After 14 years of Conservative rule, Labour has achieved a historic victory, winning 412 seats. The run-up to the election was momentous, and the results are clear: the British public was ready for a change. Could this include drug policy reform from Labour?
The coming weeks and months will be crucial as Labour lays out its plans and organises its new government. But where do the parties stand on drug policy, and can we realistically expect any reforms to take place?
Let’s examine the positions of all the parties on drug policy reform.
🌹 Labour (412 Seats)
In recent years, Labour hasn’t been particularly progressive on drug reform. In the lead-up to the election, Starmer instructed the party to avoid discussing cannabis or broader drug reform. To his credit, this strategy contributed to their success.
Securing a strong majority in this election was crucial for Labour, and speaking favourably about drug reform could have jeopardised key seats. Complex issues like drug policy are often seen as too controversial to address during a heated election.
Now, the real question is how much freedom Starmer will give his MPs to advance drug policy reform in the House. With a comfortable 412 seats, there should be room for these topics to be discussed sensibly.
Labour’s manifesto doesn’t detail specific drug policies, but it emphasises several broader areas related to social issues, health, and crime that could impact drug policy:
Harm Reduction and Health: Labour aims to modernise the NHS and address root causes of health issues, including substance abuse. Improving mental health services, providing better community care, and enhancing early intervention supports a health-based, compassionate approach. As such, we can expect Labour to view drug use more as a health issue than a criminal one.
Criminal Justice: Labour focuses on ‘taking back our streets,’ addressing violent crime, and increasing confidence in the police and criminal justice system. They may reevaluate how drug-related offences are handled, shifting toward a more rehabilitative approach. However, they will likely maintain a tough stance on crime to avoid backlash and distance themselves from Tory policies.
Education and Prevention: Improving education and support services for young people is a priority, which could help prevent drug use through better mental health support and comprehensive drug education.
While Labour’s policies hint at a more compassionate, evidence-based approach to drugs, there hasn’t been a strong focus on drug policy reform. However, with a strong majority, there could be substantial discussions on this issue, especially if Starmer allows his MPs to explore it. Additionally, as cannabis policy evolves across Europe, Labour MPs have the opportunity to learn from legal markets, such as Germany, and consider how similar models could be implemented in the UK.
🟦 Conservatives (121 Seats)
The Tories faced an incredible defeat last night, losing a record-breaking 250 seats. Despite this massive hit, they remain the leading opposition and are likely to challenge any Labour initiatives perceived as too progressive or liberal.
The Tory manifesto emphasises law enforcement, public safety, and combating drug-related crime. Their stance on banning tobacco, nitrous oxide (NOs), and vapes underscores their intent to take a hardline, non-liberal approach to drug policy.
Fourteen years of Tory rule have ended, but it’s noteworthy that they made the most progressive amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act with the legalisation of medical cannabis in 2018. It will be interesting to see if Labour can match or exceed this milestone.
🔶 Liberal Democrats (71 seats)
Partly as a result of the Tory’s defeat, partly as a result of their innovative campaign, the Liberal Democrats have done very well for themselves securing an additional 63 seats.
The Lib Dems manifesto outlines several proposals directly related to drug policy reform – highlighting a much more left-wing, liberal approach compared to Labour.
Lib Dem advocates for the decriminalisation of possession of drugs for personal use. Ed Davy during the campaign also came out in formal support of cannabis legalisation, stating the party would allow adults to purchase the drug from licensed vendors, favouring a similar model to what we see in Canada and some US states.
Alongside this, Lib Dem are supportive of treating drug addiction as a health rather than a criminal issue. This is echoed in their manifesto with a recommendation to move the departmental lead on drugs policy from the Home Office to the Department of Health and Social Care.
Overall, Lib Dems are very supportive of sensible drug policy and it’s great to see this laid out specifically in their manifesto. And with 71 seats, they have a real ability to hold Labour accountable when it comes to bringing in more sensible policy.
🟢 Greens (4 seats)
The Green’s have been known historically for their progressive stance on drug policy reform.
Within their manifesto they have proposed a National Commission to agree on an evidence based approach to the reform of drug laws in the UK, with the aim of moving cannabis toward a legally regulated market. They’ve also said their elected MPs will push for the decriminalisation of the personal possession of drugs.
Being supportive of a public health, harm reduction approach – the drug reform community can certainly find an ally in the Green Party. Though they don’t have a great deal of power with 4 seats, like the Liberal Democrats they’ll be able to hold Labour to account and hopefully open the door for a sensible conversation around drug policy.
➡️Reform (4 seats)
Reform is anything but progressive toward drugs.
Their manifesto outlined a pretty stringent and punitive approach to drugs. They are for a zero-tolerance stance on drug related crimes, including life long imprisonment for drug dealing and trafficking. They also had plans to significantly increase stop and search operations by recruiting 40,000 new police officers over the next 5 years.
Reform, as you would expect, are focused on clamping down on crime and antisocial behaviour and widely the opposite to a rehabilitative, harm reduction approach. Who would have thought!
So, what can we expect from Labour on drug policy?
This election has been historic – not only with Labour winning a landslide majority, but both the Liberal Democrats and Green Party winning a record breaking number of seats.
With a Labour government, I think we can expect to see a greater amount of compassion when it comes to a public health approach to drugs. Plus, with many allies and proponents of drug policy reform in the party, we can certainly expect a greater amount of positive dialog on the issue.
I believe we can expect a roadmap of political stability and with an elected leader (for the first time in a while), a real exploration into certain policy areas without the firefighting the Tory’s had to do since 2020.