UK politics is at a turning point.
Lib Dems’ Josh Babarinde aims to make the party a bold, outward-facing force.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves faces a high-stakes Budget, balancing party pressures and economic credibility.
And PM Keir Starmer is navigating internal unrest as leadership speculation grows.
Read all about it in the latest Who's Top, Who's Not!
Top – Josh Babarinde
Josh Babarinde, the MP for Eastbourne, has been elected as the next president of the Liberal Democrats, pledging to be the party’s “last line of defence against Reform.” Babarinde said he will use the traditionally internal role to turn the Lib Dems into a more outward-facing and bold movement, acting as a voice for liberal values. Seen by some as a rising star and potential future leader of the party, Babarinde insisted his focus for now is on uniting the party and countering Reform’s populist appeal.
Babarinde aims to boost the party’s visibility as an alternative to Reform by targeting disillusioned Labour and Conservative centrist voters. He also wants to engage younger people, who will be eligible to vote at the next general election following the lowering of the voting age. Successfully doing so could help build a long-term, liberal-leaning youth base.
His election as Lib Dem President could mark a turning point for the party, shifting it from a largely internal, grassroots focus to a more activist and outward-looking liberal force. If he succeeds, it could reshape the Lib Dems’ role in UK politics, potentially positioning them as the central liberal alternative to both traditional parties and Reform. But the strategy will require disciplined messaging and strong organisation to translate values into votes.
Middle – Rachel Reeves
Rachel Reeves is tiptoeing into the most perilous phase of her Chancellorship as she prepares for the Budget on 26th November, amid mounting unrest inside Labour. In the past few weeks, there have been hints that, on Budget Day, she would break the party’s manifesto pledge by raising income tax – a rumour that triggered fierce warnings from other Labour MPs, who have likened the move to Nick Clegg’s tuition-fee betrayal.
At the same time, Reeves has made efforts to balance fiscal discipline by promising to lift the two-child benefit cap, a £3.5 billion commitment that could lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty. This demonstrates how the Chancellor must balance the fiscal challenge of ensuring the Bond markets are kept happy, whilst also meeting the political challenge of keeping Labour MPs sweet by scrapping the hated 2-child benefit cap. And this is before we get to the external politics of what those in the Dog & Duck think about Labour being seen to increase benefits.
Despite her attempts to calm nerves through parliamentary receptions and union outreach, Reeves now faces the test of holding the party together, reassuring markets by raising enough revenue and convincing voters that breaking promises is a price worth paying for Labour’s economic credibility.
Bottom – Keir Starmer
This week, the Prime Minister faced a mounting crisis of confidence within his own party, as whispers of a leadership challenge spilt out. Starmer’s leadership has been questioned after weeks of issues (think migration, the economy, speculations around the incoming Budget and more).
It was a week of coordinated briefings, including claims that Health Secretary Wes Streeting has dozens of frontbenchers ready to resign, which has fuelled perceptions of a government in “full bunker mode,” turning on its own allies.
Amid speculation that figures such as Streeting are testing the water, Starmer’s team launched a pre-emptive “Operation Save Keir” strike, vowing to fight any challenge. Yet the backfire has been spectacular: not only is leadership speculation now out in the open after being confirmed by No.10, but Streeting has emerged much stronger after comfortably using his morning broadcast round to bat away speculation and coming across as the innocent victim of negative briefings.
With six months until the May elections and MPs increasingly jittery about Labour’s direction, the sense is growing that Starmer is battling not just the opposition, but his own fracturing party.