Half of Reform UK voters back Labour’s plans to give workers more rights – offering hope of winning them over, new polling shows.
Over three quarters who backed Nigel Farage’s party also like Labour’s plans to hold water companies to account, according to a poll of 4,000 of them. And 46% are in favour of nationalising rail firms.
The research, carried out on behalf of anti-racism charity Hope Not Hate, reveals that (49%) backed Labour’s workers’ reforms. These include a ban on zero-hour contracts, ending fire and rehire and strengthening sick pay – a key manifesto pledge.
The data, which has been shared with The Mirror, shows that while Reform supporters take a hard line over immigration, they are split over economic policies. Those who earn under £30,000 are more left-leaning, researchers found, and almost three quarters of ex-Labour voters want wealth distributed more evenly.
But those who bring in £50,000 or more don’t agree and want a small Government with fewer rules to protect workers. HOPE not hate Director of Campaigns Georgie Laming said: “This polling shows that it’s naive to treat Reform UK voters as a monolithic, hard right bloc.
“In fact, some Reform UK voters are in favour of progressive policies. For them, a vote for Reform UK is about a lack of faith in politics and that life can get better. It’s essential that political leaders recognise this and provide meaningful and hopeful change.”
It comes as Nigel Farage attempts to turn Reform into a proper political party, pushing forward a new constitution giving members some greater powers to remove him.
But critics, including disgruntled former deputy leader Ben Habib, say it doesn’t go far enough. Mr Farage, speaking at the party’s annual conference, said Reform has “come of age”. He vowed to improve vetting and make it more professional to make it more an electoral force.
He said he had a “job to professionalise and democratise Reform UK”. Mr Farage told the crowds that he thinks his “promise to professionalise the party is now on track”, and added: “I also promise that in future we will be vetting candidates rigorously at all levels, I promise you that.
“We haven’t got time, we haven’t got room for a few extremists to wreck the work of a party that now has 80,000 members and rising by hundreds every single day.”