Former foreign secretary David Miliband is warning of the danger facing centre-left parties from the rise of right-wing populism.
In a report published by the Institute of Public Policy Research, Miliband warns centre-left parties must re-invent or die – rather than re-hashing the out-of-date ‘Third Way’ or falling into the trap of aping the populist right.
Will the Prime Minister listen, or are we saddled with Reform UK winning the next general election?
With the polls where they currently are, if Labour is to win the general election in 2029 it will need to repeat the kind of resurgence it managed to pull off when it was elected in 1945 and 1997.
The challenge for the left
A quarter of the electorate across liberal democracies now support anti-immigration parties.
Since Labour last took power, shareholder payouts as a proportion of profits have tripled in the biggest British firms and the share of working households in poverty has increased 27%.
Half of adults are now using social media as their main news source while the share of Britons who are part of a church, union, or social club has declined since 1995.
A fragmented voter base, polarisation in those profiting from business success and public support for populist rhetoric means maintaining the status quo will no longer work.
If Labour, and the political left, is serious about winning, it needs fresh ideas which pull in voters. Endlessly chanting about how bad the political right might be will no longer cut it.
Young people veering right
Nationally, Reform UK performed better among older voters securing 20% of the vote from the over-60s. Younger voters were less supportive with only 6% of under-30s voting Reform UK.
Nationally, Reform UK garnered more support from men than women. According to YouGov data, 17% of men voted for Reform UK compared to 12% of women.
Up to one in five young men vote for populist radical right parties, compared to under one in 15 young women.
Those in working-class jobs make up only 7% of the British left’s voter coalition today, down from 40% in 1980.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, more than one in five young people in France and Sweden are voting for populist radical right parties, while in Italy 70% of young men supported populist parties.
