"The next general election will be no ordinary democratic contest. Not the usual swing of the pendulum this way or that. It will be a key moment in the history of our democracy and it could be less than three years away. Be in no doubt: populists represent a new and terrifying threat to the kind of free elections and free society we cherish, but now take for granted."
"As Donald Trump declared at a pre-election rally in July 2024: In four years you don't have to vote again. We'll have it fixed so good, you're not going to have to vote. Or, as his fellow populist Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, said: Democracy is like a tram. You ride it until you arrive at your destination, then you step off."
"We simply cannot afford to allow Nigel Farage's Reform UK to have a free run, and become established and entrenched as a credible potential government in the minds of disenchanted voters. The longer they go unchallenged, the more unthreatening and risk-free they will seem to voters. Just hoping that Reform and Farage implode, or that the rightwing vote will somehow fracture, is potentially suicidal for our freedom and democracy."
The next general election will be a critical test for democracy and could occur in under three years. Populists pose a new, severe threat to free elections and free society, with leaders openly suggesting they can fix electoral outcomes or discard democracy once their goals are reached. The UK currently lacks an urgent, large-scale strategy to prevent Nigel Farage's Reform UK from embedding as a credible potential government among disenchanted voters. Labour has taken limited steps, including Starmer signaling closer ties with Europe and better digital messaging, but government focus on internal failures risks allowing the populist threat to grow.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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