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Conservatives widen lead over Reform as Badenoch gains support for tax plans
A Lord Ashcroft poll puts the Conservatives eight points ahead of Reform UK, strengthening Kemi Badenoch’s position as she seeks to lead the opposition to Labour. The result may encourage Tory strategists, though Labour remains in front.
Labour polled at 31 per cent, the Conservatives at 26 per cent and Reform at 18 per cent, widening the Conservatives’ lead over Reform from three points in a month. The article says voters cited Badenoch’s public performances and her proposed inheritance tax cut positively. Nigel Farage questioned the poll’s accuracy, while the article also reports a separate dispute over Labour’s EU “reset” and Remembrance Sunday.
In short
- Conservatives lead Reform UK by eight points in a Lord Ashcroft poll.
- Labour remains ahead on 31 per cent.
- Badenoch’s performances and tax proposals were cited positively.
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The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The poll suggests Badenoch’s public performances and tax proposals may be helping the Conservatives regain support, giving the party a stronger position to challenge Reform and lead the opposition to Labour. Supporters of her inheritance tax cut may see it as fairer to families passing on assets and as a way to sharpen the party’s economic offer.
The case against
A single poll is only a snapshot and may not reliably show a lasting shift in voter support; Farage’s challenge to its accuracy reflects a reasonable caution about drawing conclusions from it. Voters may also question whether an inheritance tax cut is the right priority, given its distributional effects and competing demands on public finances, while Labour remains ahead in the reported figures.
Explained simply
The Conservatives and Reform UK are competing for voters on the right of British politics, while Labour is the governing party. Kemi Badenoch leads the Conservatives and Nigel Farage leads Reform; both parties are seeking to persuade voters that they offer the strongest alternative to Labour.
Polls estimate how people might vote if an election were held now, but results vary between pollsters and do not predict an election outcome. The Conservatives’ position matters to Badenoch as she tries to establish her leadership, and their proposals on tax are one part of that effort.
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by Daily Mail as “Kemi Badenoch storms to an eight-point poll lead over Nigel Farage as voters back her tax-cutting policies”.