The fight Starmer faces to stop the march of Reform | Letters

Readers respond to an article by Polly Toynbee on whether and how the government can respond to the rise of Nigel Farage’s party

Polly Toynbee (From now on, Labour has one mission only. It must focus on saving Britain from Farage, 9 September) allocates to the Labour party a role that it probably cannot perform on its own. It is not inconceivable that there will only be one rightwing party at the next election – Nigel Farage may just swallow the Conservative party, or Reform and the Conservatives will make a deal.

If the progressive vote is split three ways (or four ways if Jeremy Corbyn’s party takes off) the result will be predictable. Toynbee talks of encouraging the Liberal Democrats and Greens to vote tactically for Labour – but we also need to create an environment where Labour voters are encouraged to vote tactically for the Lib Dems and Greens. This would require all three parties being more open to each other’s ideas and seeing themselves as allies – different manifestations of a centre-left consensus. This need not involve formal pacts, but perhaps a statement of common principles, values and approaches.