Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has taken away the “Johnsonian coalition” that led the Tories to a landslide election victory, according to Britain’s top pollster.

Professor Sir John Curtice said the insurgent party had won over the voters that backed Boris Johnson in the 2019 general election.

He told Times Radio: “Basically what Reform have done is to take away from the Conservatives the Johnsonian coalition that delivered them victory in 2019 that Nigel Farage would argue he loaned to Boris Johnson by standing down in Tory-held seats.

“Now as a result that section of our society which swung behind the Conservatives in 2019 have swung behind Reform and that is still a significant section which at the moment because it’s concentrating behind Reform as opposed to being fragmented between the Conservatives and Reform 12 months ago now presents a challenge frankly to all the other parties.”

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is on course to win a majority at the next general election, a major new poll suggests.

The research by Electoral Calculus puts the insurgent party on 30% which is predicted to give it 362 MPs, majority 74.

The polling company said it is the first time it has recorded a high enough vote share for Reform to get a majority of seats in the House of Commons.

Labour is second on 23%, which would give Sir Keir Starmer’s party an estimated 136 MPs.

Sir Ed Davey’s Liberal Democrats are third with 14% and 62 seats.

The SNP would secure 38 MPs with 3%, while Kemi Badenoch’s Tories would be left with just 22 seats on 18% of the vote.

“Millionaires” should not get “subsidy for their energy bills from the Government”, a Treasury minister has suggested.

Darren Jones has said that winter fuel payments will “still be targeted to those that need it the most”.

Sir Keir Starmer announced at PMQs last week that he wants to restore the allowance to more pensioners following an ongoing backlash over the policy to restrict it to only those on pension credit.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Mr Jones told Sky News: “We’re sticking to the principle that millionaires shouldn’t be getting subsidy for their energy bills from the government, so winter fuel payments will still be targeted to those that need it the most.”

Former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng branded Sir Keir Starmer’s attack on Nigel Farage as a “disaster” that was offering voters an alternative just months into his premiership.

Speaking to GB News, Kwasi Kwarteng said: “Labour are terrified of Nigel Farage. I can’t remember a time when the prime minister of this country with a huge majority, has targeted a leader of a minority party in parliament in such a personal way, and that says to me that they are very, very scared.

“And whoever’s advised him, I think it’s a disaster for the PM because all you’re doing is promoting Nigel Farage as an alternative to his failed Prime Ministership.

“He’s only been in power 10 months, they’ve done huge amounts of U turns. They’ve taken away winter fuel payment from pensioners. They let lots of prisoners out. They hiked up taxes on farmers and small businesses and on all employers.

“And it looks very likely that in the autumn, they will put up taxes even more, because they’re doing U turns on all the cost saving measures which they tried to introduce.”

Reform chairman Zia Yusuf said in a video on X: “For too long, financial services in the UK have neglected the needs and aspirations of young people. Seven million people in the UK hold crypto, including one in four Brits aged 18-34.

“British innovation has been stifled, young people have been denied opportunity, our start-up community has been left to rot and our financial services sector has been smothered.

“As prime minister, Nigel Farage will unleash the potential of the UK and make our economy one of the most innovative in the world.

“We’re proud to announce the Cryptoassets and Digital Finance Bill which will be one of the first acts of a Reform government.”

Rachel Reeves is poised to announce billions of pounds of spending in the north and Midlands to combat the threat of Reform.

The Chancellor is expected to use the government’s spending review on June 11 focus resources on the red wall seats that Labour won at the last election, which are under threat from Nigel Farage’s party.

It could mean the announcement of tens of billions of pounds of investment in road, rail and green energy projects, offsetting probable cuts in day-to-day government spending.

Kemi Badenoch lashed out at Sir Keir Starmer and Nigel Farage for being in a “race to the bottom” over welfare.

The Tory leader launched her fiery attack on the Prime Minister and the Reform UK leader over scrapping the two-child benefit cap.

Writing in the Daily Mail, she said: “This week we have seen Labour and Reform in a race to the bottom to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

“Apparently, Starmer and Farage now believe in getting taxpayers – many of whom are struggling to raise their own children or choosing not to have them in the first place – to fund unlimited child support for others.

“That’s not fair, it’s not sustainable and it’s not even compassionate. Welfare traps people, builds dependency and it drives up costs for everyone.

“While Labour and Reform are content to make promises they can’t keep, I won’t. The Conservatives are going to be the party of sound money and fiscal responsibility once again.”

Another brick in the Turquoise wall as party chairman Zia Yusuf hails a win for Reform in Welsh council.

Nigel Farage hit out at Sir Keir Starmer after the PM gave a speech attacking him yesterday.

Speaking at the cryptocurrency conference, the Reform UK leader said:”Keir Starmer, our socialist Prime Minister is terrified. Do you know he mentioned me 16 times today in a speech. I’m living rent free inside his head.”

Nigel Farage held up a copy of Reform UK’s proposed “Crypto Assets and Digital Finance Bill” at the conference.

He said the draft legislation would slash the capital gains tax rate on digital currency to 10%, create a “bitcoin digital reserve in the Bank of England” and make it illegal for banks to debunk customers who use cryptocurrency.

The Reform UK leader said: “We will campaign for this and we’ll pout it in place when we win the net general election.

“Seven million people in Britain have got crypto assets, one in four people under 30 have got crypto assets.

“And yet our outdated Labour and Conservative governments have done nothing in this space at all.

“What I want to do when we win the next election is bring us into the 21st century. We are going to launch in Britain a crypto revolution, we’re going to make London one of the major trading centres of the world.”

Brandishing a copy of the draft legislation, he added: “We’re deadly serious and here it is.”

Nigel Farage announced that Reform UK will accept Bitcoin donations.

The Reform UK leader was speaking at a cryptocurrency conference in Las Vegas on Thursday.

He said: “As of now, provided you are an eligible UK donor … we are the first political party in Britain that can accept donations in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.”