The right of British politics is getting pretty ugly as the Tories absorb more of those from the extremities of the right end of the spectrum.

Labour is hopeless as per usual at uniting the left with rampant division in the ranks.

Can only hope the centre ground prevails... https://twitter.com/SebastianEPayne/status/1390453764864290821

The only difficulty with this is that this era of politics is driven by unrelenting tribalism; the fringes of the spectrum are disrupting the status quo and are driving the narratives (particularly on the right) of those fighting for power more than they "should"...

The Tories lean ever further right to appease all their Brexit-backers and former UKIPers, in the process also winning over Labour-leavers.

Labour is plagued with constant conflict of "is the party Left enough?", to which the answer is always "no" for a significant few...

Given the division within Labour, it's unsurprising they're leaking votes (with a fair few also going to the Lib Dems, Greens etc) as there is no clear answer for what they stand for.

The party is simply tearing itself apart.

The Tories had an easy strategy: target the people who are missing a political 'identity' and they have done just that.

Given the mess Labour is in, and the Tory Brexit/patriotic messaging, many will have jumped ship simply because of that.

It was an easy tribe to join.

In one fell swoop, they could pick off disenfranchised Labour voters, the Brexit Party/UKIP members (given their collapses), as well as any undecided voters with the incentive of regional funding (who doesn't want more money after a long and tough pandemic?)

The difficulty for the centre is how do you form a tribe strong enough to deal with all the mess that's going on all around it? Is there an identity that is strong enough to compete with the jingoistic Tory presence as well as cut through the constant infighting of the left?

For those on the extremities of the political spectrum, it should be easy to have a message that cuts through: you just rally against the party that's your polar opposite. It's even easier when that party is also in an identity crisis *cough* Labour *cough*.

Trying to forge an identity in the centre, however, is a significant challenge: you have nothing which is diametrically opposed in terms of identity. The Lib Dems' underwhelming (yet somewhat consistent) performances in recent years shows what a struggle this has proven to be.

Change UK, whilst a brave effort to disrupt this narrative, was also a testament to this.

So what needs to change?

Clearly, Starmer's Labour needs to solve its infighting first and foremost. How?

Split the party.

It is broken beyond repair and this is providing the right with an easy target. Make things easier for voters and let the more left-end of the party break away.

In doing so, most of the mess that Starmer's Labour is in should fall away as the Left of Labour takes Corbyn & Co with it. Given the shift of the political spectrum towards the right, it's unlikely that this splinter group would gain any serious traction.

Labour needs to reclaim the centre-left.

Whilst being towards the centre can make it difficult to carve out an identity, at the same time it can be a real benefit i.e. being able to point at those on the fringe and show you are more tolerable/less extreme than them.

It's clear that the Labour left voter is no longer as cut and dry as it has been in the past.

This shift would put them more in alignment with the Lib Dems and provide a more compelling liberal offering towards the centre that doesn't ring of magic money trees and Corbynistas.

If it's tough to forge an identity here, why bother?

Because it's the only realistic chance of combatting Tory tribalism. It should also create a more united and effective opposition than can cut through, reducing the infighting amongst opposition parties.

A major reason why the Tories are doing so well is because of their tribal identity which appears strong when contrasted to the shambles of the Labour party as well as its recent history.

A lot of their identity is simply built on this dynamic.

Take away this dynamic and the tribalism can start to be tempered and progress be made...

How to change this for the long run? Change the voting system that makes such tribalism common.

The only way this happens: a progressive coalition that sits towards the centre-ground.

TLDR:

Politics would be less tribal under more representative voting systems - FPTP encourages tribalism.

There would be a shift away from the political extremes towards the centre.

Politics would be more productive as a result.

Golden rule in life: everything in moderation

Idealistic? Maybe

But it's the only way things are going to change

promise never to do a long thread again...got a bit carried away