shocked my best friend voted Reform

Well, to be fair, this is a thread about Reform and you only mentioned the "Trumpster" on a much earlier, entirely separate, post.

"The example I gave was friend who was a Trumpster and a Brexiter, despite doing no damage as she’s American and couldn’t vote."

So now you're likening everyone who votes Republican to paedophiles? You sound very nice indeed and not at all close minded.

I think people are missing the point somewhat. I’ve got people in my friendship group who don’t vote the same as me or have the same ideas, that’s fine. My best friend however is very similar to me in lots of ways, especially her opinions. We always naturally agree. That’s what makes me closer to her than other friends.

I would be astonished and disappointed if my best mate voted Reform because it’d mean literally everything about her values that we share would have changed. If another friend did it wouldn’t matter in the same way. I think it being the OP’s best friend is the issue here, I’m not sure why people aren’t getting that.

Would be the same for a pair of best mates who are Conservative too.

Look, we all have a right to draw our own boundaries and choose who we want to spend time with.

Give your head a wobble
everyone is entitled to an opinion, and opinions don’t all ‘conform’ otherwise we’d all be robots
BUT consider the billions spent on illegal immigration, the buckling education and nhs system. Women not safe walking down a street alone… a prime minister who is unable to confirm what a woman is, men taking sport away from girls and women, spaces designated for the safety of women at risk.
This isn’t far right or racist…but it’s what reform are talking about. Maybe your tunnel ‘racist’ vision is the problem. We need more critical thought processes when balancing who we vote for.
Id ask my friend why/how did they make that decision and respect, not necessarily agree with but look at her reasoning. Maybe learn another perspective so your opinion is more balanced. How does it feel on that pedestal?

As someone traditionally left leaning, I found myself unable to vote Labour, Liberal Democrat, SNP or Green this time round because they had certain policies that I disagreed with so strongly, that I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I didn’t vote Reform, because I think Nigel Farage is a populist charlatan, but I understand people who felt as I did, choosing to do so. I couldn’t bring myself to vote Conservative and so I (reluctantly and sadly) spoiled my ballot paper. I would have much preferred not to do so.

I hang out on Twitter probably more than I should. There are lots of posts from people who seem perfectly reasonable, but have very different politics from me. There are also a number of left wingers who seem to spend their lives obsessing about what other people do, which they consider beyond the pale, such as attending the recent nationalist rallies in London.

People are sick of what’s happening and all the anger and instability, so they are jumping on board things that they wouldn’t have considered before, in the hope that something will change, I think. Perhaps your friend knew that Reform wouldn’t win, and thus felt safe in voting for them, hoping that they might have a restraining influence on the Labour Party, which were almost inevitably going to win. Having read the policies they set out in their manifesto, it didn’t sound too bad on paper.

Similarly, people going on nationalist marches. Again, I am sceptical because of the man who is leading the rise of those protests, but I understand that people want to object and don’t see him as a stumbling block, for whatever reason. They will have rationalized it for themselves, just as I have, but came down on the other side. That doesn’t make them bad people. I absolutely understand the frustration that leads people to take paths that I myself can’t bring myself to take, even if we previously agreed.

When so many, formerly reasonable people are taking actions that we don’t understand, maybe we shouldn’t assume they have suddenly become bad people. More likely the situation has changed and that is driving them to act differently from me. The current situation is so unstable, that it’s difficult to see which direction is the right way to go. It may only become clear over time, which decisions were reasonable and which led to things worsening.

This thread is a really good example of how polarised and entrenched people have become on their political opinions, with an inability to see the argument from the other side.

It really doesn't bode well for the future.

Maybe expecting the friend to look up to Labour poster voter and op is ok to condemn in return

My BIL & all his family voted reform. I’m an immigrant. I know it has nothing to do with their attitude towards me. Each and every reform voter does it for their own reasons, not always to do with racial hatered. I think the problem with reform is actually baseless and empty promises (akin that famous NHS bus).

No she won’t, this is MN, everyone is ‘too shocked at to say anything at the time’ or hates confrontation…

I guess you've not actually read their immigration policy then, and are just making assumptions that it must be nonsensical and racist.

They want to reduce migration to tens of thousands, and then maintain it at net levels. Net levels means not increasing year on year.

Fair enough move on but why you need to come and open a threat about it? Very obvious you are after something else.

Yeah, you do...

Ah so you'll just continue to silently, righteously judge her @clearmoon ? Holding her in contempt while thinking she's an ignorant racist, but smiling to her face?
Yep, you're the better person...

Whilst you yourself lack the capacity to understand and accept that people have a wide range of reasons for voting as they do and arrogantly hold yourself in superior moral judgment. It’s a very rigid and some would say authoritarian position. 🙂

Quite a few people ì know voted reform. I'm not sure that they studied their manifesto so much as were using it as a protest vote because they are desperate for something that cons and Labour aren't offering the average person.

Agree maybe the friend should decide given this thread

Life long Lib Dem voter here (though Labour this time), and your friend needs new friends if you’re going to attempt to judge her politically. You are not superior because you are a liberal, left wing or centrist.

If she just blurted out randomly that she voted reform ( which your op seems to suggest? )
maybe she’s looking for a way out of the friendship. I mean, why would anyone do that? especially knowing your political beliefs.

One poster asked the other why she was so righteous. The other then replied with "Righteous?" implying something like "Righteous, what me?" and then went on to give a perfect example of somebody being righteous.

Yabvu to be so judgey and ignorant.

I've seen comments like this on Facebook. "Discovered my best man from my wedding was a Reform voter. Don't want anything more to do with him"

Are people not allowed their own view. What gives anyone the right to think their views are the only legitimate ones. My way or the highway.

She's basically just voting the way the (currently) most important man in her life tells her to.