Four in 10 voters fear Nigel Farage is a 'danger to Britain' but his TV debate rival Nick Clegg is 'out of his depth'

Other 1 April, 2014 17:02

Four in 10 voters think Nigel Farage poses a ’danger to Britain’ after he heaped praise on Russian President Vladimir Putin, an exclusive poll for MailOnline reveals today.

The survey reveals the UKIP leader is also seen as ’a bit sleazy’ while his Lib Dem rival Nick Clegg is out of his depth and less likely to tell the truth.

The ComRes poll comes as the two men prepare to go head-to-head tomorrow night in the second live TV debate on Britain’s membership of the European Union.

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UKIP has been outpolling the Lib Dems for months, buoyed by support switching from the Tories and disaffected voters being won over by Mr Farage’s populist charm.

After the two men clashed in the first debate last week, a snap poll suggested Mr Farage won by a margin of 2-1.

Ahead of the BBC debate tomorrow night, pollsters ComRes asked voters to consider several statements and say whether they applied more to Mr Farage or Mr Clegg. The results reveal weaknesses in both camps.

In the poll, 38 per cent of people said Mr Farage ’is a danger to Britain’, compared to just 23 per cent who said the same of Mr Clegg.

Despite UKIP drawing much of its support from older voters, 44 per cent of people aged 55-64 said Mr Farage posed a threat to the UK.

Half of people working in the public sector, and 44 per cent of people in Scotland and the South West also agreed Mr Farage was a danger to the country.

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Ukip leader Nigel Farage came out top in a snap poll after his first TV debate on the EU with Lib Dem Nick Clegg last week

Mr Farage has faced criticism for his recent claims that he ’admires’ Russian President Vladmir Putin, and said claiming the European Union was to blame for deaths on the streets of Kiev.

Defending the comments yesterday, Mr Farage insisted: ’I said I don't like him, I wouldn't trust him, wouldn't want to live in his country.

’But compared with the kids who run foreign policy in this country I have got more respect for him than our lot.’

Asked in the GQ interview which current world leader he admired most, Mr Farage replied: ’As an operator, but not as a human being, I would say Putin. The way he played the whole Syria thing. Brilliant.’

He was also accused of being 'extreme' by Mr Clegg after claiming the European Union has 'blood on its hands' over the conflict in Ukraine.

Both leaders had hoped that their appearance in the TV debates would make them appear more statesmanlike.

But after their first encounter on Sky News and LBC, only 18 per cent of voters thought either of them would make a good Prime Minister.

It is particularly galling for Mr Clegg who has spent four years at the heart of the coalition government.

Last week’s debate was dominated by rows over the use of statistics, with Mr Farage claiming 75 per cent of Britain’s laws come from Brussels and Mr Clegg insisting the figure was more like 7 per cent.

However, just 18 per cent of people said Mr Clegg 'tells the truth’ while 25 per cent said the same of Mr Farage.

Damningly, just 8 per cent of voters in Wales think Mr Clegg tells the truth.

The Deputy Prime Minister recorded the same low figure (8 per cent) among retired people living on a state pension, where 38 per cent said Mr Farage told the truth.

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A quarter of all those surveyed also said Mr Farage 'knows what he is talking about’, although this was split between 32 per cent of men and only 19 per cent of women.

Just 23 per cent of people said Mr Clegg knew what he is talking about.

Tom Mludzinski, head of political polling at ComRes, said: 'While there is little good news for either leader here, Nick Clegg should be the more worried.

'After nearly four years as Deputy Prime Minister he has failed to convince the British public he is more Prime Ministerial than a leader of a Party with no MPs. However there is also a warning for Nigel Farage that many see him as a danger to Britain.'

One of the most striking difference came when voters were asked which of the two leaders they most considered to be ’a bit sleazy’.

Overall, 40 per cent named Mr Farage, double the 21 per cent who named Mr Clegg.

Half of people in the public sector and the better off (AB social grade) said Mr Farage was sleazy.

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However Mr Farage’s fortunes were reversed when the survey asked which of the two leaders is ’out of his depth’.

Some 42 per cent named Mr Clegg, to just 26 per cent who lambasted Mr Farage.

Much of Mr Farage’s appeal has been based on his apparently insatiable appetite for a drink in a pub.

As he left last week’s debate he was asked if he was going to the pub, and he replied: ’Well I’m not going to church.’

Complaining about the three-day window before postal votes were sent out in a by-election campaign last month, he said: ’I have been in benders for longer than the opening of the nominations and the start of postal ballots.’

Overall, a third (33 per cent) of people said they thought Mr Farage would be good to have a pint with. Among men the figure rose to 44 per cent, falling to just 22 per cent among women.

Mr Clegg was marginally more of a hit with the ladies - 14 per cent of female voters wanted a pint with him, over 13 per cent of men.

However, fewer than one in 10 housewives and househusband would venture out for a pint with Mr Clegg.

Similarly 13 per cent of women thought Mr Clegg would 'make a good date', compared to just 8 per cent for Mr Farage.

However, Mr Farage was a more popular choice for a date among men - 12 per cent to Mr Clegg’s 10.

On several measures there was little to divide the two men. Just over a third said both men were 'annoying' - 35 per cent for Mr Clegg and 34 per cent for Mr Farage.

Older people and people in the North East were more likely to find Mr Clegg annoying, while Mr Farage irritated the better-off, people with a private pension and Scots.