A recent poll has indicated a significant shift in Tory voters’ attitudes, with just 55 percent of 2019 Conservative supporters now leaning towards supporting Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s party, and 15 percent planning to back Reform UK.
Despite Labour’s 20-point national poll lead, only 13 percent of respondents intend to support Sir Keir Starmer’s party. This trend poses a potential challenge for Labour in retaining Red Wall constituencies, historically loyal but unexpectedly siding with the Tories in 2019.
The data, produced by Redfield & Wilton Strategies, suggests continued resistance to Labour in these crucial areas, with disenfranchised voters being wooed by the prospect of Reform UK, which is positioned to the right of the Tories on key policies.
Richard Tice, leader of Reform UK, told The Epoch Times that he was “delighted” with the latest figures.
He said: “We’re not surprised. We’ve now had seven polls in double figures, two polls at 11 percent. Shortly after Christmas, we'll probably have a 12 percenter and we’re heading in the right direction. Some will drop back a little bit. But basically, you’ve got a government in complete meltdown, pulling itself apart. It’s not sustainable. This government lasts a year. It’s just not sustainable.
Reform Warned Not to Let Labour In
Despite Mr. Tice’s bullish proposition to field 630 candidates, alongside an electoral pact to allow the Social Democratic Party to run uncontested in around half a dozen seats, others have suggested the new centre-right party may spread itself too thin. Voices on the right have also expressed concerns that removing the Tories altogether would open the door too wide for Labour.
Lance Forman, a former Brexit Party MEP and prominent businessman, told The Epoch Times that “the way for Reform to exert power quickly is to focus on winnable seats and hold the balance of power, not simply annihilate the Tories for the sake of a deserved punishment and then punish ourselves further with the Labour Party.”
The latest polls also cement Reform’s position ahead of the Liberal Democrats as a third party, at least for now.
Lembit Opik, the former Liberal Democrat MP, told the The Epoch Times that following the latest numbers, he now viewed the Lib Dems as “a footnote in politics right now, nothing more than that.”
Mr. Opik, who also took part in ITV’s “I’m a Celebrity...” program in 2010, which Nigel Farage is now appearing on, said that for Reform UK to win seats, they needed Mr. Farage. He added that Mr. Farage’s star would only rise from the high profile appearance.
“Mr. Tice is competent and he’s intelligent. And he might find some more gas in the tank as well. But the question is, when you have a winning formula why not use it? On top of that Nigel is the first politician in the history of ‘I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here’ who could actually wag the dog of politics through his own celebrity.
“You can’t conceal character on that show. You can conceal good deeds, and you can edit it in a prejudicial way. But you can’t hide character.”
Farage Touted for Tory Leader
Many have suggested that Mr. Farage may still be tempted to enter the Tory party after the next election, and Mr. Opik said that he could see the former UKIP leader still mounting a challenge on the Tory leadership one day, adding, “A lot of people like the idea.”On Wednesday at Prime Minister’s Questions, Labour leader Sir Keir broached an issue contained in the illegal migrant deal with Rwanda, pointing out that the UK was poised to accept Rwandese migrants in return for operating the scheme.
This clause has led to widespread irritation within the Tory ranks, with the government perceived as scoring an own-goal over their immigration rhetoric.
Mr. Tice claimed that the Rwanda scheme as a whole was a “dead cat distraction,” adding that Reform would be the “only party” capable of solving the Channel crisis.
“The government is tying itself in knots in something that’s completely irrelevant, will never be and never would have been a deterrent to the tens of thousands of illegals who are coming across the Channel. And they are just deliberately confusing everybody, wasting taxpayers’ cash.
“Whereas the only way you will stop the boats, which is the committed pledge of the prime minister, is to pick up and safely take them back to Dunkirk and Calais which we’re legally entitled to do. We’re the only party that has got the courage and the leadership and the legal understanding to do that. And nothing else will stop boats. It’s as simple as that.”
As well as its policy on immigration, Reform seeks to differentiate from the major parties with its sceptical approach to green policy.
Mr. Opik called the mainstream parties “lamestream parties,” and claimed that the public can now see that both Labour and the Conservatives “have sunk into a self satisfied crop of political incompetence.”
“I can be very specific,” Mr. Opik added. “The green agenda is beginning to look like a sham. It always was. And it’s crippled households with insanely high energy bills.”
As both immigration and energy issues hit the headlines with ever higher frequency ahead of Christmas, Reform’s challenge to become a real contender ahead of the general election will heat up, with Mr. Tice and Mr. Farage whirring the wheels of anti-establishment publicity to full effect.
