Labour has allowed Nigel Farage to claim Reform are the 'party of working people’

Labour has opened the door for Nigel Farage.

Nigel Farage has parked his tanks on Labour’s lawn and they’ve let him do it.

In a press conference on Tuesday in Westminster, the Reform UK leader vowed to fully reverse the winter fuel payment cuts and scrap the two-child benefit cap because “it’s the right thing to do”.

On the latter, he is correct in a moral sense, in that it would lift an estimated 250,000 children out of poverty. It is also a point Labour have made, with the Prime Minister repeating his intention to do so as leader of the opposition - something he then U-turned on during the election campaign.

This speaks to the bind Labour finds itself in. By making these tough decisions, leaning into the importance of being trusted on the economy, Labour has created a space for another party to claim it is speaking up for the worker, the downtrodden, the have nots.

The party founded in the union movement has spent time and political capital defending decisions at odds with its values, damaging its popularity, and in turn handed a gift to a populist movement that can say only they understand what people are going through. They have let Reform claim to be the party of “working people”.

Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education, has said the two-child benefit cap is being looked at

In Labour’s defence, they were dealt a difficult hand by the previous government. It’s easier to criticise than balance the books. But by persevering with unpopular policies, they have opened the door to Reform and even a reverse ferret now won’t undo the damage.

UK education secretary Bridget Phillipson has admitted the government is looking at scrapping the two-child benefit cap. But much like the string of immigration changes announced after Reform swept the local elections, it looks reactive, rather than a decision they think is best.

The policy has damaged Labour, given ammunition to their opponents and, after months defending it, they’re going to U-turn anyway. Making the tough choices is one thing, but selling them is another.

Reform will face their own questions, not least over how they would reverse the cuts, especially with the Institute for Fiscal Studies claiming their tax policies would cost £50 billion to £80bn. But they aren’t in government, Labour is. But Downing Street is not providing a consistent line to its MPs.