What do people want in politicians? Well, it’s not to hear your dad was a toolmaker.

Last year, a Survation poll showed the number one quality people wanted in politicians was “listening to people.”  A close second was “keeping their promises.”  Followed by “delivering value for money.”  Way, way down the list was having “a working class background.” So Keir Starmer’s advisors seem to have been wasting their time with the incessant, “his Dad was a toolmaker” line.  And if they’d said “factory worker,” he’d have avoided all the “that makes you a tool” jibes.

It also explains why all the “but Boris Johnson is a toff” or “Farage is a millionaire city trader” attacks just bounced off.  For whatever reason, very few Brits care about your background.

The mask always slips with politicians

A 2020 article in the Journal of Research in Personality concluded that people want politicians who are like themselves, only more assertive.  So politicians who seem to share the same values, but are braver, more confident, and more eloquent.

It also explains Johnson’s sudden defenestration.  People’s self-image is not always accurate.  They may like to think of themselves as a happy-go-lucky cheeky-chappy, but few will admit to being a liar.  Breaking lockdown rules and covering it up wasn’t funny.  Once trust is gone, it’s gone.

Now that Reform UK are in power, they’ll face a similar problem.  Shouting from the sidelines is easy.  Fixing things is hard.  Nobody’s self-image is, “I’m all talk and no trousers.”  If they stop identifying with you, they’ll stop voting for you.  And unlike the Labour Party or the Tories, Reform have no lifelong voter base.

They’re off to a bad start.  One Reform Durham councillor has resigned, because they can’t work for the council and be a councillor.  Genius.  Some have suggested that Reform should foot the bill for the by-election, since they’re responsible for the waste of public money.  Their first big action was to not attend diversity or climate change training sessions.  Despite there being, in fact, no such sessions.  Heroes.

Their latest act of fixing broken Britain was to order the Rainbow flag taken down before the Bishop Auckland Pride event.  I mean, seriously?  Roads, potholes, parks, council houses, libraries, sports centres?  Nope, have a pop at the LGBTQ+ community.  The irony is they’ve banged on about ‘snowflakes’ for years, but get triggered by a flag.

Voters aren’t always fooled

I keep seeing comments on social media saying Reform voters have been duped.  I’m not sure that’s always true.

I’ve spoken to quite a few Reform voters recently.  The vibe is entirely “stick it to the establishment.”  At least half of them have been quite critical of Reform, but just lost faith in Labour or the Tories.  “I don’t agree with them on immigration,” one lad told me.  “If we stopped immigration the NHS would collapse.”  That doesn’t fit the stereotype.

It’s just as true that Labour voters were duped by Keir Starmer.  Winter fuel allowance cut.  WASPI women betrayed.  Disabled people’s independence payments stripped.  Foreign aid slashed.  NHS workers sacked.  Performative deportations.  And the “Island of strangers” speech.  Not what people were sold.

Labour voters had as much warning as Reform voters.  Starmer ditched all of his ten pledges.  Over a year ago I said there was a £20 billion hole in the budget.  It was widely reported.  And praising Thatcher was a pretty big clue.

So instead of all the posturing, shall we try actually listening to people?

Politicians need to listen, not posture

We did this in Newcastle the other Sunday, with 240 people coming along to help us develop Majority’s 2026 election manifesto.

Just below “value for money,” people want to see politicians “working cross party.”  We’re doing that too.  The North Tyneside Longbenton and Benton by-election will be a joint campaign by Majority, the Green Party, and North Tyneside Community Independents.  Majority is the new movement I was elected to lead.  Anyone can join, even if a member of another party.  The only requirement is agreeing to our values of social, economic and environmental justice, and high standards in public life.  No grifters here, thank you very much.

Working as North Tyneside Together, people will have a chance to vote for a genuinely progressive candidate who listens.  And avoid vote splitting.  Our candidates take no whip, meaning they serve the people, not the party HQ.

I’d like to see it as a model for our 2026 citywide election campaign.  As Humphrey Bogart said, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

Featured image via the Canary