Written by Joe Card
Since taking office, Keir Starmer’s government has disappointed much of the British left by seeming to continue a drift towards the right that began during his time as Leader of the Opposition. What was perceived as a strategy to win the 2024 election and end 14 years of Conservative government is increasingly looking like a centrist muddle appealing to no one in particular. With approval ratings on the floor, Starmer’s Labour Party has undeniably lost its role as the electoral vehicle for the vast majority of left-wing voters.
Instead, a range of alternatives are springing up. The Liberal Democrats arguably went into the last election with a more left-wing manifesto than Labour, which saw their best result ever, with 72 MPs elected. The Greens similarly saw their best result, with 4 MPs elected – especially in seats ranging from urban Brighton to rural East Anglia. In the most direct threat to Labour, Jeremy Corbyn and four other independents won in traditional Labour strongholds, with a number of very close calls in other places. These independents and Zarah Sultana – who had the Labour whip withdrawn after rebelling to support removing the two-child benefits cap – have since tried to set up a new party, provisionally called Your Party. Despite unedifying public scraps over trans rights, a membership portal, and sexism, this party may well become yet another alternative to Labour.
Our Two-Party System
The conventional wisdom in British politics says that the UK is a two-party state. Whether the parties are Labour and Conservative, Conservative and Liberal, or even Whig and Tory, there is only room for two. Political scientists argue that this is the result of our first-past-the-post electoral system, where candidates only need a plurality of votes to win, rather than an absolute majority. This leads to the inescapable conclusion that when parties fracture, their prospects inevitably decline, and new parties have almost no chance of gaining traction – unless, like Reform, they can jump to the top of the polls. This means that the left of British politics faces a major structural disadvantage.
However, this narrative misses an important point. Unlike the US presidential election, our general elections are instead 650 local, constituency elections. In each constituency, the electoral battle is realistically always going to be a two-horse race – but there is no reason for each local election to be between the same two parties everywhere. For instance, at the 2024 election in rural North Herefordshire, the Greens’ Ellie Chowns decisively beat a Conservative incumbent, and Chowns’ focus on pollution in local waterways paid off. Four independent MPs elected last year won on the basis of support for Gaza, defeating Labour in urban strongholds with large Muslim populations – where Chowns’ focus on river pollution wouldn’t have worked.
In the next election, we could easily see this go further with a range of smaller left-wing parties reflecting the concerns of local voters, challenging Reform and securing seats across the country. But the same parties wouldn’t be able to win everywhere – ending the traditional picture of the two ‘broad church’ parties, Labour and the Conservatives, competing for every seat.
The Impact of Social Media
Nationally successful parties, however, still have some advantages. They can deploy far more resources – in terms of both campaign funds and activists – and can capture media attention in a way smaller parties cannot. With invitations to regular panel shows like the BBC’s Question Time and guaranteed coverage of party conferences, large parties have a significant advantage. But in the 21st century, this is becoming less significant as social media allows politicians to bypass traditional media such as national broadcasters and newspapers. Evidence already suggests that many more people in Britain – and across the world – turn to social media for the news, as TV and print media see their relevance decline.
This has profound ramifications in practice. In Zohran Mamdani’s campaign to be the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, we saw how an insurgent, anti-establishment candidate can use social media to drive a campaign. In Instagram Reels and TikTok clips that went viral across the world, Mamdani described a vision for New York that proved enormously popular in the face of opposition from the Democratic establishment.
If smaller parties in the UK can use these same techniques to build a social media presence, traditional media’s focus on the major parties will become irrelevant, and various left-wing groups will be able to win across the country.
Parliament in 2029
But if these different parties arrive in Westminster, following the election scheduled for 2029, how will they coordinate a cohesive programme for government? We have already seen serious ruptures in Your Party; divisions in the Greens were laid out in full view during their leadership election; and even the Liberal Democrats saw concerns raised over their leader’s tactics at the party conference in Bournemouth. If left-wing parties are not even on the same page internally, there seems little chance of them agreeing on a formal coalition.
Indeed, all three political parties come from very different ideological positions. For example, the independent MP and potential Your Party leading figure, Adnan Hussein, does not support trans women accessing women’s spaces – putting him at odds with Zarah Sultana and the Greens. The new Green leader, Zack Polanski, suggests Britain ought to leave NATO, a significant departure from the Liberal Democrats’ more supportive approach towards the alliance.
However, where left-wing MPs do agree, they have already demonstrated their ability to work together. For instance, they have drafted a bill calling for an independent public inquiry into UK involvement in the attacks on Gaza. If large numbers of left-wing MPs from different parties are elected at the next election, perhaps rather than a formal coalition, they could continue this more flexible arrangement. By working together when they agree and sticking to their principles when they don’t, they may be able to deliver real change while remaining true to their values.
