Has populist politics killed liberalism in the UK?

Read time: 4 mins

In brief…

• Adrian Wooldridge tells Lewis Goodall how a feeling of lack of control in people’s lives has led to the rise in populist politics in the UK, and why he believes liberal politicians have not stepped up to counter this.
• Wooldridge blames liberal leaders such as Keir Starmer and Ed Davey for not standing behind their liberal principles, and social media companies for hooking people with disinformation and algorithms.
• He explains why he believes liberals can bounce back and counter populism, and why he still believes in its “genius”.

What’s the story?

A quick look at a UK voting poll, any poll, doesn't paint a good picture for any of the mainstream parties.

Labour, Tories, Liberal Democrats – all now struggling to hold their own against Reform UK and The Green Party, both of which have taken populism, from opposite ends of the spectrum to the heart of British politics.

After 14 years of Conservative rule, Keir Starmer won the 2024 general election, and brought centre-left liberalism to 10 Downing Street – but hasn’t had an impact, and it now appears voters are looking for something new.

"The feeling that we're not in control of our lives, is absolutely at the centre of the appeal of populism," author and columnist Adrian Wooldrige tells Lewis Goodall.

His new book, Centrists Of The World Unite! discusses the future of liberal politics, and how it can survive in this era of fractured society.

He defines liberalism as a skepticism of power, tolerance of others' views and open debate, and a focus on the individual – not the nation, collective or class.

"Liberalism is also a way of life. It's a way of existing. It's a way of dealing with people who disagree with you, based on tolerance and differences," Wooldridge says.

"It is agreeing to disagree, getting on with people that you disagree with."

And, he adds, it has been at the heart of British politics since the 18th or 19th century.

But that may no longer be the case.

Can liberal politics address that feeling of lack of control?

Wooldridge says addressing issues such as drug use, or migrant communities not assimilating can address these individual matters, but also the disconnection from modern society some feel.

"It's not just a good thing for the health of society, you're also addressing this worry about control, the idea that things are out of control," he tells Lewis.

That feeling, he adds, has been exacerbated by social media companies, for which the only objective is to make money.

"They have created a whole collection of algorithms which make us addicted to scrolling, which disseminate information regardless of whether it's true, and which are calculated to make us emotional, and engage our emotions as much as possible," Wooldridge adds.

"If you have that at the heart of your media complex, then you are instilling in the population a sense of lack of control.

"Once you have that sense of lack of control, you will have a desire for a tyrant, a strong man, to restore it."

A 'guilty establishment' in British politics

Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats can be defined as liberal parties in the UK, and both have lost votes and seats to both the Greens, and Reform.

Wooldridge says they have become a "guilty establishment" that has lost its spirit.

Reasons for that sense of guilt, he adds, include the financial crash, and the war in Iraq.

"It's a guilty establishment that keeps its power, keeps its privileges, but it isn't willing to really fight and articulate for its beliefs, particularly its fundamental belief in pluralism," Wooldridge says.

"It's a paralysed orthodoxy we have, and with that, you get all the passion going to the left or to the right – or the certainty, the self confidence going to the left or the right.

"You never have somebody like Keir Starmer, really vigorously defending liberal values. Instead, you get formulaic phrases or almost hand wringing apologies."

The News Agents have recently criticised his response to the ongoing Peter Mandelson scandal facing the Labour Party.

What options do liberal Brits have?

Wooldridge says there is a problem at the heart of mainstream politics – and that's the people at the top.

"Keir Starmer is a passionate, convinced liberal, for whom the essence of liberalism lies in global international law," he says.

"I think that's absolutely right, but he's not vigorous enough in rethinking some of the assumptions of liberalism, but his heart is entirely in the right place."

When it comes to liberalism in the Liberal Democrats, Wooldridge says there is simply "nothing there".

"Ed Davey is intellectually paralysed because he's basically a mixture of economic and social liberal," he says.

"But he thinks the way to make up for that is to dance around and do silly gestures.

"You need somebody from the centre who is willing to articulate a new blueprint."

Can centrists unite and, if they do, save the world?

The upcoming local elections in May could prove a bumpy ride for mainstream parties – including the liberals who have circled power for so long.

But Wooldridge remains optimistic about the power of the middle ground.

"Centrists of the world should unite, not just around a soggy centre, or just saying 'we're not like these populists', but around a certain set of beliefs, which is liberalism," he says.

"It has lost sight of its genius, but its genius is definitely there."

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