British Politics Turns Into Brand War as 2-Party Loyalties Fray

1 articles · Updated · The New Statesman · Jun 18

British politics is increasingly being fought as a branding contest, with parties and candidates using sharper identities to win voters who no longer feel tied to Labour or the Conservatives.
Makerfield’s by-election captures that shift: a Labour challenger built around personal image, a Nigel Farage-backed Reform candidate who is a plumber, and rising support for Restore, which largely exists on Facebook and X.
That fragmentation reflects a broader consumer-style politics in which voters shop around, forcing parties to stand out in feeds much as products once had to stand out on supermarket shelves.
Labour’s low-profile 2024 “small-target strategy” is portrayed as backfiring because benefit cuts and a claimed £22 billion fiscal hole clashed with what many voters still expect from the Labour brand.
The article argues Britain’s most durable political identities now need to be recognizable but distinctive—“traditional, but with a twist”—rather than simply competent or deliberately bland.