Could Labour be about to stumble upon an effective way to win back voters who are flocking to Reform UK?
Labour MP Joe Powell is co-sponsoring a private members bill which could force social media companies to make their content less addictive for anyone under 16.
The proposed legislation would stop businesses from being able to take online data from those under 16 without parental consent, and raise the age of internet adulthood – currently 13 – by three years.
It would stop short of a complete ban on smartphones for children, but would empower families and teachers to reduce the time children spend on the devices.
The bill will have its second reading in the Commons on March 7.
And after yet another week where the polls suggested Reform are now ahead of Labour, pressure is building on Keir Starmer to turn his party’s fortunes around.
Speaking to HuffPost UK, Powell said the bill is already “hugely popular across the country, including with voters tempted by parties like Reform.”
Pollsters More in Common revealed a fortnight ago that 81% of Reform voters support increasing the age limits on social media platforms from 13 to 16.
In fact, the bill is marginally more popular with Reform voters than with Labour supporters (75%) and Tory backers (79%).
Of those surveyed, 72% said social media had a negative impact on young people compared to just 14% who said it was positive.
Similarly, the grassroots organisation, Smartphone Free Childhood, claims more than 200,000 parents, grandparents, teachers and health professionals have joined the movement calling for change.
Luke Tryl, UK director of More in Common, said: “Support for raising the age at which young people can use social media to 16 is pretty much as close to a slam dunk as you can get in public opinion popularity terms.
“This is a government that desperately needs public opinion and policy wins – and raising the age of access to social media would be one of them.”
Powell, the MP for Kensington and Bayswater, told HuffPost UK: “Many doctors now say harms associated with unfettered social media and smartphone use is a bigger risk to children’s health than smoking.
“Children and parents are ahead of politicians on this issue, and we need to catch up.”
Data from Childwise’s The Monitor Report 2023 shows 13-14 year olds spend 4.4 hours on their phones every day – more than double the NHS recommendation – which can trigger poor sleep, reduced mental wellbeing and decreased concentration.
Josh MacAlister – recently promoted to parliamentary private secretary to senior cabinet minister Pat McFadden – first brought the bill to the Commons last autumn.
He said at the time: “The evidence is mounting that children doomscrolling for hours a day is causing widespread harm. We need the equivalent of the ‘seatbelt’ legislation for social media use for children.
“Parents are in an impossible bind over whether to ostracise their child from social media or expose them to the harms and addiction of content. Countries around the world are now taking bold action and our children risk being left behind.”
The bill would build on the Online Safety Act passed by the Conservative government did include some provisions for children’s safety.
It could be a way for Labour to help quell Reform UK’s meteoric rise - and its own precipitous fall - since last July’s general election.
The government has tried to take on Nigel Farage’s right-wing party by highlighting its attempts to crack down on immigration, even going so far as to release videos of illegal workers being arrested.
This has simply led to accusations that Labour was simply trying to ape Reform.
Supporters of Powell’s bill believe it could be a more effective way of persuading voters to return to Labour.
Adam McNicholas, senior advisor at strategy consultancy Stonehaven and director of messaging for the Labour Party during the 2024 general election, said this was a “live kitchen table issue” last October.
He said: “Voters don’t expect government to tell parents how to raise their kids – but, across party lines, they do expect help protecting children from smartphones.
“Doom scrolling, always-on notifications and access to dangerous content have triggered a national conversation about the harms being caused to children with smartphones. This is a live kitchen table issue.”