Blow for Theresa May as Nigel Farage's Brexit Party soars ahead of Tories in EU elections poll
2 min read
Support for Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party has shot up the polls to put them neck-and-neck with Labour ahead of May’s European elections.
In the latest devastating blow for Theresa May, the former Ukip chief’s outfit is set to rake in 28% of the vote next month, the same figure as Jeremy Corbyn’s party, and double that of the Tories, on 14%.
The latest Opinium poll shows that support for the Conservatives has fallen by 3%, while the Brexit Party’s has gone up by 16% since the study was last conducted on the day of its launch two weeks ago.
Elsewhere support for Labour has dropped by one point, while support for Mr Farage’s old party, Ukip, has plummeted by 10%, meaning they are expected to take just 3% of the vote.
The Liberal Democrats backing has also fallen by 3%, however backing for the pro-EU Change UK The Independent Group has grown by 3%, putting them on 7%.
The poll also revealed that more than half the public – 55% – now believe it would have been better to have not held the EU referendum in 2016 given the difficulties of reaching an agreement.
It found that more Conservative voters (49%) think that it was a bad idea, than the right decision (43%).
Meanwhile 72% of Labour voters believe it would have been better never to have staged the vote, while 18% say it was worth holding.
Elsewhere it found that 46% say they would vote to remain, unchanged from earlier this month, while 34% would vote to leave (down 4%), if a second referendum was held.
GENERAL ELECTION
The study also revealed that Mr Farage’s party would make a dent in Tory support if a snap general election was called, with the Eurosceptic team expected to take 17% of the vote.
The Tories would meanwhile slip to seven points behind Labour, on 26% to 33% respectively, with support for both the main parties down by three points since two weeks ago.
Change UK would take 4% of the vote – up four points from last time – while the Lib Dems would win just 6%, down by two points on the last study.
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