Poll suggests donation furore could be widely damaging for Nigel Farage

Jonathan Bunn, Press Association Political Reporter

Concerns surrounding Nigel Farage’s undeclared £5 million donation have gained widespread traction with voters, with polling suggesting the affair is widely viewed as reflecting negatively on the Reform UK leader.

With Mr Farage facing a by-lection in Clacton-on-Sea following his resignation, just 16% of those polled said they had not heard about the donation, while 69% believe it is damaging for him.

Mr Farage is under investigation by Parliament’s standards commissioner over the £5 million gift he received from crypto-billionaire and Reform donor Christopher Harborne, amid wider questions about Reform’s finances.

Mr Farage insists he has done nothing wrong and allies have portrayed him as a victim of an “establishment stitch-up”.

But polling suggests more people view Mr Farage as part of the establishment than prime minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham.

Nearly half (45%) of those polled viewed Mr Farage was part of the establishment, compared to 41% with same opinion about Mr Burnham.

Sir Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch were seen as part of the establishment by 52% and 54% respectively.

In addition, 69% said Mr Farage should have declared the £5 million donation, including 41% of Reform voters.

Nearly two-thirds do not think Mr Farage is being unfairly targeted, with 65% saying rules are being applied to him like any other MP.

Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and Restore Britain have said they will not field candidates in the Clacton by-election.

Most people polled said the parties are right to boycott the by-election, with 38% backing the position compared to 25% who said it was wrong.

The polling also showed that Mr Farage’s foremost by-election opponent Count Binface is narrowly the preferred winner by a small margin of 34% to 29%.

Unflattering

Luke Tryl, executive director at More in Common, said: “We can now say for sure that Farage’s £5 million donation has now cut through, and it’s an unflattering look for the Reform leader.

“There’s a real risk for Farage that the public does not buy into the idea that he’s being unfairly treated by the establishment – even if they might feel sympathy for his arguments about the press being intrusive into his personal and family life, and may agree that the standards model needs to be updated.

“Nonetheless, the fact that almost many Britons consider Farage to be “of the establishment” as Keir Starmer or Kemi Badenoch suggests that this scandal could undermine one of Farage’s key assets as a politician – that he’s not like the other politicians. The charges of sleaze and cronyism that Reform has levelled at the Tories and Labour could have less bite if this story about Farage has some staying power.”