Nigel Farage had been named the sleaziest politician in Britain, as questions over his undeclared donations continue to mount.
According to a new YouGov poll, 73 per cent of Britons think the Reform UK leader is sleazy, while 69 per cent of people say the same of his party.
Some 56 per cent categorised Mr Farage as “very sleazy”, with an additional 17 per cent finding him “fairly sleazy”, while 40 per cent of those who voted Reform at the last election today consider him to be sleazy.
The polling highlights a clear gap between the public’s perception of Mr Farage and the other party leaders, with 51 per cent of Britons seeing Sir Keir Starmer as at least fairly sleazy, while 42 per cent said the same of Green leader Zack Polanski.
Meanwhile, only 36 per cent found the same of prime minister-in-waiting, Andy Burnham, and just 34 per cent found Tory leader Kemi Badenoch sleazy.
Reform UK’s reputation for sleaze has grown in recent years, with only half of Britons having seen the party as sleazy in October 2024, 18 points lower than today.
The poll comes as Mr Farage and his party face intense scrutiny over a series of undeclared donations made to them.
The latest has involved the mother of long-time aide and donor, convicted fraudster George Cottrell, who made two £250,000 payments to Reform before the last general election in 2024, according to The Times.
Both sums are said to have been given before Mr Farage announced his intention to stand in his former Commons seat of Clacton.
She also gave £1m to Britain Means Business, described as a fundraising vehicle for the party which deputy leader Mr Tice is a director of, which was among transactions flagged by bankers to the National Crime Agency (NCA) in suspicious activity reports, according to The Guardian.
The Metropolitan Police has said the force opened an inquiry in February 2025 following a referral by the Electoral Commission “relating to donations made to a political party ahead of the 2024 UK general election”.
Separately, Mr Farage is the subject of an investigation by Parliamentary Standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg over whether his failure to declare a £5m gift on becoming an MP in 2024 breached Commons rules.
He announced he would quit as MP for Clacton to stand in the ensuing by-election after questions mounted about a gift he received from crypto-billionaire and Reform donor Christopher Harborne.
The party leader has billed the by-election, to take place on August 13, as a “people versus the establishment” contest.
But his main opponent is likely to be comedy candidate Count Binface after the mainstream parties boycotted the contest.
