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.”
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.