Can Starmer halt the rise of Reform?

One of the many factors lying behind the rise of Reform in the polls is disillusionment with Keir Starmer. That is especially so amongst voters over the age of 45, who, according to the Independent, are favouring Nigel Farage's party over their more traditional allegiances and, more worryingly for all poilitical parties, are the group with the highest propensity to vote.

Nevertheless, Labour appear to think that the Prime Minister is their secret weapon in getting the truth out about Reform for, as the Independent reports elsewhere, Starmer is poised to take the fight directly to the insurgent right-wing party, arguing its policies are “alien” to the needs of working people.

The paper says that the PM will use the Scottish Labour Conference in Glasgow today to challenge the gathered MSPs, MPs and activists to “show a path to the future”, warning that if his party does not then “others will fill that void”:

Sir Keir Starmer will condemn the "dangerous right-wing politics" of Reform UK and insist that Nigel Farage's party are "not the answer for Britain".

In a sign of growing fears in Downing Street at Reform’s surge in the polls, the prime minister will take the fight directly to the insurgent right-wing party, arguing its policies are “alien” to the needs of working people.

Mr Farage’s party topped Labour in Techne’s weekly tracker poll for The Independent for the first time last week, with 26 per cent of the popular vote, and is on course to win its first seats at Holyrood in next May’s Scottish elections.

And, addressing the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow on Sunday, Sir Keir will challenge gathered MSPs, MPs and activists to “show a path to the future”, warning that if his party does not then “others will fill that void”.

The PM will say that, with their "dangerous right-wing politics", Reform "will say they are the ones who can tilt politics towards the interests of working people".

But he will insist that "their proposals do precisely the opposite", adding that Labour has "to be ready for this test, ready to point out that beneath the bluster, the alternative they offer is alien to working people".

Hitting out at Mr Farage’s party, which won five seats in last year's general election, the Sir Keir will say: "You want to know what Farage and Reform are doing, on their rare visits to Parliament?

"They're voting against our employment right bill. They talk the language of workers' rights online and on doorsteps, but they want to charge people to use the NHS.

"They are not the answer people are looking for. That is not the answer for Britain. And it will never be the answer for Scotland."

Labour has increasingly been attempting to take the fight to Reform, amid fears the party is riding a wave of discontent at Sir Keir’s government and could unseat scores of his MPs at the next general election.

Sir Keir also privately wrote to his cabinet to warn of the threat of Reform, according to reports, telling his top team that “if governments are not changing the system in favour of working people, then voters will find someone else who does”.

Left-wingers have condemned the party’s attempts to apparently “outdo” Mr Farage, publishing videos of illegal working raids and deportation flights while highlighting its record on deportations using Reform-style posters.~

Veteran Labour MP and former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott has accused Sir Keir of turning Labour into “Reform-lite”.

Of course we've been down this road before. Many voters' views of politics are based on their gut instincts rather than facts. In a lot of cases they have a distorted view of what those facts are, especially on immigration, and won't take correction. I know, I've tried.

By all means set out the situation as it really is, and keep repeating it ad nauseum until some of it sinks in, but the real path to disarming Farage and his fellow travellers lies in fixing the country. That means getting the economy, the health service, education, public transport and basic infrastructure working as it is meant to. It also means not penalising groups of people who are needed to be part of that anti-Reform coalition through measures like abolishing the winter fuel allowance.

We need proper investment in our public services, and we need it now, not at some nebulous time in the future when economic growth is deemed sufficient. It is time for deeds not words. The stakes couldn't be higher.