2026 may prove to be an era-defining year

In Britain and across the West, the battle between the forces of global progressivism and national populism is about to intensify

Photo: Mtaylor848 via Wikimedia Commons

The next 12 months promise to be among the most intriguing in modern British political history.

The plunge in support for Labour and the Conservatives – who rarely now poll more than 40% between them – is unprecedented.

Meanwhile, radical alternatives in the shape of Reform UK and the Greens, with their slick media operations and charismatic leaders, are making serious headway.

Might we be witnessing the death of two-party politics in Britain – or even the end of Labour and the Tories as serious political forces?

It’s a long shot – both parties do, after all, have a habit of defying predictions of their demise – but it isn’t entirely inconceivable.

One need only look to continental Europe to see how mainstream parties that once seemed a permanent fixture of the political landscape can go bust. And it’s usually because they lost touch with large numbers of voters and no longer shared, or even understood, their priorities.