Weak Centrists Create Hard Times – British Populism as a Thatcherite Legacy

The political centre does not have a divine right to govern; it must prove itself worthy of trust again, or face being wiped out.

In March, the two main parties of UK politics found themselves trailing in the polls for the first time to insurgent populists on the left and right. There is no denying that parties that thrive on pitting the people against a perceived corrupt elite are rising and winning elections. For some time, the primary explanations of populism surging have centred migration, with the Greens and Reform taking opposing sides of the argument; however, net migration has since fallen beneath levels seen across the 2010s. Despite this, violent anti-immigration protests have continued, suggesting a deeper issue: economic anxiety. Whilst the rise in populism is complex, economic anxiety is a key factor in driving a jealousy of those who are perceived to be treated better by the government, a politics of envy with a longer and more formative history than usually acknowledged.

1948 saw the creation of the NHS as well as the post-war consensus between the Conservatives and Labour on an economy prioritising full employment and strong public services, a model only destabilised by diverse economic shocks in the 1970s, leading to high inflation and unemployment. In 1975, Margaret Thatcher won the leadership of the Conservatives and promised a new economy: neoliberalism, a system of economic management that favours free trade, balanced public finances, and privatisation. After Thatcher’s victory in 1979, she began to deliver on this vision, and after bruising electoral defeats, the Labour Party found itself “modernising” under Tony Blair and adopting a similarly neoliberal approach to the economy to regain economic credibility. It worked. In 1997, Labour won a landslide victory and, in turn, consolidated a new neoliberal consensus between the two parties.

From 1979, Thatcher’s vision began to foundationally change Britain. Under her premiership there was deregulation and privatisation of energy, water, social housing, and steel. Her successor, John Major, privatised rail and portions of the NHS. Under New Labour, Tony Blair oversaw increased privatisation of the NHS and “light touch” regulation resulting in Thatcher naming him her “greatest achievement”. After the financial crisis in 2008, the ideological nature of neoliberalism reared its head again as the response of coalition and Conservative governments was to cut spending on public services. Our Britain lives in the legacy of the Iron Lady.

Such privatisation bonanzas, and public spending slashing, precipitated deindustrialisation in the north of England, ballooning unemployment, sky-high NHS waiting lists, poorly run trains, and sewage in our waterways. The privatisation of energy resulted in crippling bills that harmed small businesses and aided the hollowing out of local high streets. Given the poor state of public services, degradation of local communities, and enduring cost of living crisis, it is hardly a surprise that people are experiencing economic anxiety, frustration, and ultimately anger.

In 2024, the Labour government was elected on a mandate of easing the cost of living, but with no robust analysis of what has caused it and what caused the economic anxiety that populists play on, it was flying blind. The 2025 Runcorn and Helsby by-election, an area that had been Labour for generations, saw the election of Sarah Pochin, a Reform MP. The North having perhaps suffered most gravely from the neoliberal consensus, it is only logical that the people of Runcorn sought an alternative vision, a vision provided by Nigel Farage’s party using economic anxiety to drive divisive politics. In a near mirror image, the urban progressives who put their faith in Labour to deliver economic change now feel betrayed by the scale and nature of that change. The Greens, led by a self-styled “eco-populist” in the form of Zack Polanski, have seized on this sentiment, recently winning Lewisham Council with 40/54 councillors in an area that had been solidly Labour for 55 years. It is clear that Thatcher’s legacy has not just been a cause of economic anxiety but also the populism the UK faces today.

The once strong political centre, built around consensus, has found itself left weak. Despite this the populists lack concrete solutions. Reform continues to focus its ire on migration and social issues despite being a movement predominantly fuelled by economic issues. Conversely, the Greens do have an economic analysis built on environmentalism and the welfare state; however, it represents a knee-jerk reaction in completely rejecting neoliberalism. As a consequence, their proposed solutions come across as unserious. Truly progressive politics involves learning from the past, not blindly rejecting it. Many aspects of neoliberalism cannot be escaped, such as international trade and economic integration, especially if the UK is to rekindle its relationship with the fundamentally neoliberal EU. There are also aspects of neoliberalism that should not be avoided, as it was Blair who made the Bank of England independent in 1997, preventing the mismanagement of interest rates by politicians who are naturally averse to raising them. There is a need for an analysis of neoliberalism that does not throw the baby out with the bathwater, that learns from the past by taking what works and fusing it into a new economics. An economy that works for everyday people, offered by and led from a strong centre.

This is already starting to take shape. On the progressive centre-left, Andy Burnham’s “Manchesterism” has the capacity to bring this change. Burnham is a former Blairite with an understanding of the positive aspects of the former consensus, as well as someone who has become increasingly critical of the systemic flaws that neoliberalism has produced – the deindustrialisation, the austerity, and the instinct to privatise. As mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham has demonstrated the benefits of learning from the past, having returned the buses to public control as well as delivering economic growth up to 3.1% in his region when the country as a whole barely manages 1%. This shows it is possible to refocus the economy to support the needs of working people whilst not attempting to abolish the market. As for how far Burnham goes, that depends on the results of the Makerfield by-election and a successful challenge to Prime Minister Keir Starmer…

Regardless of how Burnham’s ambitions pan out, the strong and principled centre-left he represents must not be dependent on the aspirations of a single person. A strong centre – which forges a consensus between the moderate left and right, learns from the past, and works for those who feel left behind – is key to beating the populists. There must be a clear rejection of Reform’s attempts to blame immigrants and vulnerable refugees for economic woes, and there also must be a clear rejection of the half-baked economic analysis of the Greens. Ultimately, we must strive for a new economic vision that allows for a greater Britain, built upon lessons learnt from 1948, 1979 and 2008.

Image: Flickr/No 10 Downing Street (Simon Dawson)

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