Reform voters are more likely to want Kemi Badenoch to be Prime Minister than Tories are to back Nigel Farage, new polling has found.

The YouGov survey revealed that more than one in five Reform supporters (22 per cent) think the Conservative leader would do a better job in No10 than their own party boss.

By contrast only one in seven (14 per cent) Tories said they would prefer Mr Farage to run the country in a head-to-head with Mrs Badenoch.

In addition, more than half of Reform voters (57 per cent) would rather have Mrs Badenoch as PM than Andy Burnham, while only one in three Tories (36 per cent) said they would prefer Mr Farage to the Labour leader. 

Overall three times as many Britons now want Mrs Badenoch to be PM as Mr Farage, with YouGov saying she has now gained the 'upper hand' over her Reform rival in the battle for control of the Right in British politics.

Its latest poll found that in a head-to-head, 43 per cent of those questioned think Mrs Badenoch would do a better job than Mr Farage in No10 while only 15 per cent prefer him over her – the lowest figure on record in YouGov's tracker. Another 36 per cent were unsure while the remaining 6 per cent refused to choose.

It illustrates their contrasting fortunes as less than 18 months ago, in August 2025, just 21 per cent thought the Conservative leader would make the better PM, with 23 per cent backing Reform's co-founder.

And it comes after Mrs Badenoch called on Reform supporters to come back to the Conservative fold.

In her party conference speech last month she said that Reform voters 'deserve better' than a party whose leaders are mired in scandal, saying: 'Many of them are our people. We let them down and we want them to come back home.'

YouGov said: 'This 28-point lead for Badenoch is further evidence that she currently has the upper hand in the battle for control of the British political Right, being a marked turnaround from summer 2025, when the public were evenly divided on which of the two would make a better prime minister.'

The online survey of 2,355 adults across Britain, carried out at the start of November, also found Mrs Badenoch is now favoured by 36 per cent to 24 over Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey, her largest lead over him to date and after they were 'near-tied as recently as January'.

YouGov said that Mrs Badenoch has an 'even more comfortable 'win' over the Greens' Zack Polanski, with 40 per cent thinking she would be a better PM than him and only 18 per cent saying the opposite.

However Britons 'consistently' prefer Andy Burnham to all of the other main party leaders.

The Labour leader has a 'decisive' 40 per cent to 28 per cent lead over Mrs Badenoch, who had been tied with his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer before he was ousted.

And YouGov said: 'Against Nigel Farage, who has often positioned himself as the real prime minister in waiting over the last two years, Burnham's lead is an even greater 28 points, with half of Britons (50 per cent) seeing him as the better PM of the two, while just 22 per cent favour the abilities of the Reform leader.'

In another boost for the Tories, a poll tracker found they had overtaken Reform for the first time in almost two years.

It comes after The Mail on Sunday revealed a poll by Lord Ashcroft has given the Conservatives an eight-point lead over Reform.

Focus groups have shown voters are increasingly keen on Mrs Badenoch's no-nonsense style and pledges to cut tax and welfare.

By contrast, Mr Farage has been dogged by a series of controversies over donations to his party and scandals involving its councillors.

He confirmed on Sunday that he has been interviewed by the Commons sleaze watchdog over an undisclosed £5million gift.

Asked in a BBC interview if he thought the probe would find against him, Mr Farage said: 'Do I think the establishment would find against me, the leader of an insurgent party? What a question to ask.'

On Monday, a Tory source said: 'It is becoming increasingly clear that the choice at the next election will be between a Labour Party led by Andy Burnham that is addicted to higher taxes and borrowing and refuses to bring down welfare spending, and a Conservative Party led by Kemi Badenoch that will cut taxes, cut the deficit, cut the welfare bill and fund defence. We will get Britain working again.'