Over recent years, one of the most talked about political trends in Britain has been the drift of some traditional Labour voters, especially in working-class, post-industrial, and coastal communities towards Reform UK. While it’s tempting to write this off as protest voting or populism, the reasons run deeper, and Labour must take them seriously.
Many voters who once felt Labour was their party now feel neglected. Deindustrialisation, job losses, and the closure of local services over decades have left some communities feeling hollowed out. Years of Tory austerity cored out these communities. Let’s be honest, Labour hasn’t always been clear enough about how it will address these long-standing issues and in that vacuum, Reform has marched with promises (however vague) while providing simple answers to complex questions. While Labour is slowly improving the economy and public services the pace of change isn’t satisfying the voters.
Reform taps into a growing anger at the political class. For many, Labour is no longer seen as the outsider challenging the establishment, it’s seen as part of it. That disillusionment is fertile ground for Reform’s message of “plain speaking” and anti-elite rhetoric. Labour needs to speak more from the gut, and less like a think tank. We need to sound and look like the communities we represent. When Reform releases videos containing people from working class communities proudly identifying themselves with Reform because they believe Reform are the party of the working classes we need to wake up and smell the coffee.
In many former Labour heartlands, voters feel their identity, be it national, regional, or cultural, is overlooked. Reform offers a flag-waving narrative that appeals to pride, tradition, and a sense of nationhood. Farage in a tweed jacket, with a pint in his hand with beautiful English countryside behind him speaks to a nostalgia that is very appealing to many people. Labour, historically the party of community and solidarity, must find better ways to talk about belonging, patriotism, and national identity in inclusive, unifying terms.
Polling shows many voters, especially older, working-class ones remain worried about immigration, legal and illegal. Reform exploits this aggressively while in realty they have no solutions. Labour must be honest, firm, and clear-eyed about managing borders, while also defending fairness and avoiding scapegoating. Above all it must deliver. Labour cannot out Reform on immigration and neither should we want to, but delivering practical solutions and bringing the numbers down should be our sole focus.
Finally, many voters feel Labour stopped listening to them years ago. Reform, for all its flaws, gives the impression of hearing people’s frustrations. Labour’s best path back is on the doorstep through community organising, strong local candidates, and rebuilding trust from the ground up. It is hard work and takes time, but the party needs to go back to basic organising. Traditional Labour voters aren’t turning to Reform because they’ve stopped caring about fairness, work, or community. They’re doing it because they feel Labour stopped caring about them. If Labour is to win them back, it must be bold, rooted in community, unafraid to talk about values, and most of all—present, listening, and local.
