Poll Finds Majority of Voters See Farage as ‘Very Sleazy’

More than half of British voters now regard Nigel Farage as "very sleazy", according to new YouGov polling, with the Reform UK leader receiving the most negative rating among the country's main party leaders.

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Reform's Image Worsens, YouGov Survey Suggests

The survey found that 56% of respondents described Farage as "very sleazy", while a further 17% said he was "fairly sleazy". That means nearly three-quarters of those questioned held a negative view of the Reform UK leader on the measure. Even among Reform UK supporters, 40% said they considered Farage to be sleazy.

The findings were released as a by-election in Clacton, Farage's constituency, was called for 13 August.

Negative Perceptions of Reform Increase

Writing about the results, YouGov's Dylan Difford said perceptions of Reform UK had become increasingly negative over the past two years.

The poll suggests that 68% of Britons now regard Reform UK as "very sleazy", up from 50% in October 2024, when the Labour government's "freebie-gate" controversy dominated political headlines.

Photograph: Vuk Valcic/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

The shift was not limited to Reform UK. The proportion of voters describing the Green Party as sleazy has risen sharply over the past 21 months, roughly doubling from 18% to 35%. The Liberal Democrats also recorded an increase, with negative perceptions rising by seven percentage points.

By contrast, views of the current Labour government, the previous Conservative administration and British governments in general have remained broadly stable over the same period.

Poll Reflects Public Perception

The survey measures public opinion rather than making judgments about political conduct. People describing a politician or party as "sleazy" may be expressing concerns about integrity or ethics, but the term can also reflect general political dislike rather than allegations of wrongdoing.

While 73% of respondents described Farage as either very or fairly sleazy, an even larger proportion — 77% — said the same about British governments in general. Of those, 26% said governments were "very sleazy" and 51% said they were "fairly sleazy".

The figures suggest that public distrust extends beyond individual politicians or parties, although perceptions do not necessarily reflect objective assessments of political standards or corruption.

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10 July 2026