Reform chief Nigel Farage’s outburst came after YouGov’s latest poll showed the right-wing party – stuffed full of ex-Tories – on 23% of the vote share
Nigel Farage has whinged one of the country’s most prominent polling firms, claiming it is downplaying Reform UK’s support.
The Reform chief’s outburst came after YouGov’s latest poll showed the right-wing party – stuffed full of ex-Tories – on 23% of the vote share. It is just four points ahead of Kemi Badenoch’s Tories on 19% and Labour on 17%.
Another survey published this week by More in Common found Reform UK as high as 30%. Meanwhile Labour was on 22% and the Tories on 19% of the vote share. Pollster JL Partners, however, found Reform had slipped four points to 27%.
Posting on his X account this week, Mr Farage said: “Reform are strong in all of the polls except YouGov. They are using bizarre adjustments to suppress the true figures.”
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He also fired off an angry letter to the firm, adding: “As leader of a national party, you will appreciate that my colleagues and I monitor the polling industry closely. You will also be aware that political polling plays a significant role in shaping public perception, particularly on social media.”
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YouGov denied the claims and said its approach uses methodology introduced ahead of the last general election. They added: “It better reflects tactical voting patterns, and it accurately predicted the Reform vote then.”
Anthony Wells – YouGov’s global head of politics – explained earlier this week how it changed its approach ahead of the 2024 General election. He said: “Our post-election review found this approach was substantially more accurate than more traditional methods and was instrumental in making us one of the most accurate pollsters at the 2024 election.”
He added: “We ask voting intention using two questions. First, we ask people how they would vote if a general election were held tomorrow. Then we ask people to think about their own constituency, the parties standing there, and ask how they would vote there. It is the answers to the second question that we use to drive our headline voting intention figure.
“We have found this approach is more effective at picking up tactical voting considerations and how people actually cast their vote on the day, in particular in seats where the Liberal Democrats are in contention.”