[Abernathy]

Kind of odd to see various Labour front benchers tying themselves in knots to avoid calling Reform/Farage a racist directly, instead taking pains to stress only that they think that Reform’s key policy announcement of scrapping ILR and deporting people who’d secured ILR is racist (which it is).

As O’Brien said today, how can it be that to be called racist is far worse than actually being racist.

[Youngian]

Farage or the Tories need to woo Labour voters over to win elections. They don't appear to be squeamish about accusing Labour of being Stalin if they so much as mention nationalisation for example. Why aren't they bothered about potentially insulting Labour voters?
It might be that Reform voters are sensitive snowflakes with a heightened sense of bogus victim hood if you use hurty words.

[Boiler]

Kind of odd to see various Labour front benchers tying themselves in knots to avoid calling Reform/Farage a racist directly, instead taking pains to stress only that they think that Reform’s key policy announcement of scrapping ILR and deporting people who’d secured ILR is racist (which it is).

As O’Brien said today, how can it be that to be called racist is far worse than actually being racist.

Well, it worked so well for Gordon Brown, didn't it...

You don't win elections by calling your voters stupid, or calling them racists. I'd have thought that was obvious.

Also, some might take sufficient offence to launch a defamation action - they've not got the shield of parliamentary privilege at a conference.

[RedSparrows]

I think they can make a reasonable case for the difference between Reform 'fuck off you're foreign' policies and Labour 'you're foreign so you need to be an extra better person'. Both are fundamentally rooted in an arbitrary and unjust perception of the world, but that's far too large and abstract a battle. Thus calling out Reform for having racist policies, and stressing that 'concern about immigration isn't racist' is a possible wedge. It's risky, but on the other hand perhaps they've decided they'll never appeal to the actual racists anyway (or, better, don't want to, but in my cynical moments I wonder...).

They've gone for this with the flags. Luv flags, 'ate raycism m8. That's not a crazy deal, especially in front of Reform's 'you have ILR and thus are clearly jumping through all the hoops, but you can fuck off all the same' as if that's the same as the boats in the channel and 'not being allowed to fly the flag'. Performative, symbolic cruelty that I'm not sure many people have time for, actually. I suspect most people are 'tired' and 'fedup' and 'want a fair deal' and all the other cliches of public life. That's not the same as spitting on your dark-skinned and kind next door neighbour.

[Abernathy]

Not sure whose brilliant idea it was to give every cabinet member a wee plastic flag to wave around while applauding the leader’s speech, but it doesn’t come across that well on the tellybox.