For over two decades, Nigel Farage, the prominent figure of the far-right party Reform UK, has captivated the British media, relishing in his unfiltered comments on migrants and his image – cigar in mouth, pint of beer in hand and Union Jack socks on his feet. Yet until now, this old-school nationalist, dubbed "Mr. Brexit" for his early and vocal advocacy of the UK's departure from the European Union, was considered the perennial gadfly of British politics. He irked Labour and, above all, the Conservatives, who feared he would splinter their electorate, but no one truly took him seriously.

That is no longer the case. Since the start of the year, Reform UK has climbed to the top of the polls, outpacing the two governing parties that have shaped political life in the United Kingdom for the past 100 years. According to a study published by polling company YouGov on Tuesday, May 20, 29% of respondents said they were ready to vote for Farage's party – founded in 2018 as the Brexit Party, itself a spinoff of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), before being renamed in 2021 – compared with only 22% for Labour. For the first time, the Conservatives ranked only fourth, with 16% of those polled, behind the Liberal Democrats, who garnered 17% of voting intentions.

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