Groucho Marxism

Last week saw local elections take place across the UK against a backdrop of a stagnating economy with youth unemployment at 900,000, soaring food prices, rising homelessness, and crumbling infrastructure. Little wonder then that the incumbent Labour party got an absolute kicking, losing 1,498 councillors in total. The Tories also tanked disastrously, losing 563 councillors. The main beneficiary of the collapse of what were until recently the two main parties in British politics was the far-right Reform party, who gained 1,451 councillors, almost as many as Labour lost. The left-of-centre Green party did quite well out of it too, gaining 441 councillors; and the Liberal Democrats also gained 155 councillors. It seems the era of two-party politics is well and truly over.

Voters clearly used the elections to express anger at establishment politicians. The collapse of Labour and the Tories has created a political vacuum which has been filled on the right by Reform and on the left by the Greens, as well as by Plaid Cymru in Wales and the Scottish National Party in Scotland. 2026 will be remembered as the year that the old political order fell apart. The dramatic switch away from Labour can be partly explained by alienation in industrial areas that were once Labour strongholds.  Most people who live in these areas would never vote Tory, the party of the ruling class, and have instead been driven to Reform and its racist rhetoric, largely through despair. Labour was destroyed in Wales – its traditional heartland – and has been left with just 9 seats in a 96-member parliament.

Farage and his coterie have cynically harnessed reactionary ideas, particularly around the vilification of immigrants, that have been whipped up by successive governments – not least Starmer’s Labour. In response, Labour attempted to shore up its vote by claiming that they are the only party who can stop Reform. This is literally the only argument they have left now. Unfortunately, many trade union leaders also use the threat of Reform to justify their continued affiliation with Labour. Why the unions continue to support Labour is a complete mystery to me. It’s not as if the money they give to Labour actually provides them with any power or influence over the party’s direction. Perhaps the union leaders are just slow learners.

That said, there are reasons to believe that some unions might soon cut ties with Labour. Last month’s Unite Executive election saw a left-wing slate win a clear victory; and in the immediate aftermath of the elections, the Communication Workers’ Union discussed disaffiliation. It should also pointed out that for all Reform’s gains, the combined centre and left vote (Labour + Green + Lib Dem) was still higher than the combined right-wing vote (Reform + Tory). Many younger people who would have called themselves Corbynites a few years ago have shifted their allegiance to the Greens. This highlights once again how Your Party, Corbyn’s new political project, criminally missed an open goal by not putting up candidates in these elections (only 20 Your Party candidates stood in total).

Labour is now going through a leadership crises similar to that which befell the Tories when then they were in power. The question now is when, not if, Keir Starmer will be replaced. The only person who doesn’t seem to realize this is Starmer himself, who appears to be hell-bent on clinging on to power at all costs. This should not surprise us as the only thing Starmer has any conviction about at all is the idea that he should be Prime Minister. One thing we can be sure of is that whoever replaces Starmer, they will not be a socialist, or even a social democrat, as there is no such candidate in contention for leadership. The new leader will just be another stooge of a capitalist class. In the short term, therefore, the problems facing our country will only continue to get worse.