Reform councillors told to describe donations inquiry as establishment stitch-up | Reform UK

Reform UK has instructed councilors to describe the police investigation into donations from George Cottrell’s mother as a set-up as polls show the party’s popularity has fallen.

Internal briefing papers distributed to the party’s councilors included instructions to respond to questions about the Metropolitan police investigation into party donations as follows: “It is now clear that the establishment will try everything to stop us.” Hours announced on Thursday.

Local government representatives were also instructed to respond to questions as follows: “The British people are fed up with the establishment media doing everything they can to stop the Reformation. A daily routine of hit-and-runs and smears will not stop us from winning the next general election and fixing broken Britain.”

Police are investigating donations worth £500,000 made to Reform UK by Fiona Cottrell, the mother of crypto gambler and convicted fraudster “Posh George”, who is a close friend of Farage.

The Guardian revealed in April that the Reform UK leader had received a £5 million gift from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne before the last election, which is now subject to standard investigation. The Conservatives also asked HMRC to investigate whether Farage should pay tax on the £5 million gift. Farage will also face another investigation over allegations he broke parliamentary rules by being financially backed by Cottrell.

YouGov’s new poll shows Nigel does Farage’s popularity has plummeted, falling to its lowest level in a decade when tracked by pollsters. Only 22% of people have a positive view of Farage, while 68% view him unfavorably; net positivity rate -46.

YouGov said this was the same figure recorded by Boris Johnson following his first “party door” revelations (-42 at the beginning of December 2021) and Keir Starmer just before his resignation (-45).

At -11%, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has a higher popularity than any Conservative leader for more than five years, the poll shows. Burnham has +3%.

Separate voting More in Common He noted that Burnham’s personal approval rating was higher than Starmer’s after one week in office.

The new prime minister has a net approval rating of +13 and a range of voter-pleasing policies appear to have given the former mayor of Greater Manchester a boost.

Also YouGov latest voting intention survey The Times and Sky News have shown that both Labor and the Conservative Party are now within striking distance of Reform UK. Labor appears to be experiencing a “Burnham bounce”, with the party at its most popular since January.

This shows Labor just two points behind Reform; Farage’s party gets 23% of the vote, Labor 21% and the Conservatives 20%.

YouGov gave Labor the highest figure pollsters have recorded since January; This is five points higher than the low figure of 16% recorded for the party four times between March and early May this year.

Voting continues as the three parties’ support for each other tightens. Following the local elections in May, Reform UK received 28% of the votes, making it 11 points ahead of other parties.

Burnham vowed to lead a “cost of living government” at her first cabinet meeting and used a series of early morning announcements to capture public attention this morning.

His first major announcement since taking office saw a VAT cut on electricity bills from October, before capping bus fares at £2 and offering pubs, clubs and live music venues a 20% discount on business rates bills as part of a £100 million aid package. Burnham has faced questions about how these measures will be paid for, but the new administration insists all measures are fully funded.