REFORM has leapfrogged the Tories to come within one point of Labour, a shock poll has found.
Nigel Farage’s insurgents have pushed Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives into third place – and are on the cusp of even surpassing Sir Keir Starmer.
The growing popularity of the right-wing populists threatens to upend the traditional two-party system and unleash a political earthquake.
Momentum in recent months has been with Mr Farage, who has capitalised on figures showing record immigration and Labour woes.
YouGov polling revealed Labour are on 26 per cent, Reform on 25 per cent, the Tories on 22 per cent, the Lib Dems on 14 per cent, and the Greens on 8 per cent.
Mr Farage said last night: “The Tory brand is completely broken. We are the real opposition to this disastrous government.”
The stats show a marked turnaround since the election when Mr Farage took 15 per cent of the votes but just five seats in the Commons.
And it is a dramatic slide in fortunes for Labour, which cruised to a landslide on July 4 with 35 per cent of the electorate.
Since then, Sir Keir has been bruised by the fallout to his controversial Budget, including the decision to hike taxes, strip pensioners of the winter fuel payment, and end farmers’ relief.
And Ms Badenoch has only been Tory leader since November and has so far not managed to make an impression in the polls.
While Mr Farage has benefited from the blunders of the two main parties, he has also moved to professionalise Reform’s operation and has seen a surge in membership.
It has triggered a series of high-profile defections from previous Tory MPs.
He personally is also a social media star, especially on TikTok where he has a dedicated younger audience.
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DOES Nigel Farage finally stand on the precipice of becoming Prime Minister?
The man himself certainly hasn’t been coy in revealing his ambition for the top job.
All the momentum is with Reform: a membership surge, high-profile defections, mass rallies – and a Labour and Tory party struggling to land a glove.
With such wind under his sails, it’s becoming harder for the Brexiteer to contain his trademark Cheshire Cat grin.
Farage is not naive, he knows he has a mountain to climb. He has seen this movie before.
In his heyday with UKIP, he secured 12.5 per cent of the electorate in 2015 – and returned just one MP.
In July, Reform came third on votes with 14.3 per cent – and returned just five MPs.
Farage is a world-beater at galvanising a mass supporters movement, and has proved that time over.
But if he is serious about getting to No10, he needs to do something much more challenging: break a political system that has stood for centuries.
Getting millions of votes is all well and good, yet it counts for nowt if he’s coming second in hundreds of seats.
Farage knows this and is adapting. Since becoming leader, he and his impressive chairman Zia Yusuf have been quietly professionalising the Reform outfit.
No longer a cavalier rabble, they are looking to raise serious sums of cash to pour into data-driven campaigning and advertising.
Get that right, and Reform will become an even greater force to be reckoned with.
