An unwanted increase in right -hand populism in Britain

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Roula Khalaf, publisher of the FT, selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.

The populist-nationalist error first took the United Kingdom in the 2016 referendum vote to leave the EU. However, Britain has seemed very prominent among his teammates of not having a right -wing party that was a credible electoral force. The previous anti-immigrant parties, the Brexiter of Nigel Farage, did well in the ballots of the European Parliament. But they never made great raids on domestic election policy. The amazing advance of his latest project, Reform UK, in England Local elections It means that UK politics now looks more like those of its EU counterparts. His two -party duopoly is melting.

ReformThe Super Thursday shows that his combination of far-right antimmigration and zero anti-nets positions with some soft left positions in the industry is able to transform his recent opinion survey into real votes. In different places, he gave the two main parties a drubbing. Their victory by choice at Runcorn and Helsby In the northwest, it had been a safe working seat. He won the mayor of the Grand Lincolnshire, a conservative fortress, and gained control of more than half a dozen county councils, mainly from the conservatives.

The advances of third parties have taken place earlier, especially the Social Democratic Party in the time of Thatcher. The Democratic Liberals did well enough in 2010 to unite the Tories in the first British coalition government since 1945, but their voters punished it in the next election.

But third -party disorders often came to the expense of unpopular governments or opposition, while the strange two parties remained intact. The rise of the reform reflects more epochal changes running in the policy of the United Kingdom. Underline the restless disenchantment With Status-quo policy, driven by the meaning that life standards are sliding and “nothing works”.

Class -based attached files are unveiling. The work is much less the party of the industrial working class, in which the conservatives and the reform have made raids, but it attracts more and more young urban professionals. The combined work-conservative vote quota has never been so fine.

The reform is the largest beneficiary. But his expansion May Hit Limits. Although he is maximizing his support among the most likely to his messages, the synonymous association of his Brexit leader puts a large part of voters in the “Never Farage” camp. Holding Office will wear a scrutiny He and his parties have been avoided for a long time. And voters who want alternatives to Duopoly have other options. While the reform was won by Midlands and in the north, south and west, Democrats and Liberal Greens advanced. England today looks like a system of four or even five games.

If this tendency persists, the pressure could become irresistible in changing the first Britain system in the post -electoral system for something more representative. More immediately, it creates preaching for the labor and conservative strategists. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch seems to be not ready for the job of throwing his game out of their tail.

The Labour slide in popularity ten months after its election landslide also demonstrated it, it also entered a position without preparing and without convincing narrative. It will face the pressure to take a tougher line on immigration. But trying to be all things for all voters would be a fool. The work has correctly identified the growth of the reaction as a Sine qua no of its program. Only getting the economy to move can generate revenue to finance NHS, schools and defense. Its best option is to adopt a laser -like focus on growth and use anything that comes from this goal. This strategy has risks. But it may be the only way to restore their own British fortunes, and to defend rivals that offer more radical, but illusory solutions.