Politics | United Kingdom | Immigration | Economics | Society

The Rise of the Right in England

The rise to power of right-wing politics seems inevitable now, the right is focusing on the specific things that people care about now.

Photo by Ellen Kerbey on Unsplash

“A nation that cannot control its borders is not a nation.” — Ronald Reagan

I previously wrote about the reason the right keeps winning, but I believe I covered far too much content in one in that article and lacked proper writing skills. So let us focus specifically on UK politics and why the right is surging.

The Labour party’s Keir Starmer resigned, and the Labour Party knows it can’t have another general election, even though it will increase their legitimacy for whoever the next party leader and prime minister is, but why can’t they have another election? Because critics argue that they will likely lose. The left has lost its appeal after constant failure and not focusing on what the public want, and other issues such as presenting the party as the party of the people, and then trying to cut benefits. Labour has had incredibly low ratings in popularity polls, which supports this claim to an extreme degree.

If there was another general election tomorrow, there is no doubt in my mind, that the right would win.

But why? Why has the right risen so quickly in England? What drives this seismic increase? Well, there are a few answers to that.

Immigration and border control

When asked what the single most important factor that altered how the electorate voted in 2024, immigration was the second most important factor. Additionally, the source also states that Reform UK has been focusing on immigration, with 82% stating it is their top issue and reason they are reform supporters. Something that has led to their massive success, as Reform UK dominated local elections in 2026, gaining 1452 councillors in the local elections, beating Labour out of the top. Although, it is challenging to directly link this to Reform UK’s success in local elections, the fact that a majority of their voters focus on immigration, would suggest that their increase in popularity is heavily supported by their strict views on immigration and border control, with stricter borders being the focus to decrease illegal immigration.

So, why is this so important? In theory, the left has been viewed by critics as too lenient on borders, bringing me back to the quote today. The right focuses on a more nationalist approach where immigration is used to achieve growth, rather than taking in refugees. This has led to the right surging in popularity after Brexit, which was already a sign that the United Kingdom wanted less to do with Europe, and more power over its own borders and economy. In essence, the left has not focused on stricter immigration and asylum seeker regulations, something that the public are obviously interested in and wish to see become more controlled and regulated. The right has had figures like Nigel Farage seize upon this and profit from a large boost in popularity, something the left is failing to do.

Cost of living and the economy

The cost of living was ranked as the single most important factor influencing voting behaviour in the 2024 general election, with the economy in general being third place.

And this has been the top concern for good reason, as food prices in the UK have risen by 38.6% from 2020–2025. The fact that Labour did not manage to make any significant decreases in the total rate at which food prices rose, displeased the broader public who viewed food prices and the cost of living in general as the main important factor, leading to their eventual fall in popularity, with the right gaining popularity due to this displeasure, as some critics argue that right wing parties are more capable with the economy, often viewing the left as too focused on welfare and overspending. In fact, the UK is currently running a deficit due to government spending exceeding tax revenue. This source foresees that the combined government revenue will only be £1,235 billion, whereas the amount spent was forecast to be £1,368 billion, causing the government to have a £133 billion deficit.

Additionally, critics argue that many voters will be reluctant to elect a left-wing government who is often known for increasing taxes, in a state where food prices have risen by 38.6%, as left-wing governments are often known for increasing taxation to fill in such deficits.

Trust in left-wing politicians

Keir Starmer has recently stepped down from his position, resigning due to various controversies and lack of approval from his own party. A great example of this is the Mandelson scandal, Starmer appointed Mandelson to be the British Ambassador to the United States, which is ironic as Mandelson had leaked economic data previously to individuals in the United States and even had ties with Epstein. So Starmer effectively picked the worst possible individual for the job, showing his incompetence in the role early on.

Another case is how Starmer fundamentally moved away from what the left stands for, attempting to cut benefits for the disabled, something that caused Labour supporters to question Starmer’s ideological standing and whether or not he actually embodied what the Party stood for and what attracted voters in the first place. And to add insult to injury, Starmer made a complete u-turn after major disapproval from the public, further proving his incompetence to understand his electorate. Overall, similar scandals and miscalculations ultimately led to major erosion of trust in left-wing politicians, consequently leading to Starmer’s resignation.

The rise of Reform UK

Reform UK has grown at an incredible rate, with general elections proving just how popular it is, as stated before, it now has the majority of local councillors in the United Kingdom. Reform UK focuses on illegal immigration, something that ties back to the quote in the beginning of this article, as Reform UK believe that housing asylum seekers is not only strenuous to the economy, but to society as well. This is obviously something that has worked quite well for them as by June 2025 Reform stood at 34% in Ipsos polling, nine points ahead of Labour at 25%, with the stats representing which party individuals are planning on voting for in the next general election. This isn’t just a protest party anymore, it is becoming the dominant force in British politics, due to how deeply it connects with its audience, further supporting the idea that Reform UK has continued growing.

With immigration being such a vital thing altering voting behaviour, it is quite obvious why Reform used it to capitalise and grow. The Conservatives tried to own immigration and failed. Labour ignored it. Farage did two things neither party did, he spoke plainly without apology, and connected immigration, cost of living and cultural grievance into a single coherent narrative. Reform won by being the only party with a clear position on all the issues voters cared about simultaneously, therefore giving itself the push it needed to break down the Duopoly.

However, there have been issues concerning whether Reform UK is capable, a study conducted found that a quarter of Britons agree that Reform UK are ready to form the next government, while 58% disagree. This is a serious issue holding Reform UK back, even if they poll highly, they may not have such success in a real general election due to uncertainty. Additionally, Nigel Farage has recently resigned as MP of Clacton, something that many critics view as him escaping political probation, perhaps something that may degrade his public image in the next general election.

The right didn’t rise — it was always there

Ever since the Brexit referendum in 2016, we have seen that the British people have carried a stronger sense of nationalism, wanting the United Kingdom to have more control over its economy and over its borders, critics even argue that in such a globalised world, having right-wing politics inside of a state is more stable as it helps prevent or soften the blow from external shocks, such as the 2008 market crash.

Therefore, critics argue that the fact that the UK Brexited is a sign that the right simply went into a short hibernation, and that in the present, it has exploded in the form of Reform UK, who are now dominant in the media and popularity polls.

Let’s take UKIP (UK Independence party) as an example, in the 2014 European Parliament elections, UKIP won 24 seats and **26.77% of the vote, this was the first time since the 1906 general election** that a party other than Labour or the Conservatives had won the largest share of the vote in a nationwide UK election. So, we can infer from this that it hasn’t just been something in the background only as of late, and that it has been over a decade since further right parties have begun rising in popularity, a likely sign that the citizenry has been fed up with the current duopoly’s decisions on important factors.

But why, why did UKIP fail while Reform has seen much more success? Critics argue that it is possibly due to Farage taking a more direct leadership role, plus using the mass media to grow Reform to a level beyond UKIP, focusing on more than just being an “Independence” party, and more on being a full-on contender against other parties.

But what do you think? Was the rise of the right inevitable in a world of rising prices and external shocks that grow more intense with each passing one? Or did Labour simply hand the right the keys by abandoning the very voters they were built to represent? Is it really not possible to have a more left-leaning government in this globalised world, or do we just need a more centrist left-wing government, one that is able to keep the economy growing and stable whilst still embodying what the left stands for?

Is Farage a populist political genius, or simply the first person to speak plainly to a majority that, ever since Brexit, was always there waiting to be heard? And if that majority was always there, quietly ignored by both Labour and the Conservatives for a decade, was the fact that their concerns exploded the popularity of Reform inevitable? That is for you as the reader to decide.

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