Poll surge for Brexit party sparks panic among Tories and Labour

[brooklynite]

Source: The Guardian

Senior Tory and Labour politicians have issued frantic calls to their voters to back them in next week’s European elections after a new poll showed support for Nigel Farage’s Brexit party had soared to a level higher than for the two main parties put together.

The Opinium survey for the Observer places the Brexit party on 34%, when people were asked how they intended to vote on 23 May, with Labour slipping to 21% and the Conservatives collapsing to just 11%. Ominously for Theresa May, support for the Tories 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, launched only last month, is now on course for a thumping victory that Farage will, MPs fear, use to back his argument that the UK must leave the EU immediately without a deal.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/may/11/poll-surge-for-farage-panic-conservatives-and-labour

[LakeArenal]

1. Russian hacking?

[FBaggins]

15. Of a poll?

Both the Guardian and Observer are center-left. Neither supported Brexit or Farage.

[bamagal62]

2. Curious

Russian hacking was my first thought as well!

[brooklynite]

4. I'm SURE it couldn't be the fact that Tories and Labour don't have a Brexit policy (pro or con)...

[LiberalLovinLug]

14. "pro or con"

I really feel that if one party..or even if a few joined together, Green, Labour, Liberal Democrats, went all out for a new referendum, based on the fact of Russian interference in the first one, as well as false promises made by the Brexit pushers, and add to that a concerted effort to reach out to young people, highlighting benefits of an EU citizenship, instead of what autonomy would be lost with the EU membership, they'd have a chance.

I don't know why no party has come out strong on this.

[FBaggins]

16. They might now if this poll is accurate.

I think that in most cases, they didn't want to take a firm position because their own party was divided on the subject. If they came out strongly against it, then they would lose painful portions of their support.

However, if this poll really reflects reality (and I have to admit I didn't even realize that there was a Brexit Party until a short time ago)... then the pro-Brexit Lib-Dems, Labour, etc. may already be gone.

[ETStevens]

3. These polls are BS

Putin is still f-ing will the west!

[brooklynite]

5. Please elaborate...

...What are the REAL results and what's your basis for that assertion?

[marybourg]

7. Lead story in today's NYT. (Paywall)

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/12/world/europe/russian-propaganda-influence-campaign-european-elections-far-right.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

[brooklynite]

13. Point to the evidence that their effort has had an impact on current polling.

[marybourg]

17. I'm not an advocate one way or the other, merely a Times online reader.

[jcmaine72]

6. Our 45% vs their 34%

I wonder which group of racist xenophobes is actually dumber? I guess the Brits can take some solace in the fact that only 34% of their population (as opposed to our 45% or so) can be written off as hopeless, irredeemable imbeciles and puerile bigots who allow themselves to be governed by fear and be lead by their noses by two-bit con men and dunce cap demagogues. I guess that's something, right?

[Baclava]

8. "European elections" - what does that even mean? The EU? n/t

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. Yes (nt)

[marybourg]

10. EuropeanParliment

[ProudLib72]

11. Somebody hasn't been paying attention to the whole debacle

So they want to crash out? 34% will collapse the other 66% just because?

[beachbum bob]

12. its easy to rally people on fear/hate. I'm surprise it took this long for a "Brexit Party"

to show up on the radar....

[0rganism]

18. Russia is shattering the unions of the west

the EU hangs by a thread

the USA has been compromised at the highest levels

Putin is very close to avenging the USSR