Labour-linked group FourOneOne has published a new guidebook (Image: Getty / Express)

Labour MPs have received a briefing on how to tackle Reform online (Image: Getty)

These include:

The document spells out how Labour activists and MPs should counter claims on crime, the cost of living, immigration and anti-Westminster populism.

The FourOneOne strategy document (Image: Express)

“A stabbing isn’t just violence – it’s evidence of immigration failure, elite weakness and cultural decay,” says the document.

Labour is advised to counter this with “specific Labour crime reception successes. Show competent governance vs Reform’s disaster tourism”.

On immigration, Reform is accused of claiming “every housing shortage, NHS delay, or community change” is evidence of “systematic betrayal”, creating a “comprehensive worldview where immigration explains everything”.

The document adds: “Avoid defensive position and instead focus on competent management.”

FourOneOne was founded by Nik Rutherford, who was Labour’s target seat digital lead for a two-year period that covered the general election.

A number of other staff joined directly from the Labour Party, working for both the party itself and MPs.

Revealed: The ‘attack lines’ given to Labour MPs to smear Reform UK

Labour’s increasingly direct campaign against Reform UK has raised fresh questions about how the governing party intends to confront Nigel Farage’s movement, with ministers and MPs stepping up their criticism and attempting to define Reform in the eyes of voters.

The language used by Labour has become notably sharper as Reform has established itself as a significant force in British politics. But the phrase “attack lines” also highlights a wider feature of modern political campaigning: parties do not simply respond to opponents policy by policy. They develop common arguments, messages and talking points designed to be repeated consistently by MPs, ministers and activists.

That approach has been particularly visible in Labour’s response to Reform.

Labour turns its attention towards Farage

Labour’s strategy has increasingly involved presenting Reform as a political alternative whose policies should be examined closely rather than treating the party simply as another opposition group.

During Labour’s 2025 conference, Keir Starmer openly attacked Reform’s immigration proposals. He argued that Britain needed secure borders while drawing a distinction between controlling illegal migration and changing the rights of people who were already living legally in the country.

Starmer also described Reform’s proposals concerning indefinite leave to remain as “racist” and “immoral”. Reform rejected that characterisation, while Labour ministers defended the decision to challenge the party’s immigration policies directly.

The disagreement illustrates an important distinction in the political debate. Calling a policy racist is a political judgment made by its opponents; it is not itself evidence that every person supporting the policy holds racist views. Starmer acknowledged that distinction by recognising that some people attracted to Reform were motivated by frustration with the existing political system rather than hostility towards particular groups.

The “failed Tories” argument

One of the more straightforward lines used by Labour has been to portray Reform as connected to the political establishment it claims to oppose.

This argument appeared prominently during the Runcorn and Helsby by-election campaign, when Labour sought to describe Reform as “failed Tories”. Sky News reported that Labour was using the line as part of its campaign against Farage’s party, while Reform attempted to broaden its appeal by combining traditionally right-wing positions with policies concerning industrialisation and public ownership.

The argument is politically significant because Reform’s support has drawn from voters who previously supported different parties.

Some former Conservative voters have moved towards Reform, but the party has also sought support among people who traditionally voted Labour. That creates an unusual challenge for Labour: attacking Reform as simply another version of the Conservative Party may resonate with some voters but may not explain why others who previously supported Labour are considering Farage’s party.

Immigration remains central

Immigration is one of the clearest areas in which Labour and Reform have attempted to distinguish themselves.

Reform has advocated substantially tougher immigration policies, while Labour has also moved towards stricter controls. The disagreement is therefore not simply about whether immigration should be controlled, but about how far policy should go and how existing migrants should be treated.

Labour’s 2025 conference messaging acknowledged that secure borders were a legitimate public demand. Starmer said his government would seek to reduce irregular Channel crossings, tackle illegal working and remove people without a legal right to remain.

At the same time, Labour sought to draw a line between those objectives and Reform’s proposals affecting people who had lawfully settled in Britain.

That distinction became particularly important after Shabana Mahmood proposed tougher requirements for indefinite leave to remain. Labour’s approach included greater emphasis on contribution, integration, National Insurance payments and compliance with the rules.

The debate therefore cannot easily be reduced to “open borders versus closed borders”. Both parties have advocated stronger immigration controls, but they differ significantly over eligibility, enforcement, settlement and the treatment of people already living in Britain.

Reform candidates become another line of attack

Another major component of Labour’s campaign has been scrutiny of individual Reform candidates.

In April 2026, Labour published a document titled Reform Revealed, examining selected Reform candidates standing in that year’s local elections. Labour said it had identified 45 candidates whose previous comments or views it regarded as extreme, offensive or otherwise unacceptable.

The document highlighted allegations concerning comments about race, conspiracy theories and other controversial statements made by individual candidates.

However, the political significance of such dossiers comes with an obvious qualification: examples involving particular candidates do not automatically establish the views or conduct of every Reform member, councillor or supporter.

Reform and its leadership have also faced criticism over individual candidates on other occasions, while the party has disputed various accusations made against it. Consequently, voters examining such claims need to distinguish between documented statements by named individuals and broader claims about an entire political organisation.

Why Labour needs a clear message

The pressure on Labour is partly strategic.

Reform’s emergence complicates the traditional Conservative-Labour contest by competing for voters who previously belonged to both major parties. That means Labour cannot assume that attacking Reform from one ideological direction will reach every voter considering the party.

The experience of the Gorton and Denton by-election demonstrated the problem. Labour had sought to frame the contest as essentially a battle involving Reform, but the Greens ultimately won, with Reform also finishing ahead of Labour. The result prompted internal Labour criticism and renewed debate about how the party should respond to challenges from both its left and right.

The episode also demonstrated the limits of relying on highly negative descriptions of opponents. One Labour MP quoted by the Guardian criticised the party’s use of repeated “attack lines” against the Greens, arguing that the message did not necessarily match voters’ perceptions of the candidate.

That lesson is relevant to Labour’s campaign against Reform as well.

A political party can repeat an argument consistently, but repetition does not guarantee that voters will accept the underlying characterisation.

The danger of oversimplification

There is also a broader question about the language of political campaigning.

Terms such as “racist”, “extremist”, “failed”, “dangerous” or “divisive” can communicate a political argument quickly. But each carries a different meaning and should not automatically be treated as an established factual description.

For example, Starmer’s criticism of Reform’s immigration proposals was a clearly documented political position. Reform’s response was equally clear: its representatives rejected the accusation and argued that its policies were intended to address immigration rather than discriminate against people.

The same principle applies when Labour highlights controversial statements made by individual Reform candidates. Those statements can be relevant evidence when assessing the people involved, but they should not automatically be extended to millions of voters.

This distinction matters because Reform’s electoral support is not necessarily uniform. People may support the party because of immigration, taxation, public services, dissatisfaction with Labour or the Conservatives, attitudes towards Brexit, or broader frustration with established politics.

Reform’s response

Reform has consistently portrayed attacks from Labour and other established parties as evidence that the political establishment is worried about its growth.

Farage has argued that voters are less interested in Westminster’s descriptions of his party than in practical issues such as immigration, living costs, taxation, housing and public services.

That message has allowed Reform to turn criticism itself into part of its political narrative.

When Labour attacks Reform, Reform can argue that the governing party is concentrating on labels rather than policy. Labour, by contrast, argues that failing to scrutinise Reform’s proposals and candidates would leave voters without important information.

Both arguments are now part of Britain’s increasingly competitive political environment.

A campaign that goes beyond slogans

The emerging battle between Labour and Reform is therefore about more than individual “attack lines”.

Labour is attempting to establish a consistent case against Reform based on immigration policy, candidate controversies and concerns about the consequences of its proposals. Reform is seeking to turn those attacks into evidence that established parties are threatened by its challenge.

The effectiveness of either approach ultimately depends on whether voters believe the underlying evidence and whether the parties can offer credible alternatives.

What is already clear is that Labour is no longer treating Reform as a marginal political movement. Its policies, candidates and leadership are receiving sustained attention from the governing party, while Reform continues to present itself as an outsider challenging the established political order.

The resulting contest is likely to remain heavily focused on immigration, public services, taxation, political trust and the record of the major parties.

For voters, the important distinction is between a campaign message and the evidence behind it. A party’s talking point may explain how it wants its opponent to be understood, but examining the original policy, the precise wording of statements and the record of the individuals involved provides a fuller picture than any slogan alone.

As Labour and Reform continue their increasingly direct confrontation, that distinction will become more important, not less.

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