When Keir Starmer was elected just over a year ago, Labour ministers warned that their government was Britain\u2019s last chance to see off populism. The political centre has sprung a leak even sooner than they feared. Just one in five voters now supports the government; Sir Keir\u2019s personal ratings as prime minister are dire. On September 5th Angela Rayner, his deputy, resigned over unpaid taxes, prompting a wide cabinet reshuffle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The extremes, meanwhile, are all fired up. Whereas the Conservative Party is moribund, Nigel Farage, the leader of the hard-right Reform UK<\/small>, told his party conference that he would be prime minister as soon as 2027. Although Reform has just four MP<\/small>s, he is not delusional: were an election held tomorrow, Reform would have a coin-toss chance of a majority. Other insurgents sense their moment, too. Zack Polanski, a self-styled \u201ceco-populist\u201d, is the new leader of the once-fusty Green Party, with a pitch to be the Farage of the left. Jeremy Corbyn, whose self-belief is undented by four and a half calamitous years as the Labour Party\u2019s leader, is running a new hard-left outfit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Britain is not the only democracy where the centre is crumbling. On September 8th\u00a0France\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0centrist government fell over spending cuts, caught in a pincer of the hard left and right. In Germany the established centre parties have steadily lost votes, as the political system has fragmented. The middle is hollowing out in America, too, as voters are polarised between\u00a0MAGA<\/small>\u00a0and a mob of fight-the-oligarchy lefties.\u00a0The difference is that Sir Keir still has a commanding majority in the House of Commons. He must use it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read it all<\/a>.<\/p> The two traditional parties of government are under siege as never before. An injection of fresh competition could make Britain much harder to govern https:\/\/t.co\/TIkKL1CCP0<\/a>
Illustration: Peter Crowther pic.twitter.com\/nkd40XCaD6<\/a><\/p>— The Economist (@TheEconomist) September 12, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>