel Farage

“I am Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK. Just before we came on air we overtook the Conservatives in the national opinion polls. We are now the opposition to Labour,” he said.

The poll came at the end of a day when Labour and Plaid Cymru launched their election manifestos.

At his launch in Manchester, Sir Keir Starmer said Labour had a plan to turn the country around after 14 years of Tory “chaos” but cautioned that there would be “no quick fix” if he is handed the keys to No 10 by voters on July 4.

Launching a manifesto which contained no new policy announcements, Sir Keir denied he was being overly cautious in his efforts to put his party back in power for the first time since 2010.

Repeatedly stressing how he had changed Labour since taking over from Jeremy Corbyn, Sir Keir said he was now offering a “serious plan for the future of our country”.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in