A future Reform UK election victory would mean an end to fish and chip suppers in Britain, according to the Labour government.
Echoing this, a flagship BBC current affairs programme berated Reform’s opposition to Britain’s current Net Zero policies (without which, Labour alleges the warming coastal waters will drive away UK fish stocks).
Meanwhile, Labour has claimed that the launch of a fast-selling “Reform FC” football shirt with “Farage 10” printed on the back is proof of the hypocrisy of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who usually advocates keeping politics out of sport.
If all three of these lines of attack smell of desperation, there’s probably more to follow.
Farage’s own modest proposal, for Reform to have the right to appoint its own representatives to Britain’s unelected second chamber, the House of Lords, in proportion to its parliamentary representation, has been ignored by PM Keir Starmer. Yet as long-time Farage associate Gawain Towler puts it
It is, in essence, a reasonable and apposite request for a party that has transcended fringe status to become a formidable force in British politics.
Labour’s bipolar response to the populist electoral challenge—ignore or make wild allegations—contrasts with the approach of Reform, which has been to publicise its measures to tackle crime and promise to consolidate its approach to illegal migration.
Even amid the summer parliamentary recess, Farage’s policies are continuing to cut through—which should account for the next round of Labour shrieking, but not the decline of fish and chips.
