How to stop voters turning on you? Pick some things you can solve – and fast

Reform's current supporters have swung elections for a decade.

- Rachel Wolf

They drove Brexit and the 2019 Conservative landslide. Enough of them voted Labour to propel them to victory. On current numbers they will put Reform into government.

It is years to the next election, but the effects are already visible. Reform defines the political and policy agenda, and in a couple of weeks companies that would have run a mile from a Reform activist are (sensibly) going to attend their party conference.

I'm sure Reform will enjoy this immensely. But in their shoes, I would be asking myself: if I win power, how do I stop voters from turning on me as swiftly as they did on the Conservatives and Labour?

This is a plausible outcome. Most Reform voters - and, by now much of the country - are anti-political. They are deeply cynical and quite radical.

They are cynical because they have voted for change multiple times and feel deliberately let down every time. They think politicians are untrustworthy and in it for themselves. Of course, the public have been contemptuous of politicians for a long time, but the sentiment is growing, and it is strongest among those who have moved to Reform.