A YouGov survey of Conservative Party members found just 19 percent of those who voted in the European elections last week backed their own party. The Tories suffered their heaviest ever loss in a nationwide election since its formation in 1834. The party were reduced from 15 MEPs to just four after receiving a humiliating nine percent of the vote across the UK.
The YouGov poll also confirmed more than half of Conservative backers defected to Nigel Farage’s Brexit party, which soared to victory on a historic night for the newly formed political movement.
The study revealed 59 percent of Tories supported the former Ukip leader.
Mr Farage eurosceptic party resonated with Brexiteers frustrated with Britain’s failure to exit the European Union, and gained 32 percent of the national vote and 29 MEPs elected into the EU parliament.
Meanwhile, Eurosceptic MP Jacob Rees-Mogg tried to take the positive out of the result and said the European election results show that Britons have rejected “project fear”.
In an article for The Sun, the North East Somerset MP said: “In truth, the fears are like the supposed Millennium Bug, a fantasy of fevered minds.
“After all, with £39 billion, free-flowing trade and cheaper imports, as former Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Lilley has said: ‘It is not crashing out, it is cashing in’.”
However the result of the European elections is set to further divided the Tory party with the issue of Brexit becoming a defining factor for each of the Conservative leadership hopefuls.
Leading Brexiteers Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab are among 11 candidates to replace Theresa May and are both in favour of a ‘hard’ Brexit.
Whereas Rory Stewart and Matt Hancock who are also budding to walk through Number 10 support a closer relationship with Europe.
Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn has hit out at the contest stating it would damage communities on both sides of the Brexit divide in Britain.
Mr Corbyn said: “Throughout this summer, our politics will be paralysed and our country’s future put on hold while the Conservatives are locked in internal conflict over their leadership.
“Jobs and investment will be put at risk in Leave and Remain areas alike.”
He added: “The Tory leadership contest will most likely end with a small number of wildly unrepresentative right wing Conservative activists foisting a no deal zealot on the country.
“The next Tory leader will be yet another unelected prime minister, without the support of the public and with no mandate for whatever form of Brexit he or she supports.”
YouGov polled 847 Conservative party members between May 28 and May 30.
