Kemi Badenoch has been dealt a fresh blow as a new poll revealed the Conservatives are falling further behind Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
The latest weekly tracker poll from Techne UK has cast a shadow over the event with a number of senior Tories now questioning whether Ms Badenoch will survive as leader by the next general election.
The poll showed that the Tories had gone down one point to 22 per cent while Labour had climbed a point to 26 per cent. Reform staying the same on 25 per cent is now three points ahead of the Conservatives.
The survey of 1,637 voters also suggested that 26 per cent of Tory voters in last year’s election have now switched to Farage’s party.
The poll was taken on Wednesday and Thursday after Ms Badenoch was deemed to have had a bad performance in prime minister’s questions (PMQs) where she was mocked for being unable to leave her script for the six questions.
Techne UK’s chief executive Michela Morizzo said: “This week’s regular Westminster voting intention tracker poll brings very mixed news for the three major parties. It is once again the Conservatives who continue to very much struggle. Kemi Badenoch’s party lose another point in national vote share dropping down to just 22 per cent.
“After a very difficult PMQs yesterday these are very difficult times for her and the party. Conservative voters are lukewarm and uncertain about the party's performance and especially about their ability to keep the promises and visions that were in the premise. We are no longer in a leadership election phase where only the membership is involved: now the electoral base is much larger and the judgment becomes even sharper. The Conservative Party needs quickly a new strategy otherwise times could become even darker.”
But with her party struggling for funds Ms Badenoch is set to have dinner with Middlesbrough football club owner Steve Gibson who threw his weight behind Labour last year along with many of leading business figures but is now understood to be unhappy with Keir Starmer’s government.
Mr Gibson, who was listed 350th on the Sunday Times Rich List last year with a net worth of £640m, is set to host Ms Badenoch at his 20-bedroom mansion in the north-east of England.
The move by Mr Gibson also comes at a time when business leaders have been expressing disquiet over the chancellor’s tax rises, particularly national insurance, and Labour’s plan for beefed-up workers rights. A number have complained that the changes have been made despite assurances given by Sir Keir and Ms Reeves before the election.
While Mr Gibson did not want to discuss the reasons for his meeting with Ms Badenoch, it has been claimed that he was angered by the national insurance hike in the Budget and Labour’s plans to impose a new football regulator.
A Tory source told The Independent: “Steve Gibson has been a strong Labour supporter in the past so it is significant that he has invited Kemi Badenoch for dinner.”
A source close to Mr Gibson said that he is “politically neutral” and wanted to discuss the football regulator with the Tory leader because she also opposes the plan.
However, Mr Gibson is a former Labour councillor and supported the party’s candidate against Tory Teesside mayor Lord Ben Houchen last year, as well as backing Sir Keir in the general election. He was briefly a Tory donor in 2020 before falling out with Lord Houchen.
The Techne poll comes after Reform UK have been surging ahead with one poll last week putting Nigel Farage’s party 11 points ahead of the Tories.
Labour’s small increase comes despite new questions being asked about chancellor Rachel Reeves's CV and claims reported by the BBC she may have fiddled expenses in her old job at HBOS.
But it also comes as Sir Keir attempted to go on the front foot this week with his plans to build 1.5 million houses, meeting King Charles on Monday in Cornwall to discuss the issue and unveiling plans for new towns on Thursday.
But the poor poll showing for Ms Badenoch came as she dismayed many on her own benches in recent weeks, who are frustrated at her performances at PMQs.
Recently the former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson suggested that she had just 18 months to turn things around or she would face the same outcome as many Conservative leaders in recent months – and be ousted from the top job by her own party.
Techne’s poll put the Lib Dems down one at 12 per cent and Greens up one to 8 per cent.
The Conservatives and Middlesbrough football club have been approached for comment.
