Poll reveals possible Brexit boost after Nigel Farage proved more convincing than Cameron

HE has been shunned from the official Leave campaign but Nigel Farage may well have given Brexit a boost last night ahead of the EU referendum.

Prime Minister David Cameron and Nigel Farage each gave impassioned pleas to the nation during the ITV debate as the clock counted down towards the deadline for voter registration.

And according to one poll, the Ukip leader was a clear winner.

The Times Red Box reactions registered hundreds the reactions of 2,500 people as Cameron and Farage were each given 30 minutes to talk and answer audience questions. 

An automatically selected sample of 2,500 people showed 80 per cent were in favour of a Brexit ahead of the debate — and Cameron was largely unable to sway them.

But Farage was able to pull some voters off the fence with weeks to go until the vote on June 23.

Net approval for the Eurosceptic MEP rose as he spoke and took questions from the audience, and despite dipping to 30 per cent at one point, ended in the 70s.

When he declared “I’m sorry we’re British we’re better than that” female users reacted positively, the poll showed.

Mr Farage had an average Pulse rating of 94 per cent from Leavers, 15 per cent from Remainers and 63 per cent from the undecideds.

Cameron compared poorly with 86 per cent from his own supporters, 29 per cent from the undecided group and just four percent from Leavers.

He had a positive moment when talking about “frustrations with Brussels”.

He said: “The questions isn’t ‘do I like European Parliament?’ Frankly I don’t like it very much. But frustrations with an institution, or indeed a relationship, are often not justification for walking away.”

And when he mentioned his love for the country, the undecided group gave a positive reaction.

Overall, he did not fare brilliantly with this particular sample of voters.

Cameron began with a more positive response from the 25-34-year-old voter group and the over 65s, but the dropped off during the course of his 30minute section.

At the end of the programme 90 per cent of Leavers were still firm in their decision and 94 per cent of Remainers also held fast.

Of the undecided group, 62 per cent were swayed towards leaving, 2 per cent were supporting Remain and 24 per cent were undecided.

The debate stirred up a social media storm with both politicians facing fierce criticism.

Many labelled ITV ‘shameful’ claiming the debate was biased against Nigel Farage.

Kevin Stephens wrote: “Cameron is struggling! Weak defence of previous statements. Missed targets. Pathetic prime minister.” 

Rob Hanford said: “@itvnews Talk about itv putting their own feet in their own mouths. Last nights @itvdebate was the most bias program I have ever witnessed!”

Another wrote: “Painful but I watched Cameron on #itvdebate; more rhetoric & dishonesty & @itv slightly bias against #Farage IMO @BBCr4today.”

Julie Darby wrote: “Farage is the reason we have a referendum. Ridiculous for Vote Leave to sideline him! #itvdebate.”

A UKIP spokesman said: "It is clear that last night not only did Nigel fire up Leave voters, he reached out and won over the vast majority of undecided voters as well. 

“Indeed as the half hour progressed and undecided voters heard more from Nigel, his ratings amongst this crucial group increased throughout. 

“The more those weighing up which way to vote hear from Nigel, the more they like what he has to say.

"Nigel's patriotic message that we should not be bullied by the unelected elite who run the EU was also shown to be popular with female voters in particular.

"Last night was a huge win for Nigel and the Leave side with undecided voters backing the Brexit message and rejecting the government's increasingly pathetic project fear."