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.”
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.
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