Vuélvete ilimitado con Magzter GOLD

Vuélvete ilimitado con Magzter GOLD

Obtenga acceso ilimitado a más de 9000 revistas, periódicos e historias Premium por solo

$149.99
 
$74.99/Año

Intentar ORO - Gratis

If the battle for Britain becomes Starmer v Farage, then how should Labour fight it?

The Observer

|

May 25, 2025

A couple of months after the 2024 general election, I asked Morgan McSweeney, Labour's chief strategist, whether he thought the Conservatives or Reform would be his party's primary opponent at the next national contest. He gave what I thought was a candid and reasonable response, because it was the one I would have given myself at the time. He replied that he wasn't yet sure of the answer.

- Andrew Rawnsley

Now he is. At Sir Keir Starmer's recent encounter with morose Labour MPs, an occasion so crowded that it required a spillover room with a video link to accommodate all the attendees, the prime minister told them that "the Conservatives are not our principal opponent. Reform are our main rivals for power."

The first thing to interrogate about this assertion is whether it is true. In terms of parliament, it isn't. Reform has just a handful of MPs, a contingent that could fit in a small minibus. Even in their hollowed out state, the Conservatives have more than 100.

Kemi Badenoch gets the automatic right to be first to respond to every prime ministerial statement and to put six questions to him every week when the Commons is sitting. Nigel Farage gets to intervene only if he catches the speaker's eye. He wasn't even present for the statement on the biggest reset with the EU since the Brexit referendum because the Reform leader had bunked off for a holiday in Clacton-on-Sea ... no, sorry, make that the south of France.

The case for saying that Reform is shouldering aside the Tories to become the main opposition is based on opinion polls and its advances in the May Day elections. The latest poll of polls has Reform ahead on 30 points, more than double its vote share last July. Labour has wilted to a miserable 22. The Tories, the outfit that used to boast of being the world's most successful party, have shrivelled to a dire third, at 17. One poll published in the past few days has the Conservatives slithering down into fourth place, behind the perky Lib Dems.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE The Observer

The Observer

The UN, the US and Tony Blair: can they work together to bring peace?

The US has put forward a 21-point roadmap to end the war in Gaza that would see the former British prime minister Tony Blair lead an interim administration of the territory.

time to read

2 mins

September 28, 2025

The Observer

The Observer

David Lammy: 'I was spat on by skinheads... but the flag-wavers today aren't bovver boys'

The deputy PM tells Rachel Sylvester he is troubled that ordinary people have lined up behind far-right agitator Tommy Robinson

time to read

5 mins

September 28, 2025

The Observer

Keir Starmer may be in trouble but Andy Burnham taking the crown is pure fantasy Andrew Rawnsley

It is a symptom of the dreadful pickle the Labour party finds itself in that the man most widely touted to supplant Sir Keir Starmer is not an MP and was passed over on both previous occasions when he applied to be leader.

time to read

4 mins

September 28, 2025

The Observer

The Observer

Children starved of art lose their creative spark - and Britain loses its cultural future

When Keir Starmer became prime minister, he said he wanted to put the arts \"at the centre of a new, hopeful, modern story of Britain\".

time to read

3 mins

September 28, 2025

The Observer

Clean blood, deep freeze ... how the super rich plan to live forever (with their pets)

In the Swiss resort of Gstaad last week, investors gathered to shop for the newest luxury - longevity

time to read

4 mins

September 28, 2025

The Observer

Kennedy targets popular abortion pill

Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, has ordered a review of a widely used abortion pill, a move that activists fear is a fresh attempt to limit women's access to safe abortions.

time to read

1 min

September 28, 2025

The Observer

The Observer

Levelling up is the way to beat Reform

It's hardly news that the Labour government lacks clear direction, a powerful overarching narrative and even an interest in ideas.

time to read

4 mins

September 28, 2025

The Observer

Why you need more dough for a pizza

In 2020 a diner in a central London Pizza Express could expect to pay £9.30 for the chain's classic margherita pizza. Now, the same meal costs £14.45.

time to read

2 mins

September 28, 2025

The Observer

Meet C, the higher spec Jackson Lamb

It's a long, long walk from Jackson Lamb to Blaise Metreweli. Longer than the road from a raddled ruin of a hasbeen spycatcher to the impeccable poise of a fitness fanatic spy chief, from a rat-infested Victorian firetrap in London's Liverpool Street to the gleaming postmodern block in Vauxhall Cross.

time to read

2 mins

September 28, 2025

The Observer

The pheasant

One knows it's not the politically correct thing to say these days, but the fact remains that one is the most important bird in Britain. Humans adore us for our beauty. That's why they shoot all the other birds that get in our way.

time to read

2 mins

September 28, 2025

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size