The 2024 general election is now fast approaching on July 4th, and it’s commanding headlines as you’d expect. The current prime minister Rishi Sunak took some by surprise in announcing it so early in the year, as others had expected it to happen around October.
Attuned to local election photo opportunities, I heard of Plaid Cymru’s manifesto launch through a radio report, and had enough time to cycle into town. It turned out to be a five-minute, smash-and-grab effort as I arrived not too long before the party leader Rhun ap Iorweth finished his main talk. Certainly not best practice but it reminded me how I sometimes miss that quickfire decision-making of news and sport photography. And wouldn’t have minded a bit more, considering workflow was unpredictably sporadic on another writing project.
A few days later, another headline alerted me to another manifesto launch. This one was Nigel Farage’s new Reform Party, slightly tweaked from his previous Brexit Party, launching its election manifesto in Merthyr Tydfil. Farage had played the media effectively during this campaign, first rejecting the idea that he would stand as an MP and allowing his regular deputy Richard Tice to lead the Reform Party. Farage then appeared to do a U-turn, you’d presume well orchestrated a long time in advance, saying that he would stand and taking leadership of the Reform Party, thrusting himself back into the spotlight.
In 2019 I photographed Brexit Party rallies in Monmouthshire and Newport. They were interesting events to witness from a social perspective, the stark animosities between opposing factions most evident by counter protesters outside the Newport event. On this occasion, they’d kept the location of the manifesto launch quiet. Some believed it would be held in the town, rather than in the Gurnos Community Sports club within a large, socially deprived housing estate. After searching on Twitter without success, a helpful email from a partner agency picture desk fortunately landed in my inbox.
Despite the absence of any warring factions, the event had reasonable community support policing, in addition to Farage’s own taxpayer funded security. But there was no counter-protesting that I saw. Unlike in Barnsley, Yorkshire, the previous week, where an onlooker had hurled an object at Farage as he toured the town in an open top bus. In Merthyr Tydfil, it seemed more a state of curiosity that such a thing was even happening and, well, nothing better to do so we may as well hang around and see what happens, take some phone pictures. Although I did overhear one local telling a police officer acquaintance that he liked Farage.
There were fewer speakers at this event than in 2019. A brief talk from a Reform Party supporter introduced Farage to the stage for a main talk and introduction to his manifesto contract, then some words from Tice, before they both fielded a few media questions. After that, a number of one-to-one media interviews were conducted.
Farage was open about saying there was no chance of his party winning the election, and his manifesto contained big and bold ideas. One reporter suggested his financial projections were enough to make Liz Truss blanche. (In her brief tenure, the former prime minister Truss was widely accused of spooking the financial markets with an overambitious mini budget, leading to her downfall and exit). Farage dismissed this notion of course, sticking by his big and bold claims, stating that the party’s real long-term goal was a general election in 2028, by which time the party would have grown stronger.
Currently in the middle of 2024, from a volatile and precarious modern world the notion of 2028 feels a political lifetime away. But of course it isn’t. Time and politics never stand still.
Despite all the campaign sparring and televised debates, Keir Starmer’s Labour party is broadly expected to win the election next week, taking power after a long wait and a long reign of Conservative party leaders. But of course nothing is guaranteed. We can complain about many things in the UK. But I think it’s fair to say that most still believe a fair and democratic process will be held, which can’t be said of every country across the world. So it won’t be known with certainty whether Rishi Sunak moves out and Keir Starmer moves in, until July 5th.
