Labour warned against pandering to far right
Labour cannot defeat the far right by pandering to them or replicating their policies, warns Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater.
The warning comes as a group of Labour MPs called on Labour to take a more right-wing stance on immigration and other issues, and as Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said he couldn’t rule out working with Reform MSPs to take power in Scotland.
With recent polls showing that Reform UK are set to gain seats in Holyrood and for the first time take the lead in Westminster, Scottish Greens are calling on Labour to ignore the far right's toxic game.
Scottish Greens Co-Leader Lorna Slater said:
“Copying the hateful and authoritarian policies of the far right is always wrong. It punished marginalised people and normalises extreme policies. It won’t win Labour any votes, and will simply legitimise the toxic policies of Reform and those like them.
“Time and again, across Europe and the world, we have seen that trying to mimic the far-right and take them on at their own game does nothing to silence them; it only makes them louder.
“In Germany, the AfD has been legitimised by mainstream parties who have pandered to them on immigration; now these fascists stand a real chance at entering government and in America, Donald Trump was propelled to the White House by a pitiful failure of centrist opposition who tried to do the same.
“Labour needs to learn lessons from fighting the far right across the world, but I have little hope that Keir Starmer will listen. He promised change, yet on everything from tackling the climate crisis to protecting working-class families he is already failing badly."
Ms Slater added:
“Scotland deserves so much better than a race to the bottom between Labour, the Tories and Nigel Farage. We can have a fairer, greener and more equal future.
“Whilst other parties are lurching to the right, the Scottish Greens are standing our ground as a party that will always put people and planet before profit.”