Fixing the foundations? A critical fantasy study of the UK Labour Party’s ‘working people’ discourse in the first 6 months of the Starmer government

Despite its prominence in Labour Party communication under Keir Starmer, ‘working people’ discourse has not been subject to any sustained academic analysis. Using the lens of Critical Fantasy Studies, I examine how, between the first Labour Budget and the 2025 Spring Statement, ‘working people’ and the Labour government were constructed as a hero-guarantor of ‘fixing three foundations’ for ‘change’: ‘stable economy, secure borders, and national security’. A promise of ‘wholeness’ was contrasted against a ‘horrific’ scenario of ‘lack’ represented by a ‘black hole’ in UK finances and perceived threats to the UK’s borders. Constructing ‘working people’ as ‘patriotic and fiscally responsible’ and ‘securitised’ reinforces neoliberal common sense and risks mainstreaming the far right by framing welfare claimants and asylum seekers as burdens and defence and border security as the main sources of security, growth, and legitimacy.