Kemi Badenoch storms to an eight-point poll lead over Nigel Farage as voters back her tax-cutting policies

Kemi Badenoch has received a stunning poll boost after a new survey gave the Conservatives an eight–point lead over Nigel Farage's Reform UK.

The poll will be welcomed by Tory strategists as a sign that the party is building momentum under Mrs Badenoch's leadership and is on course to become the focal point of the Right's opposition to Andy Burnham's Labour.

Mr Farage's decline in the polls has come as he faces increased political pressure and scrutiny over the cryptocurrency magnates who finance his party.

The poll, by former Conservative deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft, puts Labour on 31 per cent, the Conservatives on 26 per cent and Reform UK on 18 per cent. That means the Tories' lead over Reform has jumped from three points to eight points in just a month.

It comes on the back of increasingly assured public performances by Mrs Badenoch – including 'cut through' critiques of Mr Burnham in the Commons and combative dealings with hecklers on the stump, which have been widely circulated on social media.

Policies such as the proposal to cut inheritance tax, which she announced at October's Tory party conference, were also mentioned approvingly by voters to pollsters.

Mrs Badenoch's aides hope Reform's drop in support will accelerate if she is seen as having the best chance to defeat Labour.

Meanwhile, the Tories yesterday accused Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy of hijacking Remembrance Sunday for anti–Brexit propaganda.

The Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch now carries a healthy eight-point lead over Nigel Farage, a poll has found

Nigel Farage's Reform UK has seen a slump in the polls as he faces increased political pressure and scrutiny over the cryptocurrency magnates who finance his party

Prime Minister Andy Burnham in the House of Commons. Mrs Badenoch's aides hope Reform's drop in support will accelerate if she is seen as having the best chance to defeat Labour

Ms Nandy sparked a row by linking the international student programme Erasmus+, which the UK has agreed to join as part of the EU 'reset', to Sunday's commemorations.

The Culture Secretary said the scheme would give a new generation the chance to build connections across the continent, which her department likened to the 'strong links with Europe that veterans' service helped to secure and endure after the Second World War'.

But Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: 'Remembrance Sunday is a day for the nation to stand together in silence and honour those who gave everything for our country. It is not a day for a Labour minister to try to make an EU membership pitch.'

Mrs Badenoch on Sunday steps up her attacks on Mr Burnham by claiming his EU 'reset' will cost each working family £1,220. She said a leaked draft agreement the PM is due to sign on November 20 shows Britain would have to help 'reduce economic and social disparities between regions of the EU' at a cost of £23billion over ten years.

But Labour rejected the claim as 'made–up numbers from the Tories who left behind a threadbare Brexit deal that weakened our ability to control illegal immigration, slowed growth and left businesses tangled in red tape'.

The draft accord Mr Burnham is set to sign also includes a youth mobility deal which critics say will lead to under–30s from the EU flooding the job market, and an agreement to sign up to Brussels food rules to reduce border checks. The EU's former Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, yesterday warned that the UK cannot 'cherry pick' which elements of the single market it subscribes to.

On Saturday, Mr Farage questioned the accuracy of the poll, saying: 'He had us at 21 [points] the week before the May local elections, but we got 28.' He also argued that most polls underestimated Reform's share of the vote by 4 percentage points.

A source close to Lord Ashcroft dismissed the claim, saying that the May reference was a 'red herring' as he asks about general elections, not local ones.

Unlike most pollsters, Lord Ashcroft asks how likely people think they are to vote for each party at the next election, rather than which party they would pick in a hypothetical election tomorrow.

A spokesman added: 'I don't remember Nigel complaining when we had Reform nine points ahead.'

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Lord Ashcroft said: 'Badenoch continues to make an impression, with voters saying she seems strong, direct, principled and articulate, with more common sense and 'better energy' than her recent predecessors.'

Referring to Mr Farage, he added: 'The alternatives are beginning to look less attractive. Suspicions over dodgy donations, unsavoury activists, and questions over seriousness and competence have combined to stall Reform's momentum... We have also started to hear former enthusiasts grumble that he has become part of the Establishment.'

Lord Ashcroft Polls surveyed a representative sample of 5,253 adults between October 29 and November 2.

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