Keir Starmer's plan to win back ‘authoritarian-leaning' voters
Sir Keir Starmer wants to win back 'authoritarian-leaning' voters by ramping up Labour's messaging on tackling migration and crime.
Downing Street strategists have drawn up plans to restore trust in politics among two groups of people identified as 'grafting realists' and 'striving moderates'.
The former are largely disengaged with political news, but likely to live in social housing and receive benefits, meaning they have often have direct contact with the government. According to official documents seen by The Times, these voters have lower than average levels of trust in politicians.
Internal polling commissioned by Downing Street said these 'grafting realists', who make up about 14 per cent of the population, exhibit 'authoritarian-leaning views, particularly around crime and immigration'.
Guidance drawn up by the Cabinet Office's New Media Unit suggests that this group, mostly female and with an average age of 45, are more likely to get their news online or from social media, although a notable portion 'avoid the news due to anxiety'.
It says: 'They are more disengaged with the news, politics and current affairs than average, see politicians and the media as more of a force for bad than for good, and feel the truth may be being hidden from them.'
The strategy team, launched by No 10 last year, recommends advertising in supermarkets, on buses and through social media influencers to target this group. Topics such as 'controlling immigration' and 'tackling crime' should be prioritised, it adds.
• Keir Starmer on the benefits U-turn and his toughest week yet
The second group being targeted by Starmer are known in No 10 as 'striving moderates'. With an average age of 44 and likely to have children, they are 'slightly more' trusting of the government but despondent about their own prospects, and also make up 14 per cent of the population.
According to the guidance: 'This segment are more pessimistic than optimistic about their own future and are the most likely of all segments to feel powerless to change their own lives. Despite this, they feel more positively towards politicians and pay higher levels of attention to the news, politics and current affairs than average. Overall, they hold moderate political views.'
Migration is identified as an important issue for 'authoritarian-leaning' voters
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER JACK HILL
Prioritising evidence of action on plans to build 1.5 million homes is advised. Martin Lewis's Money Saving Expert website and the advice forum Mumsnet are given as examples of 'how to reach' the second group of voters, as well as traditional newspapers, TV and radio news.
• No 10 seeks influencers to spread Starmer's word on social media
The strategy is a government one being implemented by civil servants, rather than overtly political. However, Labour insiders said it was crucial to their plans for the next election as they aim to restore trust in the government to deliver on its promises and see off the threat of Nigel Farage's Reform party, who they see as 'populist'.
Last week Starmer admitted that his first year in office has been blighted by a struggle to sell his plans to voters.
'We haven't always told our story as well as we should,' he told Sky News during a trip to the G7 summit in Canada.
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