Keir Starmer and Nigel Farage AP
Keir Starmer has been urged to use Brexit to beat Nigel Farage as Reform UK continue to surge ahead in the polls.
The prime minister, who voted to Remain, spent much of his first year in office avoiding any mention of the UK’s departure from the EU.
However, earlier this week he launched an outspoken attack on the “wild promises” made by Brexiteers as he urged the public not to support calls to quit Nato and the European Convention of Human Rights.
LBC presenter and co-host of the News Agents, Lewis Goodall, told BBC Newsnight explained why this could be a powerful political point.
“Farage’s great, great asset is that – pretty much unlike all the major parties in parliament – he does not have a record to defend,” he said.
“Except, of course, he does – Brexit. It is his signature contribution to British life. He owns it. He is it.”
Goodall said that there is now enough distance with the “Brexit wars” and enough public dissatisfaction for Labour to use it against Farage amid his rise in the polls.
A YouGov survey from June found 56% of Brits now think it was wrong to leave the EU, although 31% still think it was the right thing to do.
A further 61% said Brexit has been a failure compared to just 13% who said it was a success.
While the Tory Party and former Conservative PM Boris Johnson are among those most blamed for this failing, two-thirds also blame Farage (67%).
But, despite being one of the defining voices of Brexit, Farage’s party is still storming ahead in the polls.
More in Common’s mega-survey from September found Reform would take 373 seats with Labour reduced to double digits.
But Goodall suggested it was time No.10 stop being so “reluctant” to critique Brexit and attach it to Farage.
Goodall added: “Labour’s biggest problem is not that it’s haemorrhaging votes to Reform. It’s haemorrhaging votes to the left, to the Greens and the Lib Dems, who are avowedly Remain parties.
“So Starmer talking about this more is as much concentrated on them as it is Farage.”
Poppy Coburn, assistant comment editor for pro-Brexit newspaper The Telegraph, agreed and said it was time to “bring back the culture wars”.
She told Newsnight Labour were never going to win former supporters who supported Brexit back, adding: “What you need to do is galvanise the centre-left, who at the moment are very dissatisfied with Labour who seem weak, listless, they’re going towards the Greens, they’re going towards the Lib Dems.”
Goodall also noted that Labour’s recent attacks on Brexit reflect their dire situation in the polls, which is forcing them “to take decisions they would not have otherwise have taken”.
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