Nigel Farage MP? Poll Shows Brexit Boss Could Beat Out Conservative Incumbent in Parliamentary Race

Brexit boss Nigel Farage has an open path to become a member of parliament should he decide to run as a candidate for the Reform UK party, fresh polling has suggested.

A survey commissioned by Brexit backer Arron Banks has found that the constituency of Clacton in Essex is ripe for the picking if Nigel Farage were to throw his hat in the ring and directly challenge incumbent Giles Watling, who has served as the area’s MP for the Conservative Party since 2017.

The poll, conducted by Survation, surveyed 509 people within the constituency on January 11th and 12th. It found that Mr Farage would secure 37 per cent of the vote, beating out the current Conservative MP by ten points.

While Farage has arguably been one of the most impactful political figures in the United Kingdom following the Second World War and spent years as an MEP in the European Parliament, he has never served in the British parliament.

The Clacton seat does have precedent for electing outsiders, however, with the constituency’s previous MP, Douglas Carswell becoming the first member of the Nigel Farage-founded UK Independence Party (UKIP) to be elected to parliament after defecting from the Tory Party in 2014. Carswell was re-elected under the UKIP banner to the House of Commons during the 2015 general election.

Commenting on the survey, Mr Farage told the Sunday Times: “I have to say to you that this poll does make the balance of probabilities towards getting back on the pitch stronger… This poll does make me consider getting back on the pitch far more seriously than ever before.”

The poll comes amid a surge in the polls by Reform UK (formerly the Brexit Party), which Mr Farage founded and for which he still serves as an honorary president. The longtime political campaigner turned GB News television presenter stepped back from frontline politics in 2021 after seeing his vision of the United Kingdom withdraw from the European Union come to fruition.

However, Farage has been increasingly vocal about what he and many others feel as a failure of the Conservative Party-led government to deliver on key promises of the Brexit movement, particularly on immigration, with tens of thousands of illegals continuing to pour across the English Channel from the beaches of France and legal immigration soaring to record heights.

At present, Reform UK is polling around 9 per cent in general voting intention, however, polling guru John Curtice has suggested that should Mr Farage return to campaign for the party, it would instantly increase its support level to around 14 per cent.

With the UK’s first-past-the-post voting system, which heavily favours the main two parties, it is still unlikely that Reform would secure many seats in the parliament, however, should Farage personally pick up a seat in the Commons, it would give the populist party a prominent platform to push for its agenda.

Mr Farage said: “Do I want to be an influencer … or do I want to put my kit on again and get back on the pitch? I haven’t decided, but I have to say to you that this poll does make the balance of probabilities towards getting back on the pitch stronger.”

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