I'm the Brexit OG: Rishi Sunak says he is proud of backing the UK's departure from the EU as he warns Keir Starmer's Labour would 'reverse all the progress' made since leaving

Rishi Sunak branded himself the 'original Brexiteer' today as he warned Labour would 'reverse all the progress made' since the UK left the EU.

The Prime Minister said he was 'proud to support Brexit' as he tried to create a new dividing line between himself and Sir Keir Starmer - a former leading supporter of a second referendum.

However the PM spoke as the Conservatives also face huge pressure from the right with opinion polls showing a surge in support for Nigel Farage's Reform UK.

At the same time, the latest mega-poll of voters suggests the Tories could be left with a rump of 72 MPs after the election.

Labour is on course for a 262-seat majority, analysis by pollster Survation suggested.

The Prime Minister said he was 'proud to support Brexit ' as he tried to create a new dividing line between himself and Sir Keir Starmer - a former leading supporter of a second referendum.

Speaking about Sir Keir he added: 'This is someone who literally wanted to have a second referendum, said he wants to defend free movement of people and is always interested in closer EU alignment.'

Your browser does not support iframes.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Sunday Times Mr Sunak repeated a line he said in last week's Sky News leaders interviews.

'I am the original Brexiteer. I was proud to support Brexit and it was the right decision for our country because we can take advantage of the opportunities that are now ahead of us,' he told the paper.

'We're signing free-trade deals around the world, which have now led to Brexit Britain overtaking France, the Netherlands and Japan, to become the fourth largest exporter in the world.'

He added: 'We were able to cut alcohol duty or beer duty in pubs, which was something we couldn't do inside the European Union. The industries of the future, where we're regulating them in a flexible way, that's about growth and innovation, whether it's artificial intelligence, whether it's agri-tech, whether it's financial services, whether it's digital, all of those areas. We are embracing innovation and growth and competitiveness.

'That's why we're the technology superpower of Europe and only growing in that regard. We're cutting red tape for businesses.'

Speaking about Sir Keir he added: 'This is someone who literally wanted to have a second referendum, said he wants to defend free movement of people and is always interested in closer EU alignment, which would just mean us signing up to EU rules without any say and reverse all the progress that we've made over the last few years.'

The Survation analysis and modelling based on more than 40,000 surveys indicates Labour is ahead in 456 seats, with the Tories in first place in just 72.

The Survation model puts the Liberal Democrats on 56 seats, the SNP on 37, with Reform UK currently favourites in seven seats.

The analysis suggests Plaid Cymru are on track for two seats and the Greens would hold Brighton Pavilion.

The Survation study for campaign group Best For Britain used the multilevel with poststratification (MRP) technique to model results in constituencies.

Survation polled 42,269 people online or over the telephone between May 31 and June 13.

It is the first MRP analysis since Nigel Farage returned to the political frontline.

Meanwhile, a voting intention poll by Savanta also contained bad news for Rishi Sunak, with a warning the Tories could face 'electoral extinction'.

study for the Sunday Telegraph gave Labour a 25-point lead, with Sir Keir Starmer's party on 46 per cent, up two from last week, and the Tories on 21 per cent, down four points.

It is the lowest share that the Conservatives have had with the pollster under Mr Sunak.

Chris Hopkins, political research director at Savanta, said: 'Our research suggests that this election could be nothing short of electoral extinction for the Conservative Party.

'The hopes of Conservative candidates are being shot to pieces by poll after poll showing the Conservative Party in increasingly dire straits - and we're only halfway through the campaign.

'There's a real sense that things could still get worse for the Conservatives, and with postal votes about to drop through millions of letterboxes, time is already close to running out for Rishi Sunak.'

Reform UK were on 13 per cent, up three points, the Liberal Democrats up two points on 11 per cent, the Greens up one point on 5 per cent and the SNP down one on 2 per cent.

Mr Farage last night predicted there will be warfare within the Conservative Party within a week following Reform's dramatic rise in recent weeks.

The Reform leader suggested the Tories were heading for infighting following news his party had overtaken theirs for the first time in a recent YouGov poll.

'You will start to see those MPs, who I agree with on most things, becoming much more vociferous about their stance as opposed to that of the party,' he told The Telegraph.

'The splits are going to get worse. And to them I will say: 'Sorry guys, you are just in the wrong party'. 

Farage claimed Reform was now the 'opposition to Labour' this week after a YouGov survey for The Times put Reform up two points to 19 per cent, with the Tories unchanged on 18 per cent.