If Mumsnet backs Farage, it's game over for Starmer

Forget Donald Trump, Israel, antisemitism and the polls... the biggest threat to Keir Starmer right now is mums. That's right, the ladies of Mumsnet are for turning after all, according to a new survey that reveals how Reform UK is now the top choice for the site's politically engaged, historically left-leaning mothers.

- VICTORIA RICHARDS

The social networking platform - which, at 8 million users, comprises the largest online parenting network in the UK - had for two decades or so traditionally gravitated towards Labour. But now, the shocking survey says, 20 per cent of users plan to vote for Nigel Farage's party in the next election. And the biggest reason for the shift? Anger about taxes, welfare reform, the NHS and immigration.

The statistic puts the party ahead of Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems, mimicking recent polls that show Reform's popularity at around 27 per cent, with both the Conservative Party and Labour trailing behind at just 17 per cent. The Mumsnet political poll first began in 2009 - but in a stinging indictment of Starmer's leadership, this is the first time that Labour has been overtaken by any other party.

If you're asking yourself how Starmer got it so wrong, you're not the only one - but I don't think this is simply “damaging” for Labour, I think it is a death knell; a turning point. Bigger than any other. Lose Mumsnet and you've lost the next election.

After all, analysis of the outspoken site was a huge predictor of voting intention in the 2016 referendum and correctly predicted Brexit; the 2010 election was branded the "Mumsnet election” and saw all major party leaders taking part in webchats in an effort to gain the “Mumsnet vote”. They are campaigners, and influencers, and they've put together electoral manifestos (including in 2024, when a group called for clarity on the meaning of “women” in the Equality Act); they've even gone head-to-head with world leaders, including Boris Johnson.