It cannot be right that actors like Musk can funnel money into elections through limited companies. The last Conservative government made it easier for overseas actors to influence our politics, while claiming to do the opposite. Social media platforms’ decisions to end fact-checking, such as Zuckerberg’s Meta, must be met with restrictions and regulation. The current Labour government must react to this threat with new legislation on donations and misinformation.

Fix the country’s finances by pulling one of the easiest levers to deliver growth; fix our relationship with Europe

Rachel Reeves has very few levers left to pull to get the economy growing again. Not only does our polling demonstrate that the public want a closer relationship (even in places like Clacton), our economy won’t survive much more stagnation. Read Best for Britain and the UK Trade & Business Commission’s recommendations ahead of the review of our deal with Europe in 2026.

Ensure that economic growth is felt by everyone, especially those on lower incomes

The 2024 US election is a warning shot to the Labour government. Despite the US economy recovering under Joe Biden, too many people didn’t feel the effects of the growth allowing Trump and the Republicans to capitalise on that frustration. A failure to put more money into people’s pockets could hand the 2029 election to Reform UK across England and Wales. It’s vital that barriers to trade with Europe are lifted quickly, allowing that growth to be felt by voters who are struggling, preventing Farage taking advantage of their plight.

Across the developed economies housing crises are enabling far-right politicians to vilify migrants as the reason why younger people have no housing security and our own media conflates pressures in the NHS with net migration figures. The best counter to these narratives is for governments to solve these problems head on, despite the scale of the task. The Conservative Party of Canada is putting housing at the heart of their strategy to win back younger voters, demonstrating that this issue, if not handled correctly, can depose incumbent progressive parties.

Too much right-wing political information reaches voters on parts of the internet that progressives fail to understand or engage with. In 2024 Trump, and his message, reached millions of young people (particularly men) on platforms like Twitch, Kick and Rumble, complemented by ‘man-o-sphere’ podcasts and Youtube streams. Despite progress on generating ephemeral content, often through Tiktok, such as Kamala Harris’s campaign launch, the air war is being won by right-wing actors. Progressives must react to the changed media environment with new strategies for reaching younger audiences with the perceived authenticity and sincerity that figures on the right find easier to manufacture.

The toughest task of all is the most important; people need to be persuaded to reject right-wing opinion. This will take constant and repeated debunking, in the right tone, combined with positive messaging around migration and social cohesion that offers hope for the future. Research can help craft messaging, but innovation is required to make sure the messages reach the right people, in the right way. Best for Britain firmly believes that when we change minds we change politics for the better. And we are committed to working with everyone who shares that belief.