Neil Kinnock has warned his party not to ignore the nationalist threat posed by Nigel Farage, as concern grows in Labour ranks that Reform UK could pose a long-term threat for them as well as for the Conservatives.
The former Labour leader told the Guardian he wanted Labour to turn its guns on Farage’s party in the final week of the election campaign, saying the populist right could gain a stronghold in the UK as it has across much of Europe.
Labour has been accused of not putting up a fight against Farage because the Reform party appeared to be taking more votes from the Conservatives. But with Reform predicted by some pollsters to win more than a dozen parliamentary seats next week, Kinnock said Labour needed to start taking the threat seriously.
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Kinnock added that if Labour was overly cautious in government, it would play into Reform’s narrative that there was little difference between the two main parties. “Absolutely vitally, [the populist right] have to be combated with actions,” he said. “That means the implementation of change which is positive and cumulative, and driven by strong purpose in the service of the community.”
And this is why we still need FPTP.
Future Labour Government
This is my biggest fear. The spectre of Reform and the febrile nature of our politics will push overdue voting reform down the line again.
Yes, even if they never hit these “heights” again, the example of Europe is going to make electoral reform a real uphill fight.
I’m hoping more sensible thinking prevails - with PR, you’d likely have a majority Labour government for most of the time, backed by Greens and Lib Dems. Gordon Brown seems to be driving a lot of the ideas for improving our democracy but his focus seems to currently be the House of Lords, which is an easier one to implement (although likely not in a way that suits me - it’s sortition all the way for me), but I could see him chewing this one over afterwards. Realistically, Labour won’t do anything now but if their support collapses they may need other parties to prop them up after the next election and PR is likely to be the price for it.
pr also means that left of centre parties have a better chance at winning too not just reform
That’s quite true as well. We should accept that Far Right and Extreme Left parties will (probably) be represented more than they are now. But I have faith that the people of this country will vote, in far greater numbers, for parties that are much more sensible and kind and those that are willing to work together to improve this country rather than entrench division.
Warning long left of centre rant. TLDR = Don’t Read my waffle if you don’t want to.
Kinnock added that if Labour was overly cautious in government, it would play into Reform’s narrative that there was little difference between the two main parties.
Unfortunately that seems to be a losing battle. Caution in spending leads to lack of difference between the right wing.
Spending of any form leads to attacks from the right and centre as irresponsible.
And both sides of that debate have a point. The issue is their points are weighed with irrelevant attacks. Labours current right of centre fiscal ideals are still backed by more emotional responsibility to citizens. Then the Tory robber barrons currently forming the real right.
And Spending dose not need too be irresponsible. Even when money is short. It can be slow and built around investment. IE investing in utilities housing etc that will return funding to the government.
Unfortunately that is where the rights insincerity in attacks show the worst. Any investment that has th oppertunity to raise money is attacked by the right wing media as inefficiencies etc.
Even the tories own figures suggest 7.5% Inefficency is all the difference between government owned vs privrate, and while that has no real evidence at all to back it up. Dose anyone think they have seen a 7.5% improvement in services or cost from privrate providers of monopoly style utilities. Of course not. No privrate corperation is going to be interested in running such utilities etc based on a 7.5% profit.
It stuns me that the tory attack on social housing has not been more of a point over the last 10 years. They made an open choice to force social housing to raise prices so it did not compete with privrate. Meaning they increased their own wellfare budget hugly. While allowing/creating the housing cost crisis we have now.
Its insane how irresponsible the tories have been. Its hard to honestly think moves like that are not intentional to limit the moves any left of centre government can make.
It’s a concern of mine too. Next election we may have an incumbent Labour party that has done little to improve people’s lives (potentially despite their best efforts because the economy and national infrastructure is wrecked) and a Tory party wrecked for a generation and Reform could emerge as the protest vote or, worse, Reform merge with the Tories and Farage leads a BNP-lite party to victory. The latter might doom the Conservatives forever but after BoJo and Trump getting elected, and the rise of the right across Europe Farage worming his way to PM is not something we should dismiss too quickly.
labour: best we can do is form an electoral pact to stand down, giving nigel a clear path to victory
This is the best summary I could come up with:
But with Reform predicted by some pollsters to win more than a dozen parliamentary seats next week, Kinnock said Labour needed to start taking the threat seriously.
Kinnock added that if Labour was overly cautious in government, it would play into Reform’s narrative that there was little difference between the two main parties.
Labour was this week accused of failing to fight against Farage in Clacton after the party’s candidate was instructed to leave the constituency over a belief that he was “distracting” from Keir Starmer’s campaign.
An MRP poll by Electoral Calculus and Find Out Now this week showed Reform heading for 18 seats, with Farage, the former party leader Richard Tice and the former Tory MP Lee Anderson all predicted to win.
Rob Ford, a professor of political science at Manchester University, said Labour needed to be alert to the appeal that Reform had among voters in “red wall” constituencies in particular.
Labour officials say they are alive to the risk that Reform poses and say they plan to confront Farage and his politics “from day one” if they make it into power.
The original article contains 908 words, the summary contains 185 words. Saved 80%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
