Starmer's 'Rivers of Crud' From A Racist-Lite Dud - A Gift To The Far-Right...

'Rivers of Crud'

Right-wing populism thrives on grand promises of national revival - strong borders, restored sovereignty, a renewed sense of “pride in our people.” Yet in practice its governing partners almost invariably embrace the very policies that hollow out the middle and working classes they claim to champion.

Meanwhile, Britain’s first-past-the-post system has long insulated the major parties from meaningful challenge. But today, with discontent simmering and no credible left-wing vessel to carry it, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK may be the first force in decades to breach that barrier.

The 'Labour' government's answer - be more racist...

Keir Starmer's Enoch Powell tribute act speech on immigration on 12 May even the old fascist's racism-rousing 'Rivers of Blood' speech: "We risk becoming an island of strangers" Starmer claimed - if, of course, he didn't stop Johnny and Jane Foreigner from entering this hallowed land; no matter that it it vital that many do so in order to staff our struggling care system...

He even appropriated the Brexit mantra 'Take Back Control'...

Loathed by most of the left and even soft-left, Starmer has hitched his wagon to the racism star, hoping to bolster his flagging support with UK bigots. But it won't work. You don't 'beat' the likes of Reform by becoming like them - you beat them by treating them as the minority racist idiots that they are, not by according them some kind of recognition as a 'threat'.

Starmer's 'Rivers of Blood' tribute act

The 'threat' is that Starmer's limp centrist bigotry will embolden and empower even worse levels of bigotry; that unable to hold power himself, he throws in his lot (and ours - don't forget he's PM) with these racist neanderthals. Just to cling to some form of power...

Right-wing populists rail against “globalists” and “elites,” yet once in power or influence, they often enact the same low-tax, deregulation-first economic model beloved by multinational corporations. Public-sector spending is slashed under the banner of “fiscal responsibility,” even as the corporate tax rate is cut. The people they purport to protect see stagnant wages, rising living costs, and eroded public services - while profits and executive pay soar.

The immigrant “bogeyman” is a staple of the right-wing playbook. But those very leaders will routinely court wealthy foreign investors to prop up real-estate markets, allow purchase of vast swathes of housing stock, and keep property prices out of reach for locals. The narrative blames migrants for squeezed wages and crowded public services, yet government policy often prioritises overseas money over home-grown prosperity.

Promises to safeguard “traditional values” often manifest as culture-war theatrics - banning books, policing speech, or scapegoating minorities - rather than strengthening community bonds or funding local initiatives. The result is a more atomised society, where people feel isolated and resentful, making them ripe for further populist exploitation.

In past cycles of economic hardship or political scandal, Britain has seen surges of left-wing enthusiasm - think the rise of the Labour left under Tony Benn or Corbyn. Today, however, the left is bruised and disoriented:

Keir Starmer’s recalibration toward the centre has reassured markets but left many working-class voters unconvinced that Labour will substantially alter the status quo. Smaller socialist parties and movements lack the broad appeal or organisational capacity to mobilise disaffected voters on a national scale. Both Brexit fatigue and austerity grievances have become intertwined with culture-war disputes, which right-wing populists exploit more effectively than the left, who remain bogged down in identity-politics debates rather than clear material demands.

Nigel Farage has spent years building a media platform and a political brand synonymous with Brexit and anti-establishment ire. Reform UK, his current vehicle, polls consistently in the high teens - well above the threshold that, in concentrated pockets, can translate into actual seats under first-past-the-post.

Reform’s strongest support comes from former Labour heartlands - Northern towns, Midlands constituencies, and coastal communities - areas where the Labour vote has collapsed post-Brexit and where Conservative incumbents cling to slim majorities. Cost-of-living pressures, NHS backlogs, and rural broadband blackspots have created a litany of local grievances.

With no left-wing challenger offering a compelling alternative, Reform can position itself as the sole voice of protest. Under FPTP, even 25–30% of the vote in a constituency can be enough to unseat a Labour or Conservative MP if the other major party splits the remainder. In a handful of seats where Labour and Tories are evenly matched, Reform could slip through the middle.

The contradictions of right-wing populism - its people-first narrative married to people-last policy - have created a reservoir of working-class anger. With the left unable to marshal that anger into a credible electoral strategy, Nigel Farage stands poised to make history by exploiting fissures in the two-party duopoly.

If he succeeds, it won’t be because Reform offers a cohesive alternative vision for Britain, but because it alone has captured the current of discontent that flows from an economy rigged in favour of capital, not communities. For the first time in decades, FPTP may finally fracture - and that fracture may come not from the left, which would bring the genuine change we need, but sadly from the right.

When the left fails to build a strong left-wing alternative, the politics of ‘it’s those with brown skin who are the problem’ is likely to fill the void.