Voters 'overwhelmingly' back Kemi Badenoch's pledge not to do deal with Nigel Farage, poll reveals

Published: 23:51, 27 June 2026 | Updated: 23:52, 27 June 2026 Kemi Badenoch's refusal to do a deal with Nigel Farage is overwhelmingly backed by voters, an exclusive new poll has found. The Tory leader's stance, which she set out in an article in last week's The Mail on Sunday, is supported by 78 per cent of voters, with just 22 per cent supporting the idea of a pact. Among Tory voters her stance is backed by 60 per cent, while even 52 per cent of Reform supporters agree with her. The conclusions, in a survey by polling agency Find Out Now, come as Mrs Badenoch is surging in confidence after adept Commons performances and victory in the Aberdeen South by-election. But Reform's Mr Farage is licking his wounds from defeat at the hands of Andy Burnham in the Makerfield by-election and intense scrutiny over his £5million donation from crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne. There is increasing expectation of a hung parliament at the next election: the poll puts Reform on 26 per cent, Labour on 19 and the Tories on 17.  With Mr Burnham's arrival in Downing Street likely to lead to an electoral bounce, however short-lived, parties could soon be neck-and neck. In addition, there is the 'Farage factor': the previously all-conquering Reform leader no longer looks indestructible, with his friends admitting that he 'needs a rest'. Voters 'overwhelmingly' back Kemi Badenoch's pledge not to do a deal with Nigel Farage It has been previously suggested that the Tories and Reform could form a coalition to beat the Labour Party in a General Election An exclusive MoS poll has found that 78 per cent of voters believe Ms Badenoch should not form an electoral alliance with Reform UK  If he decided that, at 62 and with up to three years to run until the election, he didn't have the stamina to continue, then the gap between Reform and the Tories would close. The poll shows that, in that case, the Tories would close the gap on Reform to five per cent. Despite the public support for Mrs Badenoch's go-it-alone position, Labour sources' indication that Mr Burnham is prepared to strike a deal with the Liberal Democrats at the next election to form a coalition Government could mean the Left running Downing Street for the best part of a decade. Mrs Badenoch is starting to vie with Mr Farage in personal ratings: she is deemed more effective at holding the Government to account, with 41 per cent against his 30 per cent, and better on the economy, with 17 per cent to his 14 per cent.  Although Mr Farage is still well ahead on immigration, by a margin of three to one, the 'best PM' rankings have Mr Burnham and Mr Farage top on 19 per cent, with Mrs Badenoch on 14 per cent. In last week's paper Mrs Badenoch said of Reform: 'We are not the same and voters are not ours to trade like football cards.'  Citing Reform's support for 'a bigger state, more spending, nationalisation, gimmicks and unfunded giveaways', she added devastatingly: 'Reform dress like Thatcherites but act like Corbynites.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.