In
recent local elections on 1 May, the Reform Party of Nigel Farage made huge electoral
gains winning hundreds of council seats and overall control of 10 councils. It also won the mayoralty in Greater Lincolnshire as well as an
additional MP in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election (BBC, 2 May 2025). In response,
the Labour Party government under Prime Minister Keir Starmer published an
immigration white paper, toughening conditions on migration. In his ‘island of
strangers’ speech (Gov.uk, 12 May
2025),
Starmer near-echoed the Rivers of Blood speech by Enoch Powell of 1968 (Guardian,
13 May 2025). The travel of direction is clear. To regain voters, the
Labour Party tries to outdo Reform on their anti-migration territory. The country as a whole is shifted to the right as a result.
Nevertheless,
how should we confront the rise of the Reform Party from a progressive position?
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