BERLIN — Progressives around the world need to up their game to defeat the “snake oil” being peddled by the far right, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
The Labour leader issued the warning on a visit to Berlin to meet center-left German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who’s facing severe pressure from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Starmer is fresh in office with a massive majority won in July’s general election. Scholz’s Social Democratic Party, on the other hand, is languishing in the polls and facing a likely defeat next year.
But England and Northern Ireland were gripped by far-right rioting earlier this month. Nigel Farage’s populist, anti-immigration Reform UK party also won 14 percent of the vote in the general election, raising fears it might pose a genuine electoral threat to Labour next time around.
There are real concerns in Downing Street that Farage’s outfit — or even the Conservatives, depending on who they pick to replace defeated leader Rishi Sunak — could pose an AfD-like threat in the U.K.
“I do think that we should be alive in the U.K. to the challenge of the far right and populism and nationalism,” Starmer told reporters traveling with him in Germany.
“I think that the challenge has to be met by democracy and by progressives, and we have to have a joint discussion about what that means across Europe and beyond, which I’m very keen to pursue with progressive parties.
“And ultimately, I think that delivery and honesty is the best way of dealing with the snake oil of populism and nationalism, which is why I set out the tough measures I did yesterday in my speech, but also why I’m absolutely determined that we’re going to deliver on the promises that we’ve made.”
Asked by POLITICO if he sees any allied countries who have found a solution to the rising tide of populism, Starmer wasn’t able to cite any examples.
“But I’d be really clear, it is something that occupies my time,” he said.
“I do think in the end, delivery is the way forward. It’s about a disaffection in politics, the easy answer is appealing if people don’t think there’s a better answer, and so progressives have to provide the better answer.”
POLITICO revealed last week that Starmer’s strategy to quell the far right in the wake of the riots focuses on the fairly prosaic tackling of everyday issues, such as potholes and hospital waiting times.
And he landed in Berlin to warnings from Labour allies that there are harsh lessons to be learned from the German experience, particularly surrounding environmental policies that hit voters in their pockets.
“Clear out the rot”
So far Starmer’s time in office has been notably gloomy, characterized by his blaming of the Conservatives for Britain’s many problems. He accuses his predecessors, who spent the last 14 years in office, for wrecking the economy and amassing a £22 billion financial black hole.
But if the U.K. prime minister’s going to overcome the far-right threat then he will need, by his own measure, to make good on his promises to turn things around before the next general election, due in the next five years.
Starmer issued a guarantee to reporters that things would get better in the U.K. before then, adding: “And let me inject some hope, because the whole point of this exercise is to make sure we can bring about the change that we need.
“If you don’t clear out the rot and don’t do it properly, you’ve got nothing to build on, and therefore this is a vital step.
“I accept that, having to say that things are going to get worse before they get better is not what any prime minister wants to say, but they will get better, and it is to ensure that they do get better.
“So this is actually a project of hope, but it’s got to start with the hard yards of doing the difficult stuff, of clearing out the rot first.”
