Labour used to be able to rely on the support of union members. Not any longer. Reform and Labour are tied at 28 per cent among union members, according to polling by JL Partners. The survey reveals that Keir Starmer’s party has suffered a 20 percentage point drop since 2024. Reform actually beat Labour among members of two of the biggest unions: Unite, by 36 per cent to 30 per cent, and the GMB, by 31 per cent to 22 per cent. Union leaders said it proves “the working class have abandoned” Starmer’s party.
Nigel Farage now ranks as the most favourably viewed party leader among union members, as well as the most popular choice for prime minister
Nigel Farage now ranks as the most favourably viewed party leader among union members, as well as the most popular choice for prime minister. Plenty of justification then for the claim he made this week that “Labour is no longer the party of the patriotic working class. That mantle now belongs to Reform”.
His party will lean into this theme further. We will hear more from Farage about being on the side of alarm clock Britain. Reform’s blend of cultural conservatism, anti-establishment sentiment, and national pride appeal to working people, as they should – even before economic policy enters the equation.
