Farage least popular party leader in Wales, new poll finds

Nation.Cymru staff

Two-thirds of Welsh adults have an unfavourable opinion of Nigel Farage, making him the least popular party leader included in a new YouGov poll.

Just 23% view the Reform UK leader favourably, compared with 66% who view him unfavourably, giving him a net favourability score of minus 43.

The findings come five months after Reform became the largest opposition party in the Senedd following May’s election.

Despite the negative assessment of its UK leader, 51% of respondents regard Reform as one of Wales’s “main parties”, while 35% do not.

The survey measures attitudes towards politicians and parties rather than voting intention, so the findings do not establish whether Reform’s electoral support has changed.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham received the strongest personal rating among the politicians surveyed, with 49% viewing him favourably and 35% unfavourably. His net score of plus 14 puts him ahead of First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Opinion on the Plaid Cymru leader is almost evenly divided: 33% have a favourable view and 32% an unfavourable one, while 35% do not know.

Other UK party leaders also received negative net ratings, although none fared as poorly as Mr Farage.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch was viewed favourably by 28% and unfavourably by 50%, giving her a net score of minus 22.

Green leader Zack Polanski scored minus 26, with 21% holding a positive view and 47% a negative one. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey’s rating was minus six, with 27% favourable and 33% unfavourable.

Among Welsh party leaders, the poll found considerable uncertainty. Apart from Mr ap Iorwerth, at least 68% of respondents answered “don’t know” when asked for their opinion of each Senedd party leader. None received a favourable rating above 10%.

The findings also show how the public views the parties’ standing following May’s election, which brought Plaid Cymru to power for the first time and reduced Labour to the third-largest Senedd group.

Plaid was the most widely recognised as a “main party” in Wales, with 78% placing it in that category, followed by Labour on 67% and Reform on 51%.

Only 31% considered the Conservatives a main party, while 56% said they were not. Large majorities also placed the Greens and Liberal Democrats outside that category.

Health and the economy ranked above immigration among the public’s concerns. Asked to select up to three of the most important issues facing Wales, 48% chose health, 44% the economy and 33% immigration and asylum.

Housing was selected by 24% and education by 20%.

YouGov surveyed 1,039 adults aged 16 and over living in Wales between September 28 and October 5. The findings were published on October 15.

---

Get more trusted Welsh news

Choose Nation.Cymru as a preferred source in Google News to see more of our journalism.