A lazy framing of British party politics portrays Reform UK playing the equivalent role on the right of British politics that the Green Party does on the left, with each outflanking the Conservatives and Labour, their respective rivals on the centre-right and centre-left. It’s lazy in that it takes far too little account of the way in which the traditional distinction between left and right – the size of the state, and how heavily regulated and taxed an economy is – is no longer the main ideological fracture between the different parties. Increasingly, it’s wrong.
Whoever gets into government after the next election will only have one shot
The evidence comes from Reform’s rapidly emrging vision. The Greens, their supposed opposite on the political spectrum, have a policy programme that would genuinely be radical and transformative: open borders without caveats, a drastic expansion of the size of the state, the expropriation of vast amounts of private wealth, an effectively unlimited welfare state and almost full legalisation of drugs. That this would be dystopian is besides the point.
By contrast, Reform are swallowing much of the prevailing orthodoxy: Gordon Brown-coded fiscal rules, the Office for Budget Responsibility, the triple lock, independence of the Bank of England and more. The people making up the party are increasingly orthodox as well – from Nadhim Zahawi to Robert Jenrick. Even on immigration, the actual policy differences between the Conservatives and Reform are small; with Labour’s immigration policy restrictive, they are no longer a radical departure from the norm. More worryingly, given Reform are currently favourites to lead the next government, is the party’s reliance on stunts and policy gimmicks.
