shocked my best friend voted Reform

I really think@AvrielFinch that you are misguided if you think Labour are the ones to vote for if you don't want to spread hatred and division. They do nothing but divide people with their putrid identity politics and smug holier than thou attitude. Do you really think we look like a united society? Do you really think Labour are going to unite us or divide us further?

I don’t know what you’re talking about or what you’re referring to.

Maybe it is different in the private school set. I am not well off. I have lots of friends who have different views, but care about the community and most are active locally. Some are Christians, some socialist, some lib dems or caring conservatives, but none would vote Reform. They want to build a better society, not to sow dissent, hate and division.

GE board-You won’t have trouble finding it.
Reform and their voters have been labelled bigots, racist, nazi and fascists.

people voted reform for lots of reasons. Why can’t you just agree to disagree and move on - and make sure you don’t discuss politics in the future?

I don’t know what you’re talking about or what you’re referring to.

What, like calling Reform voters Nazis?

People vote many ways for many reasons. The consensus of opinion at the last election from many people I’ve spoken to seemed to be that the Conservatives deserved to lose, but Labour didn’t deserve to win. To vote for more or less any of the small parties could be seen as a protest vote, in that they were never going to form a government. And if your friend voted Reform because she agrees with their policies, that is her prerogative. You don’t need to fall out about it!

Reform = racists.

Any friend of mine who voted for them would no longer be a friend.

Problem is, naive people think that they have real friends, that friendship allows a difference of opinions. They think that friends will accept them as they find them. Perish the thought a person says what he thinks. Perish the thought they are not woke. It is a very sad state of affairs. I have so many woke, do-good acquaintances. They are so vocal, so right-on. They volunteer their opinions. All of them have their children in private schools. Some of them have serious money. And not one of them volunteered to put a boat child through their kids' private school, even for the last two years, to prepare them for uni. It would not occur to them, but they are happy that state schools should accommodate the children of the new arrivals, whilst their own children are safely ensconced in the comfort of private schools. Their houses fly Ukrainian flags with not a single Ukrainian hosted inside! My flat is privatised, it is in a semi, our neighbours in the same 3-bed flat (council) are: mum and dad, their two 30+ year old sons and one son's daughter (son split with mum and has custody). They are wonderful, kind working class people, all working full-time in minimum wage jobs and no council housing is available for the son with his little daughter to move out (4 years no). They voted Reform. Nasty racists, they.

I can’t think of any BBC employees who’ve gone onto work for the Labour Party (or, for example, the Lib Dems or Green Party etc). Robbie Gibb and Allegra Stratton both worked at the BBC and then worked afterwards for the Conservatives though.

What, like calling Reform voters Nazis?

There are plenty of old question times and interview programmes (see Brian Walden as an example) on YouTube that show how much more educated and knowledgeable journalists were in the past (rather than asking the tedious ignorant "gotcha" questions they do now). You could suggest they watch those for comparison. And point out alot of BBC people used to work for or go onto work for the Labour Party.

How do you educate them? (Would like some tips as I was trying to explain to family but failed!)

Agreed. Or those who exaggerate massively to make a point.

Do you always respond with such hyperbole?
People can vote for who they want. I can choose to be friends with who I want and politics is a criteria for me.
I am never keen on people who respond to reasonable statements with such hyperbole.

Yes I know alot of people that think bbc is impartial. I try and educate them but it's a losing battle!

Do you always respond with such hyperbole?
People can vote for who they want. I can choose to be friends with who I want and politics is a criteria for me.
I am never keen on people who respond to reasonable statements with such hyperbole.

Do you not see the irony?

Ah so do you want anyone who voted or agreed with Reform manifesto to wear a bell round their neck and have a big white cross on the door?
You know, just in case you meet one? That way, you can avoid at all costs and walk in the opposite direction?

My oldest friends watch GB news and think it's impartial. They were pro-brexit, and as they've always lived in a very white middle class area, they're not exactly attuned to immigration and asylum issues. So we steer away from politics, as they're good, kind and generous friends who've been a great support to me over some difficult years. They also listen to my experiences in my volunteer work with asylum seekers, with open minds.

Fortunately they took against Boris Johnson during COVID, so we could at least rant about him together! And they think Nigel Farage is an idiot. So I'm hoping they didn't vote Reform. But they might have.