Britain’s Trump?

Not just the Tories but Starmer’s Labour party should shudder at Nigel Farage’s announcement

Nigel Farage announcing he will lead "a political revolt"

Until this afternoon, it was assumed that the Labour party is on course to win Britain’s general election on July 4 by a stonking majority — but by default.

This is because it’s assumed that the probable real winner of the election will be None of the Above. And that’s because, while the public have overwhelmingly written off the Conservatives as irredeemably useless and hopeless and are totally underwhelmed by the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, they don’t like or trust the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer. 

Despite Starmer’s strenuous efforts to rebrand the party as totally reformed after the nightmare years under its hard-left leader, Jeremy Corbyn, and to present himself as a moderate, people don’t believe him. They remember too many U-turns, and they think he adopts positions that seem to be most convenient at the time. They just don’t trust him. 

Yet such is the loathing for the Tories, all opinion polling to date has suggested that Starmer will become prime minister on July 5 by a huge majority. 

Until this afternoon. For these calculations may be about to be blown out of the water by Nigel Farage’s announcement that he has become leader of the Reform UK party and will stand for parliament in the eminently winnable seat of Clacton-on-Sea. 

Farage has the potential to become Britain’s Trump, galvanising the abandoned majority and changing the political face of Britain. And the politicians who might now find themselves drowning in the backwash aren’t only the benighted Conservatives but also Starmer’s new model Labour party.