71% of Britons see Reform UK sleazy, up 20 points over the last two years, but largely unchanged since July
Key takeaways
- 73% of Britons describe Nigel Farage as sleazy, including 56% thinking he is very sleazy, with these proportions largely unchanged since July
- Belief Reform UK is sleazy has increased by 20 points over the last two years (to 71%), with the public now just as likely to consider them to be dodgy as British governments in general (70%) or the last Conservative government (71%)
- 41% of Reform UK voters Nigel Farage as sleazy
- 33-35% of Britons see Kemi Badenoch and Andy Burnham as sleazy, with 46% saying the same of Zack Polanski and 51% of Keir Starmer
An undercover investigation broadcast by Channel 4 News, seemingly showing senior figures in Reform UK attempting to circumvent rules on foreign donations, has renewed focus on the financial arrangements of the party and its leader Nigel Farage, who has denied Reform have done anything wrong.
New YouGov polling reveals that, while the latest scandal does not appear to have had an additional negative impact on perceptions of Nigel Farage or Reform, feelings that the two are sleazy remain high.
Nearly three quarters of Britons (73%) today describe Nigel Farage as at least fairly sleazy, unchanged from July in the aftermath of him calling the Clacton by-election over allegations about his personal finances. This is alongside 71% seeing Reform itself as similarly disreputable, also within the margin of error of our July figure, but up a full 20 points on perceptions of the party two years ago.
Since July, though, Britons have become seven points less likely to describe British governments in general as sleazy and four points less likely to see the last Conservative government as sleazy. In both cases, around seven in ten Britons (70-71%) now hold this view, meaning Reform and Nigel Farage are now as likely to be seen as very or fairly sleazy as the average British government.
Also down over the last two months are beliefs that the Labour government and the Conservative party under its current leadership are sleazy, with a small majority of Britons (53-55%) seeing either as such, down six and four points respectively.
Reform aren’t, however, the only party whose image has got sleazier over the last two years. Nearly four in ten Britons (38%) now see the Greens as at least fairly sleazy, up 20 points since October 2024, while the proportion viewing the Lib Dems as sleazy has risen eight points to 32% over that period.
The gulf between Reform and their competition extends to Farage and other major party leaders, with less than half of Britons (46%) seeing Zack Polanski as at least fairly sleazy (though this is up four points since July) and around a third (33-35%) placing Andy Burnham and Kemi Badenoch in this category.
However, it’s when looking at just those opting for the description “very sleazy” where Farage and Reform fare worst of all. A majority of Britons (52-56%) feel these are apt labels in both cases, compared to 40% describing the last Conservative government in this way and only around a quarter (25-28%) feeling this is the right label for British governments in general or the current Labour government.
Perhaps most concerningly of all for Nigel Farage, as many as 41% of those who voted Reform at the last election today consider him personally to be at least fairly sleazy. For Andy Burnham, Kemi Badenoch and Ed Davey, the comparative figure is 15-17% of their respective party’s 2024 voters.
Additionally, 35% of Reform voters see the party they backed in 2024 as sleazy, a similar number to the 31% of Labour voters who say they same of their party’s record in office since the last election, though less than the 49% of 2024 Conservatives who brand the last Tory government as sleazy.
Reform voters are the most likely to feel sleaziness is normal for governments, with 89% regarding the typical British government as at least fairly sleazy, relative to around three quarters of Conservative and Green voters (74-75%), 69% of Lib Dems and just 60% of Labour voters.
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Photo: Getty