Rachel Reeves has done so much damage to the UK, costing us tens of billions as the economy slows, businesses collapse, unemployment soars and wealthy Britons flee. The results are clear in the polling figures. She’s the most unpopular chancellor in history, while Sir Keir Starmer is the most unpopular prime minister. The chaos she’s caused isn’t just a disaster for the UK, it’s a disaster for the Labour Party, and one they thoroughly deserve.

Labour was out of power for 14 years after Gordon Brown lost in 2010. Voters had simply had enough. The left should have learned a few hard lessons, but instead learned all the wrong ones. The big problem is that lefties only talk to themselves. Anyone who raises awkward truths is dismissed as an evil capitalist, racist, nationalist, or worse. When in power and forced to make tough decisions, they get a brutal reality check.

Starmer’s Labour only won the 2024 election by pretending to be a moderate party, committed to boosting growth and modest tax hikes. Once in power, they unleashed carnage, spending fortunes while hiking taxes by £66billion, then wondering why the economy slowed, inflation increased, and voters rebelled. Reeves has made so many mistakes, but her biggest is turning out to be a gift to Nigel Farage.

Soaring unemployment is a national disaster in the making, and it’s down to blundering Reeves. Her £26billion jobs tax has helped to push the unemployment rate from 4.1% to 5.2%, or from 1.4million to 1.88million. That’s an increase of almost half a million. Reeves claims to understand economics, yet failed to see that piling taxes and red tape on jobs would deter companies from taking on new staff.

Many companies cut existing roles, or simply went bust. Youth unemployment now stands at a terrifying 16.1%, while the number of young people neither in education, employment, or training (called Neets) tops 1million. Reeves has betrayed an entire generartion. Unfortunately for her, it’s the age group most likely to vote Labour. Now they’ll be looking elsewhere for a political home. Some will drift to Zack Polanski’s Gaza-obsessed Green Party. Others are already making a beeline for Nigel Farage.

Reform traditionally attracts older voters. At the last election their average age was 56, slightly lower than 63 for Conservatives. Young people are usually left-leaning, but many are fed up with ideologically ‘woke’, anti-aspiration colleges and universities, and open to something new.

With unemployment hitting young people hardest, Reform is starting to look like a real alternative. It’s especially popular among young, working class men who want to get on.

Farage is a massive hit on youth-focused app TikTok where he has 1.4million followers, according to The Guardian, more than every other MP put together. A significant proportion of his followers are under 35. The New Statesman found a third of those aged 13 to 17 would vote Reform, ahead of Labour. If Labour lowers the voting age to 16 as planned, Farage could be the biggest beneficiary. Lefties are terrifed.

Working class men under 30, traditionally disengaged politically, are now seeing hope in a party that respects old-school virtues like work, aspiration, and opportunity, and has no time for woke. The more Reeves blights young people’s prospects, the more Reform may benefit. A generation betrayed is a generation up for grabs. And Farage is ready.