The Labour party conference dominated the news this week, coming after a – how can we describe it? – difficult first year in office.
Amid the week-long analysis, former Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, appeared on BBC’s Newsnight, looking ahead to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget next month – which many of the signs suggest will be a tax-rising bloodbath.
And Varoufakis’ analysis of the party’s situation was fairly grim.
“I think the numbers are pretty terrifying…”
“It will simply be one sad episode in a much longer drama…”
Yanis Varoufakis and Gillian Tett assess the jeopardy facing Rachel Reeves ahead of the budget. #Newsnight pic.twitter.com/tWK76OUzOY
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) October 2, 2025
But one of his lines about Keir Starmer’s government really broke through, going viral on Twitter/X. Varoufakis said it in the context of whether Reeves will raise taxes – and on whom – but he opened it out to make a broader point, hinting at why Labour are struggling in the polls and public opinion.
“This is a Labour government who treated with contempt the people who voted for them and is courting the people who never voted for them and never will.”
Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis criticises the Labour Government’s approach to policy.#Newsnight pic.twitter.com/SiDY3hlW8E
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) October 2, 2025
He said:
And the problem with this government is not so much that that they are reluctant to break pre-election promises. They have done it. They have slashed disability payments. So, this is a government, a Labour government, that seems to have no problem treating with contempt the people who voted for it and to be courting at the very same time the people who never voted for them and never will.
His words seemed to strike a chord with many people.
1.
Yanis Varoufakis, “This Labour gov has no problem treating with contempt people who voted for it, while courting those who won’t ever vote for them”
Nail on the head @yanisvaroufakis pic.twitter.com/kgzznYCdBn
— Farrukh (@implausibleblog) October 2, 2025
2.
Fair.
— Tim Bennett (@hellotimbennett) October 3, 2025
3.
Yanis Varoufakis nails it – chasing the votes of the ultra rich – maybe Rachel
Reeve’s friends but certainly not Labour voters. And not the vast majority of the population the party was set up to serve https://t.co/DjgnZ4SBGI— Mark Todd (@MarkTodd_pol) October 3, 2025
4.
Not a great fan of Yanis – but he’s spot on here https://t.co/02tzFbpvFm
— John Finn / Seán Óg Fionn (@SeanFionn) October 3, 2025
5.
100% this and it’s so obvious to the electorate and painful for us to watch https://t.co/rNcM6r7L48
— Ben Gelblum (@BenGelblum) October 2, 2025
6.
Starmer didn’t ‘win’ in traditional terms, he won by default, thé #GTTO vote. The SNP suffered the same demise because the electorate couldn’t take a chance on the Tories getting back in. Nobody knows what Starmer stood for pre-GE24, we still don’t know now ♂️
— Tony Newnham (@NewnhamTony) October 3, 2025
7.
That just about sums up Starmer’s Labour. It really baffles me why Starmer is trying to appeal to Reform voters, who absolutely hate and loathe him.
— Stephen Barlow (@SteB777) October 4, 2025
8.
That’s difficult to disagree with.
— Alan Rhodes (@CllrAlanRhodes) October 3, 2025
9.
How much more truer could this get!
— Lolsys Library (@LolsysL) October 4, 2025
10.
That’s a great definition of the current @UKLabour government. https://t.co/9Ir8mxqMXh
— Francesco Carollo @francescocarollo.bsky.social (@Innovandiamo) October 3, 2025
Of course, not everyone is a fan of Varoufakis intervening in UK politics.
11.
Varoufakis was a disaster of a Greek Finance Minister, why on earth does the British Media treat him as an expert on anything, especially our own domestic politics? https://t.co/XfQSiJF06r
— Dylan Sargesson (@sargo_dy) October 3, 2025
12.
I don’t think we need to waste time taking advice from game theory egghead Yanis. He had his chance as Greek finance minister and messed up big time, got fired &his govt is toast https://t.co/WDnIRLKE7v
— MichaelWhite (@michaelwhite) October 3, 2025
You can watch the whole segment here.
