Labour MPs have set up a new pressure group to focus on the threat of Reform UK’s rising popularity.
The informal cohort is drawn from the 89 constituencies where Nigel Farage’s party came second to Labour at the July General Election.
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One of the MP’s involved told Sky News it is an “important signal of where things are headed” and the members will shout about the need to do more on migration and for tangible local delivery.
“We’re a fearless bunch,” the MP said, adding the group were not afraid to “call a spade a spade”.
Some Labour MPs are worried about the government’s communication strategy and fear positive things ministers are doing – like nationalising the railways and the new deal for working people – are not cutting through.
The group is expected to focus on working together to get on top of Reform’s threat rather than express active unhappiness with Sir Keir Starmer.
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According to The Guardian, Downing Street has dispatched data and strategy experts to advise MPs on the sort of messages that are resonating with Reform-minded voters.
A Labour Party source said: “Groups of MPs meet all the time about lots of different issues.
“Labour MPs are rightly concerned about Nigel Farage’s plans to make people pay to access NHS services and will carry on taking the fight to them and other opposition parties in parliament and at the ballot box.”
Mr Farage said recently that he is “open to anything” when it comes to the NHS and he is interested in the model of the French healthcare system “where you pay in to effectively an insurance scheme”.
Many Labour MPs, including health secretary Wes Streeting, have seized on the comments to draw dividing lines between Labour and Reform.
While Reform’s rise hit the Tories the most at the last general election, multiple polls suggest there is now a real threat to Sir Keir Starmer, despite his landslide victory just six months ago.
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A YouGov poll for Sky News on Monday showed Reform UK in the lead for the first time on 25%, with Labour pushed into second on 24% and the Tories on 21%.
Pollsters stressed Reform’s lead was “within the margin of error”.
However it comes after multiple other polls suggested Mr Farage’s favourability rating is on the rise while Sir Keir Starmer’s has plummeted.
Many experts see change as the result of a collapse in the belief that the mainstream political parties can improve the lives of ordinary people.
The first major test for Reform will come at the local elections in May, while the party is also hoping to make gains at the Welsh parliament elections next year.
