Reform UK has slumped to third place in a new opinion poll.
In a fresh blow to Nigel Farage ahead of Thursday’s by-election in Clacton, the Lord Ashcroft survey showed support for the party has fallen to 18%.
That is down 3 points on the Tory peer’s previous poll a month ago.
At the same time, the Conservatives have gone up by 2 points to 23%, while Labour is up 6 points to 27%.
The poll is further evidence that Labour is enjoying a bounce in popularity under new prime minister Andy Burnham.
It will also be welcomed by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who has won praise in recent weeks for her improved performance.
But the poll is a further reality check for Reform, who have come under pressure over the financial arrangements of both Farage and the party itself.
It emerged in April that Farage had not declared a £5 million gift he received from Thailand-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne shortly before he ran for parliament in 2024.
Parliment’s standards commissioner launched an investigation, but that was put on hold when Farage resigned as MP for Clacton to trigger a “people versus the establishment” by-election in the seat.
He is expected to be re-elected when that takes place on Thursday, although his only serious rival is Count Binface after Labour, the Tories, the Lib Dems and Restore Britain all refused to put up candidates.
Assuming he makes it back to Westminster, the standards probe will then re-start, which could see him suspended from parliament if he is found to have broken the rules.
The Lord Ashcroft poll confirms a trend which has seen Reform slip from top spot since Burnham became PM.
A poll of polls compiled by Election Maps UK puts Labour on 25.6%, with Reform second on 24.3%.
It is a far cry from the start of the year, when Reform led Labour by 10 points.
Both parties were neck-and-neck on July 24, but since then a succession of polls have put Labour in the lead.
A new poll released by YouGov on Tuesday put Labour up 2 points to 24%, with Reform down a point on 22% and the Tories also up 2 points to 21%.