Tory voters are deserting to Reform UK - not Labour
Tory voters are increasingly putting their faith in Reform and Richard Tice
GB News
An electoral storm has been brewing for a while - but has somehow passed under the radar.
The narrative has been that Labour are way ahead because disappointed former Conservative voters have switched to backing Keir Starmer's party instead.
However something else rather interesting has been happening that I'm sure GB News viewers are aware of, even if some in the media haven't been.
Richard Tice's pledge that Reform UK will stand a candidate in every seat across England, Scotland and Wales at the next General Election will have a huge impact.
Of course we recently saw two brutal by-election results for the Tories in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire.
In both seats, the vote for Reform UK (who came third in Tamworth) was bigger than the Labour majorities over the Conservatives.
The fact is that Tory MPs received a much easier ride in 2019 than they will in 2024. Nigel Farage stood down Brexit Party candidates in Tory-held seats last time round.
But this time, Tice is insisting that he will not be standing down candidates.
That is a critical change. Especially when you consider the findings of YouGov's latest research conducted for Sky News.
It finds that fewer than half of those who voted Conservative in 2019 (40%) currently intend to back the party again. A further 23% say they are currently unsure.
But consider this: More Tory voters from the last election (12%) have switched to backing Reform than have gone across to the Labour Party (11%)
That is pretty striking when you consider that's with Reform on 8% overall according to this latest YouGov data.
More former Conservative voters have switched to Reform UK than Labour
PAFor many who watch GB News, perhaps this isn't such a surprise.
The failure to stop the boats, to ditch the ECHR, to reduce legal net migration, to cut taxes or to smash the divisive woke agenda has left many voters feeling totally disconnected from the Government's agenda.
I also think the decision to ditch Boris Johnson and then Liz Truss, without voters being consulted to 'back or sack' Tory PMs, was a mistake.
And so now you see this current growing disconnect, with the outlook for the Conservatives much changed since that massive 2019 election victory.
Rishi Sunak doesn't have long to stop even more disappointed Tory supporters backing Reform UK instead.