Does Accommodating Radical Right Positions Help Social Democratic Parties?

Social democratic parties across Europe have increasingly adopted restrictive immigration rhetoric in response to the electoral successes of radical right parties; however, the consequences of such accommodation remain contested. Stuart J. Turnbull-Dugarte, Associate Professor of Quantitative Political Science, will explore this topic by discussing the design and results of a study examining how attitudes may have changed following UK Labour leader Keir Starmer’s “Island of Strangers” speech, in which he adopted a significantly tougher stance on immigration.

The study compares opinions before and after hearing the speech, and concludes that exposure significantly altered perceptions of Labour, making it appear more anti-immigration and right-leaning. Crucially, these shifts carried a cost: the likelihood of intending to vote for Labour declined following the speech, with no evidence that Labour’s adoption of nativist rhetoric reduced the appeal of the radical-right party Reform UK.

The findings highlight the risks of strategic convergence, showing that accommodation of exclusionary rhetoric by social democratic parties does more damage to their own electoral prospects than those of their radical-right competitors.

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COMPAS Seminar Series Hilary Term 2026

Theme: ‘The Politics of Immigration and Exclusion’

The seminars will be given at 3.45pm on Thursdays, online on Zoom and in The Hub, Kellogg College (Week 1), The Nissan Lecture Theatre at St Antony’s College (Weeks 3 and 5) and in the Mawby Room at Kellogg College (Week 7). Convened by Sanne van Oosten.

The debate and politics surrounding immigration have become increasingly polarised. Within this context, how do Western democratic societies grapple with rising nativism, exclusionary ideologies, and structural discrimination?

In this hybrid seminar series, leading scholars of political behaviour, race and ethnicity, gendered politics, and inequality will examine the causes and consequences of exclusionary politics and discriminatory structures, and discuss the interventions required to challenge them.

Over the course of the series, speakers will explore a range of topics, including:

The dilemmas facing mainstream social democratic political parties responding to pressures from the radical right, with a focus on the UK; The prevalence and political consequences of colour-blind attitudes in the UK; How gendered anti-immigration narratives gain and lose traction; How discrimination shapes opportunities across the life course, from employment and housing to childcare, and continues to reproduce inequalities across generations.

Attendance is free, and all are welcome. This series will be hybrid: there is one Zoom registration link you can use to attend one or more of the sessions. You do not need to register to join in person.