Farage Sleaze Row Continues As Reform Slips Further Down The Polls

Voters continue to punish Nigel Farage amid the row over his finances as Reform UK slips back in the polls.

According to strategic insight company Opinium, the right-wing party has fallen back to its lowest rate since 2024, having held a comfortable lead with voters for more than a year.

In a survey for the Observer, the pollsters found Reform are currently on 23%.

That’s just one percentage point away from Labour, who on 22%, are at their highest level since April 2026.

It comes as party leader Farage is fighting a by-election he triggered in his constituency of Clacton.

He chose to step down as an MP earlier this month amid heightened scrutiny over his finances.

A parliamentary probe into a £5 million donation he received shortly before he ran in the 2024 general election – but failed to declare – is currently on pause while he is outside of the Commons.

Farage claims he is fighting in a “people versus the establishment” contest, but all major parties have refused to put up a candidate.

The Reform UK leader is now mainly in a race against comedy candidate Count Binface.

Opinium also found the Conservatives are enjoying their highest poll rating since April 2025 on 20%.

Meanwhile, the Green Party lags behind on 14% and the Liberal Democrats are on 11%.

The survey comes after researchers at Survation put both at Labour and Reform UK at 24%.

Polling by More in Common from last week also undermined Farage’s claim not to be part of the establishment.

It showed that 45% of the public believe privately-educated Farage, who is a former MEP and stockbroker, is himself part of the establishment.

That is slightly below Keir Starmer (52%) and Kemi Badenoch (54%), but more than the 41% who think incoming prime minister Andy Burnham is in the establishment.

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.