The meme elections: Labour’s social media pivot to take fight to Farage

Labour is embracing the use of memes in its attacks on Nigel Farage and Reform UK ahead of the local elections.

Among the party’s social media “shareables” are a range of different memes mocking the Reform UK leader or conveying the message that Reform would “privatise the NHS”.

One depicts Nigel Farage as a person standing in the corner of a party, thinking “they don’t know I want to charge them to use the NHS”, while another has Fred from the children’s cartoon Scooby Doo removing Farage’s mask to reveal Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch underneath.

Stressing the similarity between Reform and the Conservatives, another meme has Farage convincing a guardsman to welcome in a Reform UK trojan horse, which is secretly full of “old Conservative politicians”.

The memes are part of Labour’s campaign to take on Reform, alongside Facebook pages and adverts highlighting the voting record of Reform MPs and leaflets highlighting what Farage has previously said endorsing an insurance-based healthcare system.

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Benedict Pringle, a writer on political marketing, told LabourList that the use of memes by Labour is a smart strategic move, as it allows their messaging to come across in a more authentic way.

“Memes are highly effective tools for political communication because they distill complex ideas into an easily digestible form. They act as cognitive shortcuts, allowing audiences to grasp political messages almost instantaneously as they scroll.

“Labour’s use of memes is strategically smart: people are far more likely to engage with something that feels authentic to their typical feed rather than something that looks like it’s come from a political party or traditional ad agency.”

However, in a post on his website, Pringle questioned the party’s strategy of branding Reform UK as ‘Tories in disguise’, claiming the move “appears misguided”.

“This approach risks legitimising Reform UK by portraying them as a more palatable, mainstream alternative, which could inadvertently broaden their appeal among moderate voters.”

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