Recent months have seen Reform pull ahead in the polls, becoming Labour’s most threatening opponent. Reform’s image and rhetoric have all the classic hallmarks of a powerful movement: caricatured leaders, clear messages, and a whole lot of enthusiasm from real voters. Keir Starmer has vowed to go head to head with Farage in the run-up to the next election to save the soul of our nation – but is he walking the walk?
Policy criticism
The PM has described Reform’s proposal to scrap Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) for migrants as “racist” and “immoral” (though he has refused to characterise Reform voters as racist themselves). However, Labour has made it increasingly difficult to claim IRL, doubling the wait time for applications and devising “contribution” tests.
Calling out Reform’s predatory exploitation
Starmer recognises why people are backing Farage; they’re frustrated. Many people, particularly in the working class, have lost faith in Labour or the Conservatives to truly represent them in parliament, creating opportunity for “politics of predatory grievance”. This is an accurate analysis, but it does not interrupt the real relationship Farage is building with disillusioned Britons.
Political actions that contradict Reform’s vision
The current Labour government is making political moves which are the antithesis of how Reform might act, and should these succeed, this will be highly effective in discouraging Farage’s popularity. For example, they have established Great British Energy, a public company which will be used to co-invest in renewables, allowing the country to reach its 2030 net-zero target. Reform would do away with net-zero entirely.
Confronting Nigel Farage
The Reform leader has been accused of being a racist bully at school and offered little explanation of the repeatedly backed claims. Consequently, Keir Starmer has called him “spineless” (as well as “racist” and “immoral” as noted above). Personal attacks are not new in politics; however this feels relatively tame compared to other key political figures’ commentary. Take Kemi Badenoch calling Rachel Reeves “the country’s worst ever chancellor” to her face in the Commons. One feels weightier than the other, no?
This has been a limited look at how Keir Starmer is confronting Reform’s very real threat, using only a few examples from recent months. However, they illustrate a problem that will persist for Labour, unless drastic change happens; they must do more.
The Left has historically struggled to present the public with large, emotional, persuasive notions around identity. They favour publishing facts and figures, which few care to read. The Right is very good at big ideas and Reform is no exception. If Keir Starmer is truly going to tackle growing polarisation in the UK, stoked by figures such as Farage, he needs to win over the working-class voters, those who were historically die-hard Labour. At the heart of this is rhetoric – Reform’s clear, swinging punches can be blocked, but not with Labour’s current muted prods.
The battle for the soul of our nation has begun, but is Starmer too late to sway it?
