The Guardian view on Labour’s fiscal caution: rethink the offer. Or risk losing voters to a broken settlement | Editorial

Sir Keir Starmer may want to reassure markets, but neglecting everyday hardship risks alienating an insecure electorate that looks elsewhereThe Conservative party may be sliding into the abyss, as Sir Keir Starmer suggests, but Labour would be foolish to imagine that it is insulated from the same fate. Labour’s polling plummet since the 2024 general election is the worst for any government since 1983. In cutting current spending on benefits while promising future capital investment, Sir Keir risks alienating the very voters he needs to keep.The foundations of Britain’s two-party system are eroding. The Liberal Democrats, Reform UK, the Greens and nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales are looking to gain. Some say the Tories now face an existential crisis like the one that saw the Liberals overtaken by Labour in the 1920s. That split happened on the left. The Conservatives should not be surprised to see it repeated on the right – with Reform poised to usurp them.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

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