Reform stepping into vacuum left by Tory failings

SOMETHING remarkable is happening in British politics. According to one bombshell poll this week, Nigel Farage and his Reform party are now only two points behind Rishi Sunak and the Tories.

- Matthew Goodwin

Having officially returned as leader of Reform this week and announcing his plan to run for Parliament in the Essex seat of Clacton, Farage is clearly boosting his party’s visibility and support.

In fact, across all polls this week his party has averaged close to 16 per cent, compared to only 11 per cent when Rishi Sunak called the election.

Support for the Conservatives, meanwhile, is down two points to just 21 per cent.

This is the opposite of what the Prime Minister and his party need and suggests Reform UK could soon draw level with, if not replace, the Conservatives, which would cause total mayhem in Westminster.

So what’s going on?

The answer is that Nigel Farage and Reform UK are quickly becoming the main inheritors of the post-Brexit “realignment” which propelled Boris Johnson into power in 2019, but which the Tories then completely squandered.

How did they lose this unique opportunity?

By presiding over the acceleration of mass immigration.

By losing control of the borders.