New Brexit party takes lead in EU poll

Increased political volatility could sweep Britain if it participates in the forthcoming EU parliamentary elections.

With the Brexit withdrawal agreement rejected three times by the British parliament and the EU agreeing to extend the deadline until October 31, Britain could participate in the forthcoming EU parliamentary elections on 23 May.

A recent poll gives the newly created Brexit Party at 27 percent, making it the leading party in the forthcoming parliamentary elections.

Once the votes of UKIP, another right-wing party filled with ‘Leavers’ are added, Brexiteers could have a 34 percent share of the vote.

In contrast, the openly ‘Remain’ parties only have 29 percent of the votes.

The Brexit Party, which polls suggest could win the EU parliamentary elections, was only formed in January of this year and officially registered last week.

The two mainstay British parties, Labour and the Conservative Party which on the face of it have committed to Brexit, are increasingly unable to find a consensus on what Brexit should look like and are seemingly losing voters to either the hard remain parties or the hard Brexit parties.

Remainers in British politics, who have long sought another referendum to settle the question of whether Britain should stay in the EU, increasingly started to portray the forthcoming EU elections as an opportunity for that referendum. Recent polls will make for sober reading.

The political upheaval that the UK has faced over the last three years has not benefited either major party.

Increasing numbers of people that voted to leave the EU are deserting the Conservatives -  once seen as the party that would most likely be able to deliver it.

Whereas the Labour Party which was seen as either the Remain party or the party that could deliver a version of Brexit that was similar to the current status quo is also losing soft leave and hard remain voters.

What seems clear is that voters on either side of the spectrum see their respective parties as incapable of delivering basic promises. 

Going into the European Union parliamentary elections there will be at least five parties that will be campaigning on a Remain platform, which will likely result in dividing that electorate whereas there will be only two hard Brexit parties.

Upending British politics

The new Brexit Party will be led by Nigel Farage, who is a current member of the EU parliament and previously head of UK Independence Party, who was the most significant political actor demanding that Britain leave the EU.

Since then the party has seen its fortunes wane, swinging further to the extreme right.

The Conservative party led by Theresa May will be particularly worried by the latest polling numbers which would give her party the lowest share of the votes since the parties formation in 1834.