The Labour brand is so toxic now that even MPs don’t want to fly the party flag

After a year and a half in charge of Britain, Keir Starmer’s Labour has clearly become a toxic brand. Starmer is the least popular prime minister ever, and a 3 December poll had the party at just 14%, four whole points behind a surging Green Party. So it’s no wonder many Labour MPs – even on Starmer’s top team – seem to have been distancing themselves from Labour branding.

Between Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves, David Lammy, and Wes Streeting, it's not obvious what political party they represent if you look at their X banners.

Maybe it's because he's positioning himself ahead of a leadership race, but Streeting seems the happiest to show Labour red. pic.twitter.com/WuwCTk4zP7

— Ed Sykes (@OsoSabioUK) December 8, 2025

Labour red hard to find

As Labour MPs and others attacked Green Party leader Zack Polanski in recent days, some people highlighted that one attack came from an MP consistently avoiding Labour branding and using neutral House of Commons-style branding instead:

I'm regularly on picket lines with health & care workers the Labour Government keep on poverty wages.

I oppose Labours cruel immigration policies cheered on by Tommy Robinson & Nigel Farage

I also support a £15 minimum wage.

Why do Labour MPs keep switching their replies off? https://t.co/UmAJI4V59j

— Zack Polanski (@ZackPolanski) December 6, 2025

If you saw this, what party would you think the MP was from? https://t.co/WxE6QD0218 pic.twitter.com/CC4AMcYJLF

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) December 7, 2025

Ok fair.

What about the website of fellow Newham MP, James Asser?

No mention of his party here in his bio on a completely changed website.

It's pretty clear that there's some effort to avoid saying "I'm a Labour MP" since the party became unpopular.https://t.co/C5SJebrjwD pic.twitter.com/DkPLF4R3jk

— C (@chasportch) December 8, 2025

It seems very strange that an MP who has voted so loyally with the Starmer regime through its numerous controversies would avoid Labour branding. But then, Kumaran is the MP in a constituency where Labour’s vote share in 2024 plummetted by over 26%. Although there were some boundary changes in 2023, the contrast with Labour’s overwhelming dominance in the 2019 election is stark.

She’s not alone, though.

Many of Labour’s current cabinet members got more votes under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership in 2017 (or even in 2019!). So they were already starting off in a less popular position. But in government, Starmer’s pandering to the far right and failing to look anything like Labour used to has done immense damage. And while some on the top team are still holding on to Labour branding, others definitely seem to be shying away from it:

Out of Ed Miliband, Jess Phillips, Jonathan Reynolds, and Luke Akehurst, it's Phillips who most openly flies the Labour colours. pic.twitter.com/GQsw2ZtEcZ

— Ed Sykes (@OsoSabioUK) December 8, 2025

Out of Bridget Phillipson, Heidi Alexander, Steve Reed, and Lucy Powell, it's Labour's new deputy leader Powell who most clearly shows Labour branding. pic.twitter.com/ci06IiYQ4s

— Ed Sykes (@OsoSabioUK) December 8, 2025

It’s nothing new, either. Because if your job depends on reputation, there are absolutely times when you’ll want to avoid things that could harm that:

Reminder that Richard here is a ‘Scottish’ Labour MP hiding his support for genocide & cuts under a Green banner. https://t.co/UoCKq3UFl6

— Susan Rae (@susan4leithwalk) July 12, 2025

Oh Look ~ an actual @UKLabour MP in Scotland who has an actual surgery (unlike many of his colleagues) but I see that he also uses a Green banner. Are you all ashamed to use Red & declare somewhere on it that you belong to #Labour ? Trying to fool the public…?
Vote @theSNP https://t.co/TnDh9s6QAj

— Derek, Scottish not Scotish. (@DerekMackenzie_) December 10, 2024

It’s one thing to not mention Keir Starmer on leaflets but there’s also no mention of Labour and colour scheme is purple and pink.

Starmer supporters said he would be an asset in elections. Doesn’t seem to be the case here with printed literature. pic.twitter.com/nCD3VJF5HP

— Aaron Bastani (@AaronBastani) July 1, 2021

If your career depends on it…

In 2010, Labour and the Tories both tried some rebranding to secure power, with the Tories going for a green tree to make them look a bit friendlier. And after 14 years proving they were anything but friendly, Conservative candidates started avoiding the Tory blue, using purple, green, and even red in campaign leaflets instead. They seemed positively desperate to distance themselves from what the party has done to the country since 2010.

In the past, party colours differed around the country, separating branding a bit from the actions of central government. But with the increasing importance of marketing in politics since the 1980s, it has got a lot harder for MPs to distance themselves from the actions of their leaders.

Not only have party leaders taken on a more prominent role in Britain in recent decades, contributing to increasingly anti-democratic policies, but increasing wages, expenses, lobbying, and ‘revolving door’ politics has also brought more careerists into parliament. And careerists will very much do whatever is necessary to keep their jobs, even if that means dumping the branding of the party that gave them those jobs.

There are a lot of things wrong with British politics, and it will take a lot of time and effort to clean it all up. But in the meantime, we should at the very least call out the hypocrisy of those who don’t have the guts to represent the parties they loyally vote for. Voters deserve transparency and honesty, and if the politicians won’t give that, we must.

Featured image via X