Sir Chris Powell, the advertising strategist behind New Labour's 1997 election victory, has warned that Sir Keir Starmer's party lacks a credible plan to counter the "existential threat" posed by populism, and requires a "fundamental reset" to defeat Reform UK. Powell, whose brother Jonathan serves as Starmer's national security adviser, said there were just three years to halt the rise of a movement he described as a "new and terrifying threat" to democracy and national institutions.
Writing in the Guardian, Powell said there was no "urgently needed counter plan on a huge scale" to thwart Reform UK, and that allowing the party to go unchallenged could see it become entrenched as a "credible potential government" in voters' minds. He dismissed hopes that Reform or its leader Nigel Farage would self-destruct, warning that relying on such an outcome was "potentially suicidal for our freedom and democracy".
The intervention comes as Labour faces deep internal discontent over poor poll ratings, with Reform having led opinion surveys for nearly a year. Starmer is expected to launch a new year push on reducing the cost of living, including measures on energy bills, interest rates and the two-child benefit cap, and No 10 has plans to overhaul its communications strategy by using influencers and viral content on platforms such as TikTok. A Labour source said the government was "tackling the problems that populists exploit" and that the prime minister had repeatedly condemned Reform's "politics of division".
Powell, however, described the party's current social media engagement as "small scale", and argued that the government's narrative had been dominated by its own failings rather than the battle against a populist surge. As part of his Winning Against Populists project with data consultant David Cowan, he said Labour needed to "wage and win the daily war for attention" so that voters hear its message. He cited the example of a Democratic governor winning in a Republican US state by speaking plainly about jobs, roads, schools and prices.
Recalling Labour's first election planning meeting at Tony Blair's home in 1995, Powell said the party now needed a similarly radical overhaul: "new strategy, new branding, new policy, new presentation, new organisation". He called the current situation a "textbook case of an establishment party caught in the headlights", and warned that relying on containment or a "hold-your-nose" vote would eventually fail. While Downing Street is said to believe progressive voters will back Starmer to keep out Reform, many Labour MPs fear such a strategy is complacent. Elections due this year in Wales, Scotland and parts of England will test whether Reform's poll lead translates into seats.
