Voices: ‘The Farage effect is starting to wear off’: Readers say Reform slump is helping Kemi Badenoch

Independent readers were quick to pour cold water on claims of a Conservative revival, arguing that Kemi Badenoch’s polling boost says less about renewed faith in the Tories and more about Nigel Farage’s fading appeal.

Many suggested Reform UK has hit a hard ceiling, with its anti-establishment image undermined by an influx of familiar Conservative faces. Defections were widely dismissed as self-serving career moves, reinforcing the view that Reform is becoming a refuge for politicians voters have already rejected.

Badenoch’s decision to sack Robert Jenrick was one of the few points of consensus. Even critics of her politics described the move as decisive and statesmanlike, with some arguing it has allowed the Conservatives to offload unpopular figures who excel at social media but failed in government.

That said, large numbers of readers argued that the Conservatives and Reform are fundamentally indistinguishable, shaped by the same record of failure after 14 years in power. Several described the two parties as different brands selling the same discredited product.

Farage, meanwhile, was portrayed as a protest figure whose appeal quickly frays under scrutiny, with some warning he would pose serious risks if ever handed real power.

A small minority offered cautious approval of Badenoch as competent or genuine. Overall, however, the prevailing mood was one of distrust.

Here’s what you had to say:

Really? Does this mean that after over a year leading the Tory Party, Badenoch has improved ever so slightly and isn’t quite as incompetent and blundering as she once was, or is it that the Farage effect is starting to wear off as more far-right Tories defect to Reform UK, thus having a direct effect on their now dropping poll numbers?

I mean, those voters who chose Reform UK and joined their membership did so to get away from the Tories’ disastrous 14 years and the two-party leadership system. Now all those malicious far-right Tories are jumping ship to Reform, and this is driving people away in big numbers.

I mean, who in their right mind votes for a political party that is now stuffed full of those people one previously voted against?

Personally, I hope both the Tories and Reform UK bury each other in the political quagmire over this so much that neither are electable, as they are both two sides of the same coin – or two cheeks of the same backside!

RaptorRed

Nigel Farage should be worried that his party now has less support than the politically bankrupt Conservatives.

What this poll shows is that the protest vote and a leader’s character are the biggest predictors of poll results.

Which means that the polls, at this stage of a parliament, are meaningless, except insofar as the character of the prime minister is in question.

I think there’s absolutely no doubt that if Sir Keir Starmer stood up to Trump – and, let’s be clear, all he’s done is say a few completely ignorable words, without any real measures designed to check Trump’s insulting and threatening advance – he would be more popular at home.

And that if he does not, the opposite will apply.

ppundit

There’s one thing political leaders from Labour and the Conservatives have excelled in over the past 25 years – they’ve managed to progressively get worse and more unpopular.

Truss and Sunak were the worst PMs of all time until Starmer arrived. I’m sure Badenoch, Streeting (or even Farage) will continue this trend.

PickledPink

Whilst, as each day passes, more Tories abandon their sinking ship… interesting times lie ahead. Only time will tell whether voters really want far-right extremism (Kemi or Nigel) or the wisdom of centre-ground politics.

Just Saying

Amidst all the noise, Kemi is just getting on with the job. She is my kind of leader and the only one who is looking statespersonlike.

CKB

Totally agree. I see myself as centre-left, but I’m also a floating voter. Last time out I voted Labour because, to say the least, I hadn’t been impressed with 14 years of Tory government and two of their PMs (Johnson and Truss), who struck me as totally unserious and incompetent. I was OK with Cameron (until he called the referendum), Theresa May and Sunak. In the same way, I’m OK with Kemi Badenoch.

As for Jenrick, he happens to be my constituency MP – round here, with our tongues pressed firmly in our cheeks, we call him Honest Bob. As for Farage – a chancer and a charlatan with nothing good to offer.

WokeUp

This was always going to happen. The Tory party has rid itself of some of its lowest-performing politicians who overperform on social media.

The circus over the Atlantic is probably boosting Badenoch too.

Cloven

Badenoch might be more popular than Farage, but that does not mean either of them is any good for this nation!

Rasputin007

Whether I agree with her policies or not, she seems genuine. We all know Jenrick isn’t, but such people should never have been allowed to infiltrate in the first place. Clinging on to power by avoiding elections seemed to be what they were about for years, but there was no quality control.

Johnson and Truss were disasters for the country, and it is these types that now make up Reform. When they finally came up with somebody competent in Sunak, people had had enough of incompetents.

FreeLife

Support for Farage was always likely to hit a ceiling beyond which it doesn’t go. In another recent opinion poll that I saw, no less than 61 per cent of voters surveyed said that they were likely to vote tactically in their constituencies because they were disposed to prioritise keeping Reform out of government.

John B Ellis

While the years of Tory power were a disaster… we seem to have survived to rebuild our economy and hopefully our rejoining of the EU (though Starmer should resign).

If Farage got into No. 10, we wouldn’t survive a Trump mini-me PM.

So Badenoch being less unpopular than Farage can only be a good thing… I think?

ScoobytheDog

Some of the comments have been edited for this article for brevity and clarity.

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