Support for Ukip as the best party to handle Brexit doubles since Theresa May's Chequers plan

Public support for Ukip as the best party to handle Britain’s exit from the EU has doubled since Theresa May unveiled her Chequers plan for a soft Brexit.

Polling by YouGov found that in the first week of July, 7% of people thought that Ukip was the best party to handle Brexit.

After the Government published its Brexit White Paper on 12 July, laying out its plans for a future relationship with the EU, support for Ukip as the best Brexit party leapt to 13% the following week.

The most recent poll, conducted on August 20-21, found that 14% of those surveyed thought that Ukip would be the best party to handle Brexit.

During the same time period the number of people who say that the Conservative Party is the best to handle Brexit has dropped from 27% to an all-time low of 19%.

Mrs May’s Brexit White Paper has faced wide-ranging criticism from hardline Eurosceptic factions of her party, who claim the plans represent a ‘Brexit in name only’ that would leave the UK closely tied to the EU without input into rule-making or the freedom to forge new trade deals.

Boris Johnson and David Davis both resigned in protest against the contents, which were widely seen as a lurch towards a so-called soft Brexit.

The paper proposes a ‘common rulebook’ with the EU that would see Britain sign up to standards for a huge range of areas in order to facilitate ‘frictionless trade’.

The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier cautiously welcomed the paper, calling some elements ‘very useful’, but warning that the common rulebook may not work in practice as it could undermine the integrity of the single market.

Former Ukip leader reacted furiously to the paper, calling it a ‘complete betrayal’.

He has since pledged a return to frontline politics in order to campaign against the Chequers proposals.

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Mr Farage said that he was been approached by ‘scores of people’ asking when you would be coming back to politics in the UK.

‘Well now you have your answer: I’m back,’ he said.

The MEP now plans to join pro-Brexit campaign group Leave Means Leave at a series of events across Britain.