Reform UK says Nigel Farage is PM in waiting after new poll boost tears apart Starmer

Voters see Nigel Farage as the "Prime Minister in waiting", Reform UK claimed after the public gave him a higher grade for his performance than any of the other major party leaders. The public gave Mr Farage a "B" when asked how he has fared - compared with a "C-" for Labour's Sir Keir Starmer and the Liberal Democrats' Sir Ed Davey, and a "D" for the Conservatives' Kemi Badenoch.

When asked to name which UK politician has done the best job over the past year, 13% said Mr Farage - with just 6% naming Sir Keir. The Labour leader came ahead of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Health Secretary Wes Streeting who were both backed by 3% in the polling commissioned by Tory peer Lord Ashcroft.

A Reform spokesman said: "With Reform regularly topping the opinion polls, our historic election results in May and the party setting the political weather, it's no surprise that the British public are giving Nigel Farage top marks. Increasing numbers of voters now see Nigel as the real Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister in waiting."

The polling identified a key challenge for Mr Farage. While 34% of voters said they liked what he stands for, only 23% said he was up to the job of being prime minister.

The polling also uncovered unhappiness among people who voted Labour in last year's election. Nearly one in five said they wish they had voted differently.

Sir Keir will be concerned about the actions of his administration which stick in the memory. When voters were asked if they could name anything the Government has done in its first year in power, 38% said Labour had introduced means-testing for the winter fuel allowance.

Fewer than one in 10 voters said they understood what the Government is trying to do and they liked what they saw.

Only one in fifty voters thought the UK has a great deal of influence in determining world events.

Lord Ashcroft's polling comes as YouGov reports that just one in eight (13%) Britons approve of the Government's record to date with two-thirds (67%) disapproving.

The net approval score of -54 is "the joint-lowest Keir Starmer's government has ever received".