The year is 2010. Prime Minister Gordon Brown is in an almighty election scrap to keep Labour in power after the 2008 financial crash. He is taking part in a campaign event in Rochdale. He meets an elderly woman, sixty-five at the time – Gillian Duffy. She rattles off a number of questions across a range of issues: debt, education, pensions. She’s worried about her grandchildren’s uni fees. But she also asks Gordon Brown about the increase in immigration. You can see Brown almost smirk / wince in reaction to her question, and goes onto dismiss the concern somewhat offhandedly citing expats living in Spain. He is caught on a hot mic in the car shortly afterwards – he laments the exchange, labeling Duffy as ‘just a sort of bigoted woman’.
The year is 2006. David Cameron is on LBC. In response to a question regarding UKIP’s then plans to raise FOIs about Conservative donors, Cameron dismisses UKIP as ‘a bunch of … fruitcakes and loonies and closet racists, mostly.’
Why do I mention these? Well bear these annecdotes in mind. And now also bear in mind what exactly happened to the popularity of UKIP, Brexit and right-wing politics in general over the last 20 years. Think about that Orange Man who is seemingly always on the TV.
Bear all that in mind. Now, let’s take a little look at the headlines from today shall we?
Sigh.
This is such a stupid strategy I don’t even know where to begin.
Let’s take the steel-man case. Let’s accept the premise that Nigel Farage’s and Reform’s policies are racist and immoral – do you think it’s a good idea to call the party that is currently polling with a projected majority, a party that people appear to be supporting very vigorously, ‘racist and immoral’?
Reader, I do not.
The last 20 years of culture wars, of Donald Trump, of Brexit, of Boris, of ICE, of Gillian Duffy and UKIP should show anybody with an ounce of sense that this is a categorically counter productive strategy. It will boomerang to thump Starmer in the face.
You’re in the popularity business, Sir Keir. You know what doesn’t win people over: calling them racist. And yes, if you lazily label a political party racist that someone is currently supporting or intending to vote for you are, by proxy, essentially calling that voter the same thing. Unwise that.
Now – some reading this may be totally fine with calling huge swathes of the voting public racist. Indeed, that may fit into your world view about the UK being systemically, fundamentally and institutionally racist. That’s convenient for you at the very least.
Two things 1) you’ll enjoy a Reform government, I’m sure, that’ll only further confirm your world-view, hey? And 2) don’t you think it might be that by calling someone racist, you might further entrench them in views you might otherwise have changed by, oh I don’t know, not doing that? You’re helping to create a weird self-fulfilling prophecy that this country is racist by doing so.
You only bring people away from Reform et al by not placing what are very inflammatory labels on them, and then slowly, piece by piece, unpicking the viewpoints with them, and convincing them you can offer an alternative solution. It’s really hard. It can be done, but it’s hard methodical work: read the extreme version here.
Off-handedly labelling Reform or it’s policies ‘racist’ will only drive many decent, actually unbigotted, swing voters who may be currently toying with the idea of voting Reform further into their arms. By using the racist label too freely you also give political cover to actual racists. Just ask Gordon Brown and David Cameron. How did that strategy go over the last 20 years? Oh don’t believe me? How about we ask the far-right about their popularity right now?
What’s the lesson here: place an exceptionally high, specific bar on the label racist, particularly when you may be about to deploy it near the people you need votes from. Generally avoid it. And please note the word ‘generally’, I’m not saying be cowardly and to not call out racism, but be careful when deploying it. Use the word when you’ve proven your case, not before.
Try instead: steel manning people’s concerns about immigration, don’t immediately label them as racist or dismiss them, then offer a progressive, non-racist solution to address their concerns if you can.
And no, it’s not bloody ID cards.
Gin Lane 