Nigel Farage claims role as 'Leader of Opposition' following reform UK's poll surge

Nigel Farage has declared himself the real "leader of the opposition" and predicted his Reform UK party will secure over 6 million votes in the upcoming general election. This statement follows polling that shows his party ahead of the Conservatives for the first time.

During an impromptu press conference in Westminster, Farage stated that there is significant momentum behind his party, and he "absolutely" believes it will outpoll the Tories. "We are well ahead of the Conservatives in the north-east, the north-west, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, and parts of the eastern region. In what we call the ‘red wall’ seats, we are significantly ahead of the Conservatives," Farage asserted.

Farage also demanded that the BBC include him in the upcoming leaders' debate with the Tories, Labour, Liberal Democrats, and SNP, and challenged Labour leader Keir Starmer to a head-to-head debate on immigration. "The election is over. Labour has won... but perhaps more importantly, who is going to be the opposition voice to Labour in the House of Commons and in the country? I’m putting it to you that I believe that I can be that voice of opposition," he proclaimed.

Encouraging voters to "join the revolt" of the Reform party, Farage asked, "What have you got to lose?"

However, he tempered expectations by not specifying how many seats he expected his party to win. Reflecting on the similar momentum around UKIP in 2015, which resulted in just one seat, Farage acknowledged the challenges ahead. He noted that the party was not yet organized enough to win seats widely and would need to "raise a lot of money, very quickly" to be competitive.

A recent YouGov survey for The Times placed Reform at 19% and the Conservatives at 18% in voting intention, which Farage called the "inflection" moment. The pollsters, however, noted that Reform's lead was within the margin of error.

In response to the poll, former Prime Minister David Cameron warned that Farage was intent on destroying the Conservative party and that his "dog-whistle politics" should be rejected. He stated that there should be no place in the Tory party for Farage and his "incredibly divisive" approach.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, attending the G7 leaders’ summit in Italy, also reacted to the poll by saying that Labour would be handed a "blank cheque" if current polling were replicated at the election. Speaking to journalists, Sunak emphasized, "We’re only halfway through this election right? So I’m still fighting very hard for every vote."

The story was originally published in The Guardian