Labour appears to have soft-launched the election campaign song to soundtrack their political return, The Independent can reveal. The song in question is the 2023 house banger “Better Times” by Låpsley & KC Lights, which played before and after Keir Starmer ‘s first big campaign speech on Monday. This choice seemed all the more deliberate when it was played again before and after shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves’s speech today.
Upbeat and summery, the lyrics are reminiscent of Labour’s 1997 election song “Things Can Only Get Better” by D:Ream, which was boomed loudly over speakers outside of Downing Street as Rishi Sunak announced the July election last week. “Better Times” includes lyrics like “Wave the year goodbye” and “Moving on to better times” which echo the sense of darkness moving into light heralded by the 1997 tune that came to epitomise Labour’s landslide victory. Other notable lyrics include “Through the dark times” and “To the new light” which is described as the “sunshine”.
News of the new soft launch comes after “Things Can Only Get Better” reached the top 10 of the iTunes chart within a day of Bray’s decision to play it outside Downing Street last week. “Better Times” song was released by Toolroom Records who described it as “offering a glimpse of a bright summer to come” and said it was “another classic record in the making” at the time of its 2023 release. The song also notably features artists from .
