Populist peril Starmer faces call to reset party strategy

Keir Starmer does not have enough of a plan to defeat the “existential threat” that populism poses to UK democracy and should undertake a “fundamental reset”, New Labour’s former advertising strategist Sir Chris Powell has warned.

- By Rowena Mason

Powell, who is the brother of Jonathan Powell, Starmer’s national security adviser, warned there were just three years to stop the “new and terrifying threat” of populists, suggesting Reform UK could represent a danger to democracy and national institutions.

Writing for the Guardian, he said: “Here in the UK, where is the urgently needed counter-plan on a huge scale, to thwart and head off such an existential threat? It is simply not in place, nor does it appear to be even at the planning stage.”

His intervention comes as Starmer faces deep unhappiness in his party about Labour’s poll ratings and his personal unpopularity, while Reform has led in opinion surveys for almost a year.

The prime minister will attempt a new year push on reducing the cost of living, saying that voters would start to see their lives improve in 2026.