Labour Chair Phillipson says Reform UK remains main threat despite polling drop

LIVERPOOL, England — Reform UK is still the “main threat” to Labour despite Nigel Farage’s party tumbling in the polls, according to Labour Chair Bridget Phillipson.

Speaking at the POLITICO pub at Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, Phillipson said that although Farage’s party faces a host of “unanswered questions” over its donations, they remain “well-organized, they are well-funded, and you know — they’re not going anywhere.”

Phillipson acknowledged, however, that Labour should not “write off” the threat from the Tories, who sunk to their worst-ever result at the 2024 general election but have steadily regained ground in the national polls under Leader Kemi Badenoch.

Pressed on the rising Tory threat, Phillipson told the “Politics at Sam and Anne’s” podcast: “I think history would show how electorally successful they are. But what I would say is that they have never reconciled with why they lost so badly in 2024.”

Donor move

Elsewhere in her POLITICO pub interview, Phillipson threw her weight behind moves to limit how parties can spend donations in the run-up to an election.

Labour is currently grappling with how to fight back against a mega-haul of donations to Reform from crypto entrepreneurs. There is currently no limit on the amount individual donors based in the U.K. can give to a political party, although donations above £11,180 must be reported to the Electoral Commission watchdog.

There is concern in Labour that a stringent cap could hit the governing party’s union funders, and Phillipson Monday that said she has “mixed views” on a policy to cap individual donations.

The equalities minister defended union cash in politics, arguing that “working people whose voices would not otherwise be heard” have the right to contribute.

But she said: “I’m more interested in how you make sure you regulate the spending rather than individual donations, because I think the latter is where we see increasing challenges around pushing the boundaries of the rules.”