The FT has reported:
The Labour party has lost about 100,000 members since last year's general election, underscoring the dramatic fall in Sir Keir Starmer's popularity and the surge in support for smaller parties.
They added:
The governing party's membership now stands below 250,000, meaning that Nigel Farage's Reform UK has overtaken Labour to become the largest political party in the UK, with 268,631 members, according to Reform's website.
They also noted, way down in the article, that:
The Green party's membership has risen from 126,000 to 180,000 since October.
The figures do not prove voting intentions, of course. They do, however, appear to replicate the findings of opinion polls, though. They also give clear indications of directions of travel:
- Labour is declining
- Reform is plateauing.
- The Greens are rising fast.
To pretend that change is not on the political agenda would be absurd, especially when it is also noted that the Tories have at most 120,000 members.
The questions are:
- Will Labour notice what is happening?
- Will they axe Syarmer?
- Has Farage peaked too soon?
- Can change be in the right direction for those who support a politics of care?
I am sure you can add more questions to that list. What is clear, however long it is, is that times are changing. We need to keep shouting for what we want, which is also true in Wales and Scotland.
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As well as membership, strong local grass roots activists are key. Both the Greens and the LDs have really strong bases in their areas, hence their successes locally. The Conservatives now have such an old membership they struggle to mobilise effectively, and Labour have alienated many of their local party groups by installing their national candidates on them. Reform has significant funding of dubious origins with a lot of MSM coverage. The younger generation have felt alienated politically and haven’t voted. I think the Green Party is finally giving them a home and the opinion polls may be underestimating the effect of a mobilised under 35 voting population.
Much to agree with.
Depressing though the Green Party is going to allow “Verdant” (yet another Tory wolf in sheep’s clothing think tank) to advise it! Will Zack Polanski turn out to be another Keir Starmer kow-towing to the rich by allowing this? He’s certainly got a battle on his hands with monetarily illiterate Green Party members if he fights this!
“Has Farage peaked too soon”.. you really are clutching at straws. There will be a Reform/Tory electoral pact, the donors will see to that and Farage will be the next PM. Polanski is an actor, literally, and the Greens have a high number of disruptive left wing cranks in their ranks (as you well know) which will really hurt them at the polls. That is the reality.
Surprise, surprise: this person had never posted here before.
Full marks though: these people are spending a lot of time and effort monitoring what I say.
And the name is fake, as the real Jason Statham is an actor.
At the last election the electorate firmly rejected the Tories.
Reform and the Tories may well form an electoral pact, though I doubt it. Reform have been burned by this previously. More to the point, by forming a pact, Reform risks being tainted by the rejection of the Tories, making it more difficult for them to win. That’s why I think Farage will reject a pact.
One might say that it would be hard to taint Reform, given their statements on almost everything. But my feelings is that people want change and are largely ignoring what Reform are saying. Or, perhaps, are being selective in what they hear. This is the same reason, IMO, why so many voted Labour at the last election. The evidence was all there that Labour would continue antisocialist, neoliberal, policies but they hoped, against evidence, for better. I think the same dynamic may now be playing for Reform support.
Hopefully, now there is a viable Green alternative (and hoping that they won’t tear themselves apart over internecine debates on trans rights or other issues), people may vote for them for change (not Reform).
E.F. Schumacher on cranks: “a small element in a machine that makes revolutions.” But given that Schumacher’s interest lay in what a ‘Buddhist economy’ might look like (one for your ‘Economic Questions series?), I think we can safely say he was more interested in non-violent transformation than revolution. In any case, these days it’s more the right-wing cranks than the left-wing cranks who are of practical concern. The latter largely seem to be content with pontificating in intellectual ivory towers, whilst the former are actually out on the streets sowing hatred and division.
I share Schumacher’s view, on revolution, in which people get hurt. They are not compatible with a politics of care when there aree better ways of achieving the outcome.
How much is the Labour fall about less interest in politics between elections, though that would contradict the rise in membership for some parties and also the idea that there would be more interest if voters felt they had something to believe in. So that probably answers my question.
There is a conspiracy theory that Starmer, a tool of the Esthablishment if ever there was one, was given a mission – make the Labour party unelectable. I’m not sure I believe it, but at times its difficult not to suspect its credible.
Starmer’s withdrawal of local party autonomy by parachuting candidates in and generally meddling, his witch hunt against socialists in the party on fake anti-semitism grounds, indeed his unwavering support for the genocidal Zionist regime in Israel (not to mention the Zionist ‘funding’ (read ‘bribes’) recieved by Starmer and most of his cabinet), his equally unwavering support of a neo-nazi riddled regime in Ukraine…
All these things have helped to gut Labour – not so much a lack of interest in politics, rather an acute awareness of Starmer’s politics and where they are leading. We have to assume that by this stage, anyone who is still a Labour member, MP, etc, knows exactly what Labour has become, and are willing to go along with it.
The Labour and to a certain extent the Tories lost their way when they started to rely on business donors rather than their members for funding. As such they no longer represent their members or their raison d’etre
We are at a cross roads
We either have ‘political’ parties driven by big money as in the USA, and I use the term ‘political’ loosely as they are no more than facilitators for their donors
Or we revert back to true political parties which solely represent their members. So funded by members and with individual donations (not corporate) to say £20k per year, or else equally funded by the government with no donations
Given whats happened with Labour I would suggest that Reform, The Greens, SNP, Plaid Cymru & the Lib Dems need to start planning for being in Government even if as Coalition partners.
Clearly Labour did not and we are seeing the consequences
Frankly, I don’t think it matters much if Starmer is replaced. His possible successors don’t fill me with any confidence whatsoever.
Starting to look like none of the political parties will offer the necessary solutions to Britain’s problems including the Green Party which has endorsed “Verdant” with Harriet Lamb and Caroline Lucas on the board of this so-called wolf in sheep’s clothing “Tory” think tank!
I haven’t wasted any of my time nor energy on Farage, so a question to those who have the stomach I don’t.
Does Farage have a manifesto, with pledges et cetera?
Here in the Netherlands Wilders always stood out by not seeming to take politics seriously. He once went into a general election with a manifesto that was 1 A4 sheet!
How does Nigel stand on electoral reform, for instance?
Green policy is decided by direct democracy so the Marxist hardliners will struggle to advance their position there (IMO).
There is a potential merger that no-one dares mention : that of the Greens and Lib Dems.
Smiley Zack was, of course, a former Lib Dem activist and candidate (although, having said that, so was the Deform UK deputy leader on Durham County Council).
I suspect we’ll see quite a lot of political opportunists eyeing up the Greens in the next year or so.
I don’t see it….