5 hours ago
5
Many people (including me) voted Labour at the last general election because we wanted change – change from policies that put corporations and old ideas above the people. With this Labour government, we’ve got more of the same so far.
In my anecdotal experience, most Reform UK voters just want something different and don’t really care what. Yes, some think we have too many refugees, but I believe the majority of them aren’t bigots, just misled (Farage claims Reform UK local election gains ‘beginning of the end’ for Tories, 2 May).
By contrast, those I know who vote Labour tend to do so because we believe in fairness. We want progressive policies that make a difference to people’s lives. We want the rich to pay their fair share of tax (something in common with Reform voters too). We want clean industries and waterways. We want energy and water prices to reduce and, hopefully, for those industries to be renationalised (another thing in common with Reform voters).
Copying Reform’s socially rightwing policies puts us off voting Labour, yet doesn’t convince Reform voters to switch either. Adopting economically leftwing policies looks like a winner for both sides. But is it too late?
In the mayoral election I voted Lib Dem as I thought they had a better chance of beating Reform. Like many people I know, we don’t have tribal allegiances. Our priority is stopping the right wing. The first-past-the-post system prevents us from voting the way we want. Maybe if the mayoral election was a transferable vote, we’d be congratulating Labour instead.
Reform can be beaten by a hopeful vision that makes life better for people and improves living standards. By standing up to corporations, by reducing bills, by cleaning up our environment – that’s how we can be convinced to continue voting Labour and ward off Reform.
James Marsters
Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire
Re your article (Labour targets international students claiming asylum after election losses to Reform, 3 May), the insistence of this Labour government on responding to the perceived threat of Reform by aping it on the issues where it is strong is utterly mind-boggling.
I don’t think any electable party will be more anti-immigration than Reform. The portion of the electorate for whom immigration is the one issue they care about won’t be persuaded to vote Labour by it pledging to reduce asylum applications from international students. It’s a ludicrous idea and, at best, only serves to reduce the distinction between the two parties.
In reality, Reform is weak on almost every conceivable area: the economy, the NHS, Donald Trump, Brexit … the list of vulnerabilities is almost without limit. Yet the government chooses to engage on the only ground on which Reform is sure-footed. It’s utterly bizarre.
How is a party with five MPs, fewer than 800 local councillors and no actual policies allowed to dictate the agenda in this way?
Richard Repper
Frome, Somerset
Marina Hyde (Is Farage’s win a new dawn? We could ask Labour, but they’re still fast asleep, 2 May) just confirms my long-held opinion. Voters do not vote for parties, they vote against them. At the general election, they voted against the Tories, being fed up with grinding the faces of the poor and downtrodden. At the local elections, they voted against Labour, which shows few signs of being any better. In due course, they will vote against Reform, after finding out that clamping down on immigration and enjoying the plight of poor countries is not the promised panacea. I look forward to the day – but then, what next?
Tim Gossling
Cambridge
