Labour's rebuttal to the Green party this week sums up the double standard that dogs our politics | Frances Ryan

"Britain is broken and nothing can ever get better. It doesn't sound like a winning election slogan, but the sentiment is increasingly taking hold in politics and the media. The rise of Reform and the rightwards shift of the mainstream parties has made doom-spreading a sport, with GB News and Nigel Farage taking turns to pick which shadowy forces migrants, welfare or wokeness are wrecking the country."

"Conservatism once embodied national pride and preservation, but the new right is selling despair and destruction. The very people who have long accused leftwingers of talking Britain down now speak of no-go areas and of migrants raping young women. The Labour party under Keir Starmer has not exactly been soaked in optimism either, arguing that disability cuts are inevitable while wealth taxes are impossible."

"This pessimism even extends to casting doubt on anyone who dares offer a bit of hope. Darren Jones, one of Starmer's most influential ministers, told the Guardian last week that the Green party is making unfeasible promises ahead of the next election. It's their responsibility to explain to people how they would actually choose what to do if they were in government, as opposed to just promising things that are undeliverable, he said."

British political discourse is dominated by pessimism, with Reform and a rightwards shift in mainstream parties turning doom-spreading into political strategy. Media outlets and figures such as GB News and Nigel Farage amplify fears about migrants, welfare and 'wokeness', framing social problems as existential threats. Conservatism has shifted from national pride to selling despair and narratives of societal breakdown, including claims of no-go areas and sexual violence by migrants. Labour under Keir Starmer shows limited optimism, accepting disability cuts and rejecting wealth taxes. Political elites dismiss leftwing policies as unrealistic while presenting centre-right measures as pragmatic, sidelining working-class interests.

Read at www.theguardian.com