Reform used the summer holiday vacuum to further their cause, and it’s made all the difference, writes Michael Martins in today’s Notebook

My political winners of the year? Reform spin doctors who didn’t go on summer holiday

December is a time of reflection and so it got me thinking about who I found most politically impressive this year.

Even though they led the polls most of the year and moved multiple political debates in their favour, I only began taking Reform seriously in August, months later than many.

My reasoning for the switch was straightforward. Beginning in mid-July, swathes of Labour SpAds and researchers began changing their Whatsapp statuses to “Out of Office”, while their Reform counterparts didn’t. With the government on holiday, Reform used that vacuum to stoke a fresh burst of summer unrest around asylum-seeking.

Reform’s bit of tactical brilliance has paid off massively. The government has spent the months since trying to win back the migration debate, prompting ever more crackdowns and strategy consultations. The effort has largely failed, whilst also denting their standing with the wider electorate, their own MPs and party members. Labour now sits six points lower in the polls today than at the beginning of the summer holiday.

© City A.M.