New YouGov polling has found Nigel Farage's popularity has plummeted to a new low, with nearly seven in 10 Brits holding a negative view of the Reform UK leader. The survey shows 69% of voters have an unfavourable opinion of him, including 57% who say they see him in a very unfavourable way. Just 24% hold a positive opinion of him.
Record low ratings
YouGov said Mr Farage's latest unpopularity level is the highest recorded for him in 10 years. His net favourability rating of -45 is the same as Keir Starmer's just before he stepped down. This is down from a rating of -31 this time last year, with Britons now nearly three times as likely to see him negatively than positively.
The pollster said: "Just a quarter of Britons (24%) have a favourable opinion of the Reform leader, leaving him with a September 2026 net favourability rating of -45, identical to Starmer's score just prior to his resignation."
Comparison with rival leaders
The figures stand in stark contrast with his rival party leaders. Nearly half of Britons (46%) have a favourable view of Andy Burnham, compared to 39% who do not. Mr Farage is also languishing behind Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who is viewed favourably by 32% and unfavourably by 47%.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski - who is standing in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election after Mr Starmer's resignation - has a net favourability of -29, YouGov found. Meanwhile Lib Dem Sir Ed Davey's rating is -8.
Sleaze allegations and investigations
This comes hot on the heels of another YouGov poll last week which found 73% of voters believe Mr Farage is sleazy. And 71% believe Reform UK is similarly disreputable, up 20 points in two years. It will make alarming reading at Reform HQ as the party battles a recent slide in the polls.
Its annual conference in Birmingham was overshadowed by allegations about off-the-books polling after undercover footage of Mr Farage and colleagues was broadcast by Channel 4 last week. Two of Mr Farage's key aides - Dan Jukes and James Orr - were suspended after the allegations came to light. The Met Police has since announced it has launched a criminal investigation.
In a clip released last Thursday, Mr Farage was shown at a meeting with journalists posing as a rich overseas businessman and his son, exclaiming: "It worked. Boom!" during a conversation about polling. He later insisted he was not listening, and Reform UK has emphatically denied any wrongdoing.
Mr Farage is also being investigated by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner over a £5million gift he received from Thailand-based businessman Christopher Harborne before becoming an MP. He insists he has done nothing wrong, in spite of rules saying all newcomers to Parliament must declare all donations and political gifts in the 12 months before their election. Reform says the money handed over by Mr Harborne was an unconditional gift.
At the weekend Mr Harborne announced he was donating £36million to Reform - matching a record-breaking sum from fellow crypto billionaire Ben Delo. Responding to the announcement that the Met Police was investigating following the Channel 4 sting, a Reform UK spokesman said: "Reform UK denies any wrongdoing and will fully cooperate with the investigation. We won't be commenting further while a live investigation is underway."
