Asked who they think party leaders sympathise with more – majorities say that Badenoch & Starmer sympathise with Ukraine and v.few say Russia. Many don't know on Polanski. But Farage stands out 26% think he sympathises more with Ukraine, only slightly fewer, 21% think he sympathises more with Russia

— Luke Tryl (@luketryl.bsky.social) 2025-12-05T15:03:20.519Z

One of the factors that helped ensure Jeremy Corbyn led Labour to their worst general election defeat since 1935 was his response to the Salisbury poisonings which saw his ratings transform from cuddly grandpa for somebody who seemed to be at best hopelessly naive when it comes to Russian malevolence.

Nigel Farage and Reform might also have a Russian problem when it comes to perceptions around Russia, we know one of his former MEPs is spending time in prison for taking Russian bribes and Farage does have form for repeating Russian talking points such as saying the West provoked Russia into invading Ukraine so this polling is no surprise.

If I were advising opponents of Reform this one of the areas I would tell them to focus on, it’s an earlier he is vulnerable, the voters think he is a real outlier to the other party leaders when it comes to being on the side of Russia/not being on the side of Ukraine.

TSE