Starmerism is done – Nigel Farage has swiped one key mantle from Labour PM | Politics | News
Another U-turn from the Prime Minister. Just as with cuts to winter fuel payments, cuts to disability benefits and inheritance tax increases for farmers, we have now reversed the planned postponement of local government elections. It’s not like Nigel Farage will complain. The reform, which legally challenges the delays, is expected to deliver major gains in the elections in May. Moreover, this latest U-turn eliminates concerns that the Prime Minister and his team may try to push back the general elections planned for 2029 at the latest.
Not that all is well for reform. Despite being top in the polls, Farage’s party faces an uphill battle in the Gorton and Denton by-elections (though Labor is certain to suffer a humiliating defeat) and former Reform MP (and now Independent) Rupert Lowe’s latest political initiative could draw Reform votes, especially if Lowe joins forces with Ben Habib. This can be especially detrimental on tight margins.
However, Ben Habib’s Advance UK did not make much of an impact in the national debate. Despite Lowe’s Restore having the advantage of being an MP and Lowe having a significant online following, both he and Habib have the same problem. Every populist party on the Right that has been creating the mood recently (UKIP, the Brexit Party and now Reform) has one thing in common: Nigel Farage.
As for Sir Keir Starmer, his latest U-turn, a far cry from the perception he had hoped for as Captain Sensible and Mr Pragmatic, only leaves him appearing indecisive, hesitant and lacking a credible ideological underpinning. He won as an Anti-Tory in 2024. This task has now passed to Farage.
The prime minister’s advantage is gone, and with it much of his authority. All Labor has, whether led by Prime Minister or pretenders, is rekindled Blairism, vacillating between viewing its former working-class base as either bigots or charity; The Reformation does not see these people that way. Starmerism (if it ever existed) is over. The May elections will probably be the final nail in the coffin.
