Haivng looked at the latest data released by YouGov this morning, our advice to Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne is simple: Make sure you’ve kept the receipts. The twin £36 million donations have rocked British politics over the last few days – but they have done little to rehabilitate the image of Nigel Farage.
ALSO READ: Almost three-quarters of Brits think Farage and Reform UK are ‘sleazy’
Popular with the billionaires – but not so much with the public
In fact, another YouGov poll from last week revealed that around three in four Brits perceive Mr. Farage to be ‘sleazy or corrupt’. And this was before two crypto-billionaires announced they were handing over a financial war-chest to Reform. Well, if the shoe fits…
There’s also a strong possibility that Reform may have to hand back the combined £72 million donations to the respective sources, as it could end up falling foul of legislation currently being pushed through Parliament, which may end up being backdated to March 2025.
A restriction on donors who are based outside of the UK could scupper Reform’s plans to super-charge their coffers. If Delo and Harborne failed to move back to the UK before the cut-off point 18 months ago, it may render the funds illegal – something which Richard Tice says amounts to a ‘socialist coup’.
Zia Yusuf says such a move would be ‘unprecedented’, and Reform have certainly reverted to type with their Monday morning media-round moans. However, the self-described ‘party of the people’ may struggle to get the electorate onside – and their leader is falling foul of the court of public opinion.
Nigel Farage sees net approval rate tumble
The YouGov ‘favourability tracker’ was updated on Monday – and makes for tough reading if you’re Nigel Farage. His unfavorability rating has increased to 69% – meaning that almost seven in 10 voters have expressed a negative opinion about the arch-Brexiteer, leaving his net approval rate at -45 points.
In 10 years of tracking, this is Farage’s worst score. It is comfortably worse than the net approvals of Ed Davey (-8 points), Kemi Badenoch (-15 points), and Zack Polanski (-29 points). Andy Burnham remains the only major party leader with a positive score – although his +7 is down six points from last month.
Still, not to fret Nigel. At least the billionaires still like you…