Brand new Brexit party set to eclipse Tories, Labour, says poll

LONDON:THE ruling Conservative party and Labour – the two main poles in British politics – will face another drubbing in the May 23 elections to the European Parliament, a new survey published on Sunday suggests.

The two parties faced serious anger over the Brexit impasse in the local elections earlier this month, when angry voters turned to independents and parties such as the Liberal Democrats and the Green party .

The Theresa May government has been forced to hold the European elections because the UK remains a member of the EU after the House of Commons thrice voted down the withdrawal agreement. Cross-party talks are currently on to explore a consensus position.

Nigel Farage, whose sole focus in the UK Independence Party on leaving the European Union took him to centre stage of British politics between 2010 and 2015 and prompted former Prime Minister David Cameron to hold the 2016 referendum, is back with a new formation called the Brexit party.

The survey published in The Observer suggests that support for the Brexit party launched in April has soared to a level higher than that of the two main parties, reflecting continued anger among voters.

The survey places the Brexit party on 34%, when people were asked how they intended to vote on May 23, with Labour slipping to 21% and the Conservatives collapsing to just 11%. The UK sends 73 members of the European Parliament to Brussels. Support for Conservatives at the European elections is now less than a third of that for Farage’s party, and below that for the Liberal Democrats, who are on 12%. The poll suggests the Brexit party is on course for a thumping victory.