Although the U.K. does not elect a president, it has for decades been true that many voters base their decisions on who they want in No. 10 Downing Street (or who they really want to keep away from that famous black door). Here, Farage is not, apparently, a runaway success.
According to YouGov’s most recent survey, on May 4-5, the Reform UK leader’s net favorability score is -39 percent, only a little better than Starmer’s score of -47 percent. Of the leaders and potential leaders polled, only Labour’s Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has a net positive rating, of 4 percent.
On the economy, too, Reform’s reputation leaves room for doubters. On May 4, YouGov found only 11 percent of voters thought Farage’s party would be the best at handling the economy, compared to 15 percent for Labour and 19 percent for the Conservatives.
Despite these caveats, politics is changing. As Farage has already shown, what held sway in the past is not necessarily a guide to what will happen next.
A big 80-seat win for Boris Johnson’s Tories in 2019 gave way to a Labour landslide majority of 174 seats in 2024. And now for the second year in a row, Reform UK has stormed the board in England’s local elections — meaning that millions of voters have turned out and put their crosses in a box next to one of Farage’s candidates.
They were not voting to make him PM, but they were choosing his side. Having done so once at a local or regional election, it may feel easier to do so again when the Westminster government is at stake.