Columnist Argues Labour Must Abandon Nostalgia for Two-Party Politics

In a Guardian opinion column, writer John Harris argues that the Labour Party has yet to accept that Britain's era of two-party politics has ended, and that clinging to that model risks ceding further ground to Reform UK.

Harris writes that Reform UK, despite recent controversies, remains a significant force in British politics and is likely to keep gaining from the fragmentation of the country's political landscape. He suggests this fragmented system is likely to persist for the foreseeable future rather than reverting to a traditional two-party contest between Labour and the Conservatives.

The column also references a planned symbolic gesture in the English town of Barnham, Norfolk, where local residents were reportedly preparing to hold a mock independence referendum in protest against development plans, which Harris cites as another sign of public discontent with the current political and planning system.

Harris directs part of his argument at Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, suggesting that Labour figures like him need to recognize that cooperation with other parties and movements, rather than a return to old two-party assumptions, is key to countering Reform UK's rise.

The column forms part of an ongoing debate within and around the Labour Party about how to respond to Reform UK's continued polling strength and the broader fragmentation of the UK party system since Brexit.