Nigel Farage’s Reform party has overtaken the Conservatives in a poll for the first time in a national poll.

The Tories were pushed into third in the survey, by pollsters YouGov one point behind Reform on 18 percent to 19 percent

The findings will come as a body blow to Rishi Sunak after a disastrous election campaign and risks triggering panic among many Tory MPs.

As the TV showdown opened he told millions of viewers “we are now the opposition to Labour”.

The poll found support for Reform had increased by two points to 19 per cent while the Tories were unchanged on 18 per cent.

At the end of the debate, Mr Farage said to Ms Mordaunt: “A vote for you is actually now a vote for Labour.”

Many Tories now will be wondering if this was a freak poll or if more with Reform going further in front are set to be unleashed over the last three weeks of the election campaign. If Reform builds up a lead of five or more points it could see the world’s oldest political party go into a meltdown and face a wipeout.

  •  Baggins   ( @baggins@beehaw.org ) 
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    36 months ago

    We may sneer at ‘Good old Nige’ but he’s getting airtime and people are going to vote for him and his party, however cack we think are.

    Now that may hurt the tories, which is all well and good, but if they keep getting publicity and what have you it’s going to draw away votes from more deserving candidates.

    Also hilarious as it was, we should not be condoning throwing of objects etc. at politicians, however much we dislike them. That’s a slippery slope and could lead to some serious injuries. What appens when somebody decides it’s funny and will get laughs on Tik Tok to throw acid or bleach? Or a glass bottle full of piss?

    We’ve seen what his ‘patriotic’ supporters are like and we don’t need more of them.

    • What appens when somebody decides it’s funny and will get laughs on Tik Tok to throw acid or bleach? Or a glass bottle full of piss?

      Oh get off it. Whataboutism at its finest most stupid extreme. Somebody throws a milkshake and you’re going oh but it could have been acid, no it couldn’t it wasn’t actually thought it was acid and the last moment it luckily transmuted into milkshake. People are responsible for their own actions other people doing things which are similar but not the same degree a call to escalation.

      •  Baggins   ( @baggins@beehaw.org ) 
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        26 months ago

        So you’re saying it’s alright to attack politicians that you don’t like?

        I expect that bloke that stabbed Jo Cox said that. And the other one that stabbed the tory MP.

        You’re as bad as they are. Goodbye.

        •  Echo Dot   ( @echodot@feddit.uk ) 
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          6 months ago

          You are bloody ridiculous. You are not interested in engaging in a good faith discussion. No one said anything about stabbing people, or hurting them. Throwing some milkshake on Nigel farage is literally the least he deserves.

          It is not equivalent to murder you absolute lunatic.

        •  rmuk   ( @rmuk@feddit.uk ) 
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          6 months ago

          “You support someone who threw a soft object at someone? Well supporting an act is the same as doing an act and throwing is the same as stabbing and a soft object is the same as a knife and I am a very smart and nuanced person you would love to spend time around.”

          - Baggins, probably