Small Boats. Big Distractions

Fear Isn’t a Strategy – And It Won’t Fix What’s Broken

When Keir Starmer’s government came to power, many people breathed a sigh of relief. Not because they agreed with every policy. But because, finally, it felt like a break.

A break from fourteen years of Conservative misrule. A break from manufactured culture wars designed to distract. A break from politics that pits communities against each other.

But the break never came.

Instead, we’re seeing something far too familiar.

More of the Same, Just Rebranded

In recent weeks, Starmer has leaned heavily into the same headline-chasing tactics used by his predecessors. Talking tough on “small boats.” Treating asylum seekers as threats. Pushing fear to cover deeper political failures.

It’s not just damaging – it’s dangerous.

This kind of politics doesn't hold back Nigel Farage or Reform UK. It normalises them. It shifts the entire spectrum rightward, giving extremists more space to thrive.

Just this week, Rupert Lowe – a disgraced former Reform MP – posted a photo of a boat off the coast of Great Yarmouth, furiously accusing it of carrying asylum seekers.

It wasn’t. It was a group of charity rowers.

The episode might seem farcical – but it’s a snapshot of what our political discourse has become.

Appeasement Never Works

The problem here isn’t just policy. It’s strategy.

By adopting the rhetoric of the right, Labour risks amplifying the very forces it claims to contain. We’ve seen this play out before – and we know how it ends.

It emboldens extremists.
It drags our politics deeper into toxicity.
It fails to solve the issues people care about.

No amount of scapegoating will fix the NHS. No culture war will lower energy bills. No fear campaign will rebuild trust in government.

What Will?

A better democracy. A fairer system. Real solutions.

In a political system built on proportional representation, parties wouldn't win power through fear. They’d have to win it with ideas – clear, honest, credible plans grounded in the real needs of the public.

PR encourages:

Substance over scapegoating
Distinctiveness and integrity
Genuine accountability to voters

It’s harder to win by copying the far right when every vote counts.

There Is a Better Way

We don’t have to accept this broken politics. At Open Britain, we’re fighting for a modern democracy – one where every voice matters, every vote is equal, and disinformation doesn’t dominate the debate.

If Labour wants to govern for the long haul, it needs to look forward, not over its shoulder. It needs to lead, not mimic. Because the more politics panders to fear, the more broken it becomes.

And there’s simply too much at stake to let that happen again.