‘Nigel Farage’s Reform usually are not the employees’ champions – take a look at their insurance policies’
Keir Starmer’s former director of policy Claire Ainsley says Reform UK ‘promise the earth on the doorstep and pose as the people’s champions, yet their policies and actions tell a different story’
‘Reform in the UK promise the earth on the doorstep and pose as the people’s champions’(Image: PA)
Reform UK are eyeing up a big win in Greater Manchester at this month’s Gorton & Denton by-election.
Nigel Farage and his band of ex-Tories are hoping to persuade voters disillusioned with Labour in Government that they are the workers’ champions. But actions speak louder than words, and the actions of Reform and their populist allies show they are not to be trusted as the workers’ friend.
Just take a look at America, where millions of workers who were fed up of the status quo voted for Donald Trump. Yet one year on, his policies of slapping tariffs on foreign goods and chopping and changing is pushing up prices for American workers.
Meanwhile, his wealthy cronies are raking it in for themselves, with the Trump family fortune ballooning by $1billion since he was elected for the second time, and 30 Trump donors have received benefits or advantages. No wonder his poll ratings are taking a dive as ordinary Americans who were promised change start to doubt he can deliver on what matters to them.
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Reform in the UK promise the earth on the doorstep and pose as the people’s champions, yet their policies and actions tell a different story. Their policies are to deregulate finance and cut support for the people who need it. And despite vowing to cut taxes, once elected they have found they have had to put up local council tax.
Reform UK are following the populist playbook of exploiting people’s concerns about the lack of resources for local communities and the failure to manage migration properly, to further a political agenda that will only leave hard-working Britons even more hard-up.
But Labour has to be better to win over the millions of working Brits who are fed up with politics. Labour in power is doing good things that benefit people’s everyday lives, like more secure workers’ rights, investing in local communities with ‘Pride in Place’, and bringing down NHS waiting lists. But those positive changes that are being overshadowed by the constant stream of negative goings on around Westminster.
Voters are fed up with political in-fighting and want politicians who serve the people, not themselves. Labour was elected to be better than the chaotic Tories, and after a bad week of political news Labour needs to refocus on putting the people in the country first.
People need to see and feel positive change in their daily lives to believe government actions can make a difference. But they also need a government that serves them with competence and conviction. Ironically, one thing Labour could learn from Trump is that the reason many American workers got behind him is because he promised to drive a bulldozer through bureaucracy to get things done.
Labour needs to find the courage of its convictions and be the true champion of working Brits again, and show them that Labour will stand up for them and get things done so the country and economy works better for them.
Claire Ainsley was director of policy to Keir Starmer 2020-22 and is now at the US-based Progressive Policy Institute.
