Almost one in three Tory councillors back Reform UK as the best party to tackle illegal immigration, new polling suggests.
The survey of 391 Conservative councillors found 77% said Rishi Sunak’s party has handled the issue badly, with just 7% believing they have done well.
Some 31% opted for Nigel Farage-linked Reform UK over their own party to get a grip on illegal immigration.
The poll by Savanta for Labour Together, which comes ahead of May’s local elections, also found 56% are unhappy with the Tories over legal migration.
Just over one in five said Reform UK, which Ashfield MP Lee Anderson defected to earlier this month, would be the best party to address the issue.
Josh Simons, director of Labour Together: “Rishi Sunak has unleashed chaos at our border and his party knows it.
“From his councillors up, opposition to the Prime Minister’s plans grows – just like the costs.
“I expect a fair few Tories will be following Lee Anderson to vote – or even defect to – Reform this May.”
It comes as the Prime Minister is facing a showdown with the House of Lords over his Rwanda Bill, which is aimed at getting the flagship policy to send asylum seekers to the African country off the ground.
Mr Sunak is also under ongoing pressure from Tory MPs over record legal migration figures.
Reform UK, led by Richard Tice, has pledged to leave the European Convention on Human Rights and pick up migrants from small boats and take them back to France.
The insurgent party has also vowed to freeze non-essential immigration.
