Last Monday, Nigel Farage set out Reform UK’s vision to rebuild Britain’s economy. Speaking from deep within the Square Mile, Farage declared that his party would be “the most pro-business, the most pro-entrepreneurship government that has been seen in this country in modern times.”
For a party that has often confounded onlookers as to its true ideology, the speech was an unambiguous return to type. Yes, there was talk about the need to be more realistic over tax cuts. There was even a recognition of the importance of the state in developing a strong industrial strategy. But the substance of the speech saw Farage promise to cut benefits, strip away regulations and even consider reductions to the minimum wage, widely considered one of the most popular and effective regulatory interventions of the past two decades.
Two days later, Richard Tice appeared at Bloomberg to drive home the same message. Gone was the promise of “forming good partnerships with the unions” or pledges to renationalise UK utilities from earlier this year. Instead, Tice called for a flatter tax system and a deregulatory ‘Big Bang’ to stimulate the economy. For anyone left scratching their heads earlier in the year when Reform seemed to be drifting left on the economy, the world suddenly seemed to make sense again.
On Monday, Farage followed this up with yet another hour long speech and Q&A. This time it was to launch ‘Small Businesses for Reform’. In front of a three hundred strong audience of small business owners, Farage declared that this new body would be a lobby group for the thousands of small businesses across the country that have been neglected by the Tories and penalised by Labour.
Reform has spent most of this year, in classic populist style, trying to be all things to all people. A party on the side of ‘the people’ against an out of touch Westminster elite. But this new pitch appears squarely aimed at its ‘Blue Reform’ base. These are the small business owners and the self-employed voters who want lower taxes, less regulation, fewer benefits and a smaller state. In doing so, the party might end up alienating a different set of Reform voters.
Alienating Reform’s ‘Red voters’
Reform now draws on a sizeable bloc of working-class voters for their support. These are the voters that still believe in a strong state that protects working people, redistributes wealth and prioritises public spending. It was no doubt this group that Reform was targeting with its pro-union statements earlier this year, as well as their promise to scrap the two-child benefit cap and reinstate the winter fuel payment.
For these voters, the past fortnight’s developments may well raise questions about whose interests the party truly represents. On paper, Farage and Tice’s moves signal a clear intent to represent the economic interests of their small business and property owning supporters over their emerging working class base.
So what does this mean for Reform UK’s coalition? And will Reform’s Red voters peel away from the party now that they have made this turn to the right?
It is, of course, not quite as simple as that. Reform voters aren’t motivated by policy detail alone. They are driven by a deep sense of distrust, strong political and cultural grievances, and a sense that the political class has failed them. Farage’s populist image has so far been enough to unite these voters — who often have diverging economic interests — in the conviction that his party will finally be the one to listen to and represent them.
But with Farage and Tice championing a deregulatory agenda, there could now be space to make a renewed case for the everyday protections — workers’ rights, renters’ security, online safety, and environmental safeguards — that underpin a fair economy and enjoy broad public support, especially among ‘Red Reform’ voters.
Visibility of such issues is currently poor, largely because the government has failed to communicate them effectively. Polling from Ipsos shows that landmark regulatory interventions, both by Labour and those started by under the Conservatives, are struggling to cut through in a media climate that thrives on stories of political scandal, or those with a clear villain.
There is a gap in the market here for the Protections Movement to raise the salience of these issues if we do it in the right way. But this cannot just be about raising the profile of policies. Instead it must involve an effort to connect them with the publics’ desire for decisive and radical change. Here’s how we do it.
Cutting through with voters
Cutting through with voters starts with clarity of vision. Voters reward parties and movements when they know what they stand for. We’ve seen Labour’s policy U-turns drain trust and energy from their voters, with some citing the Winter Fuel cuts as a reason they’ll never vote for the party again. By contrast, figures like Zohran Mamdani show the power of consistency and conviction.
As George Eaton wrote for the New Statesman after his victory, Mamdani’s “wasn’t a platform built on vibes but on policy: a rent freeze, universal childcare, free buses and affordable, city-run food stores, funded through progressive taxation.” Mamdani’s supporters knew exactly what he stood for and trusted in his commitment to deliver it. We can learn from that by talking about protections in a consistent and collective way.
Secondly, we need to name the villain. New research from Persuasion UK tested the best ways of framing the government’s Renters’ Rights Act, finding that framing renter protections as a win for renters over landlords, rather than for both parties, increased support for the policy. The Labour government has been cautious about generating conflict through these reforms which has likely led to poor awareness for the policy itself. Protections advocates should learn from this mistake and clearly label whose side we’re on, and whose we are not.
We also need to focus on material improvements. Messages about fairness, equality and integrity matter, but most voters are consumed by everyday economic insecurity. Recent polling from Ipsos found that 86% are worried about the cost of living, 82% expect food prices to rise further, and 79% say the same about utility bills. Protections are there to tackle things like rising rents, stagnating wages and unfair hikes to consumer bills. A relentless focus on the material improvements strong regulation can deliver is essential.
And finally, we need to communicate differently. Politicians like Nigel Farage, Zohran Mamdani and Zack Polanski have experimented with new methods of short-form video content with great success. These clips have allowed them to reach younger, social media inclined voters with simple messages about injustice and the need for change.
In an age of deep public disillusionment, radicalism sells. Figures like Farage, Tice, and Mamdani have all grasped that truth. Yet Labour’s caution has left many voters unaware of the radical changes already underway. It’s time to fill that void and champion a new politics of protection.