Voters think Nigel Farage’s Reform UK setting Britain’s political agenda (Image: Getty)

The Tories will be concerned that 59% of people who voted Conservative in last year’s election say Reform is making the political weather.

The YouGov polling shows that 69% of these Tory voters – and 48% of all Britons – think Mr Farage is doing well as Reform UK leader. Just three in 10 think the veteran Brexiteer – who this week raised concerns about freedom of speech in the UK during a visit to the US Congress – is doing badly.

Nigel Farage testifying in Congress (Image: Getty)

And when people were asked if they thought the country would get better or worse with Reform in Government, 32% said the UK would improve and 11% thought it would be “about the same”, but 48% thought it would worsen.

Four in ten (41%) said they trust Reform UK at least a fair amount on immigration and just over a third (34%) said the same when it came to crime and “representing people like you” (31%). However, there was less trust for the party on the issues of housing (26%), poverty (25%), the environment (21%) and protecting minorities (20%).

Bombshell poll reveals what Brits really think of Nigel Farage – bad news for Starmer

A striking new poll has revealed a complicated picture of how Britons view Nigel Farage, with the Reform UK leader continuing to command enormous political attention while attracting deeply divided public opinion.

The findings provide an important reminder that Farage’s prominence in British politics does not automatically translate into personal popularity. At the same time, the figures raise wider questions for Labour and Prime Minister Andy Burnham, particularly as Reform continues to compete for voters across parts of England and Wales.

According to YouGov’s September 2026 political favourability tracker, 69 per cent of Britons said they viewed Farage unfavourably, while only 24 per cent had a favourable opinion of him. That produced a net favourability rating of minus 45, the lowest figure recorded for Farage by YouGov’s tracker over the past decade.

The result is significant because Farage remains one of the most recognisable figures in British politics. His ability to dominate political debate, particularly on immigration, Brexit, taxation and national identity, has made him a central figure in the debate over Britain’s political direction.

Yet the YouGov figures suggest that recognition and popularity are two very different things.

A politician who divides opinion

Farage’s political career has always been characterised by unusually strong reactions from both supporters and opponents.

For Reform voters, he is frequently described in positive terms associated with patriotism, honesty and intelligence. However, when YouGov asked the wider public to describe Farage in their own words earlier in September, the most frequently supplied terms included “racist” and “liar”. The pollster also found that many voters regarded Reform UK as untrustworthy, extreme, prejudiced and out of touch.

Those descriptions are perceptions recorded by the poll rather than independent findings about Farage himself. Nevertheless, they demonstrate the scale of the divide surrounding the Reform leader.

The same survey found that only 19 per cent of Britons thought Farage looked like a prime minister in waiting, a seven-point decline from June.

That presents an interesting contradiction.

Farage can generate intense enthusiasm among part of the electorate while simultaneously generating strong opposition among another section. For Reform, the political challenge is therefore not simply attracting attention. It is converting that attention into sufficiently broad support.

Why the findings matter for Labour

The headline figure about Farage is particularly interesting because it comes at a time when Reform has been attempting to position itself as a major alternative to the established parties.

But a negative personal rating for Farage does not necessarily mean voters will reject Reform UK at the ballot box.

Voting intention and personal favourability measure different things.

A voter can dislike a party leader while still supporting that leader’s party because of its policies. Equally, someone can have a favourable opinion of a politician without intending to vote for their party.

That distinction is crucial when interpreting the latest polling.

An Opinium poll published in September put Labour on 28 per cent and Reform on 24 per cent, giving Labour a four-point lead in that particular survey. Opinium also reported that Andy Burnham remained the only political leader tested with a positive net approval rating in that poll.

Other polling has produced different results, demonstrating why individual surveys should not be treated as definitive predictions of a future election.

The broader political picture is therefore considerably more complicated than the phrase “bad news for Starmer” might suggest.

Indeed, Starmer is no longer prime minister in the latest polling period. Andy Burnham became Labour leader and prime minister during the summer of 2026, meaning that headlines written around the former political contest between Starmer and Farage need to be understood in their original context.

Farage’s political influence remains substantial

Despite his poor personal favourability rating, Farage remains highly influential.

Few British politicians have been as successful at forcing particular issues to the centre of national political discussion.

Immigration is the clearest example.

Reform has made reducing immigration, tightening asylum rules and increasing removals central components of its political platform. Farage has repeatedly argued that successive governments have failed to control Britain’s borders effectively.

Opponents dispute both the diagnosis and the proposed solutions, particularly over questions concerning international law, asylum protections, deportation procedures and the practical cost of large-scale removals.

The result is a political debate in which Farage continues to play a prominent role even when public opinion about him personally is negative.

That may be one of the most important findings in the latest polling.

Reform’s image problem

The YouGov research also points to a wider issue for Reform UK.

Around six in ten Britons described the party using negative characteristics including untrustworthy, prejudiced, extreme and self-interested. At the same time, voters were somewhat more likely to say Reform had a clear sense of purpose than to say they were unclear about what the party stood for.

This suggests that the party’s problem is not necessarily a lack of visibility.

Reform is clearly identifiable.

Voters know what subjects the party emphasises. Immigration, Brexit, taxation, crime, government spending and political reform have all become associated with its public identity.

The question is whether that identity can appeal beyond the voters who already strongly agree with its political message.

That is particularly important if Reform wants to build support among voters who previously supported the Conservatives or Labour.

The changing political landscape

Britain’s political landscape has changed considerably in recent years.

The Conservatives have faced pressure from Reform on the right, while Labour has also been challenged by Reform among voters concerned about immigration, taxation and public services.

At the same time, the Greens and Liberal Democrats have sought to attract voters dissatisfied with the traditional two-party contest.

That means Farage is operating in a much more fragmented political environment than the one that existed when he first became a major national figure.

The September polling illustrates this fragmentation.

While Farage’s personal ratings are deeply negative, Reform continues to receive significant levels of support in voting-intention surveys. A YouGov poll reported by The Independent in September put Reform on 21 per cent, level with the Conservatives and two points behind Labour on 23 per cent.

The variation between surveys underlines the importance of looking at trends rather than treating one poll as an electoral verdict.

What does it mean for Farage?

For Farage himself, the latest numbers present a mixed picture.

The negative favourability rating is plainly a difficult statistic. It indicates that a large majority of the public currently hold an unfavourable opinion of him.

However, his political relevance cannot be measured by favourability alone.

He continues to command significant media attention, remains the dominant public figure associated with Reform UK and has demonstrated an ability to shape the political agenda.

His supporters may therefore argue that the very hostility shown towards him demonstrates how strongly he challenges the political establishment.

Critics, meanwhile, can point to the same polling and argue that his appeal remains too narrow to convince a majority of voters.

Both interpretations reflect different aspects of the same data.

What should Labour take from it?

For Labour, the polling contains both an opportunity and a warning.

A highly unpopular opposition leader might appear easier to challenge politically. But Reform’s continuing support demonstrates that dissatisfaction with established parties can exist independently of enthusiasm for Farage personally.

That means Labour cannot simply assume that negative views of Farage will automatically translate into support for Labour.

Voters may have concerns about immigration, public services, taxation or living costs that they associate with Reform’s political message even if they do not particularly like its leader.

The September figures therefore point towards a more complicated electoral environment.

Farage remains highly divisive. Reform remains a significant political force. Labour remains one of the principal parties competing for voters who are dissatisfied with the direction of the country.

The relationship between those three facts will be shaped by future events, policy announcements and changes in public opinion.

A poll is not an election result

Perhaps the most important lesson from the latest figures is the need to distinguish between popularity, voting intention and electoral outcomes.

The 69 per cent unfavourable figure for Farage is striking, but it does not tell us how every respondent would vote.

Similarly, a Reform voting-intention figure from one poll cannot establish what would happen at a general election.

Polling can identify movements in public opinion, reveal perceptions of political leaders and show which issues voters are responding to. It cannot remove the uncertainty surrounding an election held at a later date.

For now, the data paints a clear picture of a politician who remains central to Britain’s political debate but is personally viewed negatively by a large majority of the public.

That may be uncomfortable reading for Reform supporters, while the continued level of support for the party provides a reason for Labour and the other established parties to take the challenge seriously.

Farage’s political influence and his personal popularity are therefore two separate stories.

The latest poll suggests that the first remains substantial even while the second remains deeply problematic for him.

And that distinction could become increasingly important as Britain’s fragmented political landscape continues to evolve.

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