Four in 10 voters think Reform UK is ‘extremist’

Nigel Farage’s bid to make Reform UK respectable has come up against another stumbling block. After standing general election candidates accused of racism and a tussle with Channel 4, new polling reflects the party’s mixed success in winning over mainstream voters. While Reform’s support base remains committed to the Faragist cause, YouGov data shows that the word most associated with the party among the British public is “extremist”, with 39% of voters employing the term.

The same percentage of respondents believe that Reform “should be nowhere near power”, while just under a third describe the party as “dishonest” and more than a quarter judge it to be “unprofessional”. Farage will no doubt be perturbed that a third of Brits consider Reform to be “nasty”. Have the Tories now lost that title?