Conservatives and Labour face challenge from two parties set on Transforming and Reforming politics

The American novelist Kinky Friedman said that when it comes to politics the Democrats and the Republicans were essentially the same guy admiring himself in the mirror. It was a pithy summation of a view that the only thing that separated the two US Parties was their belief in who should pay for their policies. While the scene in the US has changed somewhat over the last 15 years, over here at least according to some political activists, Friedman's observation could now apply to British politics too. “I think we have a problem in Westminster in that we’ve created a ‘uniparty’, the Conservatives and Labour, and to a certain extent the Lib-Dems and SNP, have essentially become one party with the same policies, they’ve got the same policies on health, housing and there isn’t really a choice anymore.” That the view of Kabeer Kher, a member of the pro-Brexit Reform UK Party.

Started by Nigel Farage as the Brexit Party, and renamed in 2021, the party is now led by Richard Tice. It aims to field candidates in every seat at next year’s General Election and Mr Kher is one of them. He will be standing in Mid Norfolk against the incumbent Conservative George Freeman. He thinks there are enough people like him, who believe the major parties no longer speak for them. “In my opinion the biggest mistake they [the Conservatives] are making is that they are focusing on style over substance, and we’ve seen that time and time again. “Most recently Suella Braverman has lifted the lid on communications between her and Rishi Sunak which shows that she knew that the Rwanda plan wasn’t really going to work for asylum seekers. “They went ahead and did it anyway because they were more concerned about the appearance of doing something as opposed to actually doing something.”

There are similar frustrations on the left. Last month the Transform Party was formed, it says to fill the socialist void left by a Labour Party they say is moving too far to the right under Sir Keir Starmer.

Its website states: "The right wing has regained control of Labour. Jeremy Corbyn, and his politics that inspired millions across our society, have been cast out."

Jo Rust is an independent King’s Lynn Borough Councillor and new member of the party, she says: “[Labour] is increasingly trying to build its base among the more affluent, what would be traditional Conservative voters. “We want to give those who believe in left-wing values, left-wing aims and objectives a political home, because many of us have felt politically homeless.

“I do believe the Labour Party isn’t addressing the concerns that the people I represent in my community have, it’s moving away from those.” Transform is a relative newcomer compared to its right-wing counterpart Reform, but both are hoping to have an impact – if not at the ballot box then in terms of shaping policy.

Rob Johns is a Professor of Politics at the University of Essex, he says we don’t have to go too far back to find the kind of effect these smaller parties can have. “A party to the right of the Conservatives, the Eurosceptic side, we know is largely the trigger for David Cameron staging the Brexit Referendum – so that obviously had a seismic impact. “Generally these smaller parties are capable of tugging another party in the general direction they want them to head in. For example Labour’s policies are probably a little bit greener thanks to the Green Party being around and competing for a few seats. “In the British two-party system that is the way that small parties have their influences by moving the major parties, sometimes taking them quite hard in a direction, like UKIP did with the Conservatives on Europe, sometimes just gently tugging them [towards a certain policy], keeping it honest you might say.” But in order to really register success, these smaller parties need to build support.

“A standing start is very difficult in British politics, you need to get a lot of media attention, you need some momentum via some other election, be it a local election or European election, which obviously we don’t have as an option anymore. “It was through a European election that the Greens made their first surge. It was through the European elections UKIP first came to prominence, but that option isn’t out there. So it’s going to be very difficult for a party to persuade people that it’s worth supporting.” Momentum is something that Reform UK candidate Kabeer Kher believes in. “I’m not worried about taking votes away from the Conservative Party at all and the reason is I don’t really see a difference between Labour and the Conservatives. “We are heading towards an existential debt crisis… and actually what we need to do is change direction and that means people voting for Reform UK. “So maybe we won’t get to Government at the next election, but the more people who vote for us, the more momentum we’ll build and that’s our plan.”

Transform Party member Jo Rust also takes a long view. “We have to look at how new Transform is, at this moment in time we’re unlikely to split any votes because we haven’t been formed long enough to have any kind of toehold. “We only have to look back to 1906 when the Labour Party was first established as the Labour Representation Committee, nobody thought that they would make a go of it, but we have to start somewhere. “The time is right for a new political party that represents the aspirations of those who are not centric and have proper socialist values.”

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