shocked my best friend voted Reform

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?

Corbyn was more popular than Starmer @AvrielFinch ie he got more votes in the 2019 election. Centrist is a meaningless word - based on what? Immigration was c. 40k pa in the 90s was that extremist? Is Japan extremist. It has been explained to you that reforms manifesto stated they aim for a French style health service, not US, so you have problems reading? I feel sorry for you if you have faith in Labour they will double down on the crap policies of the tories but unfortunately we are all going to suffer.

Exactly. Friends values and what they think about issues that affect people matters.

@Northernnature Pot calling kettle black. I understand the different parties policies. I am totally against Reforms policy of being anti virtually all immigration and bringing in a US style health system and getting rid of the NHS.

Starmers Labour are centrists. That is why I voted for them. The Corbyn left hate Starmer. Not at all extreme, very middle of the road and unlike other political parties understand how to build a strong economy.

No political party is ever elected with a majority of voters. That is not how our electoral system works.

eyupcocker · Today 19:45
I am stunned by the level of ignorance on this thread! EVERYONE has a right to vote for whoever they wish! It has absolutely nothing to do with you”

Absolutely. Our opinions of them may, naturally, change as a result. Choosing to distance yourself from someone whose views you find abhorrent does not make you ignorant?

I never said it was 😳
You okay?

Yes ditto @AvrielFinch . You sound like you don't know much about politics, to me Labour are not mainstream they are quite extreme and are just trading on their brand when Labour was the party of the working class whereas now they make wc lives worse. They only got 20% of the vote of all voters so are not popular at all (Brexit got 37%) and are set to get far more unpopular.

@TinklySnail if you want to be friends with someone who votes for Reform that is fine. I do not want to be. And to be honest who I am friends with is nothing to do with you.

@JustAnotherDadOf2 ps no kids so please God she’s not on here.

@JustAnotherDadOf2 you’re wrong. I didn’t deny her anything. She couldn’t vote because she hadn’t been here long enough. She lives with another immigrant (from a different country to hers), I wanted to point out the hypocrisy. You’ll see from a subsequent post she’s also homophobic (which I’d known in fact long before). There comes a time when you have to re-evaluate the amount of your own free time you want to spend with people with whom you have to be guarded. The friendship is moving after 30 years towards birthdays and Xmas messages and occasional get together. She doesn’t like blacks either. I don’t know how I put up with her so long. Nostalgia, I think. She’s well educated, well travelled.

@eyupcocker It seems that if you are part of a certain group eg Reform voter, you are not worthy of any friendships and are automatically cast as a racist, hateful demon worshipper who is akin to a Nazi.
I have friends who voted Reform and wouldn’t cast her aside because she is anti immigration. We discuss pros and cons and then carry on with other topics.
As others have said, if you’re friend is going to cut you off for utilising your democratic vote then you should be thankful they are not in your life anymore because they weren’t your friend in the first place.

Sorry to say, but you sound just a little bigoted in denying your friend the right to have an opinion, the audacity of being a foreigner and co-habiting with yet another foreigner.
Yes. I voted for Brexit because I wanted UK politicians to be accountable and stop hiding behind Brussels. Many of my friends voted to remain and they had their own good reasons for doing so.
I'm fine with immigration and emigration. I didn't vote for reform because Farage didn't present any policies that I cared to support. It becomes a problem when people wallow with their like-minded friends in their shared bigotry and are repulsed by those who dare to dissent.
Why don't you ask asking your friend why they voted the way they did? Ask them if they regret it? Tell them your own view. Try being respectful and open minded. There was a lot to be said for old-fashioned traditional Liberalism.

So what if she voted for Reform doesn’t stop you from being friends just because you have different views.
immigration is a big problem and wanting net migration reduced doesn’t mean you are a racist - it needs to be controlled.
Also reform wanted zero tolerance on knife crime with stop and search this needs to happen.

@Northernnature I voted Labour last time. I have voted conservative as well in the past, and once Lib Dem. I do not think I would want to be friends with you anyway from the way you talk about a mainstream political party and those who vote for them. So it would be no loss.

Yes as I said earlier on this thread if I knew someone voted Labour I would think less of them as I think Labour are scum and will trash this country more than the Tories and hold Labour voters to blame. I would assume they're misguided and get all their new from the BBC and/or very young and haven't lived through last 20 years. I am perfectly entitled not to want to be friends with them as are people who don't like Reform (but abit childish).

@eyupcocker anyone can vote for who they want to.
People have the right to decide who they are friends with and for some people voting for Reform affects whether they want to be friends. You have no right to dictate that people should remain friends.

I am stunned by the level of ignorance on this thread! EVERYONE has a right to vote for whoever they wish! It has absolutely nothing to do with you. How dare you! How would you feel if she felt the same 'disgust' when you told her who you had voted for? Voting Reform does not mean you are automatically racist. Did you actually read their manifesto or just automatically assume it was all to do with immigration??
NHS, Policing, Slashing government waste, Housing, Schools, Children, Benefits, Agriculture, Fishing, Pensions and reclaiming Britain are just a few of the things people voted for. Some people may live in an area over run by migrants and are scared to walk down the street without a fear of being attached. Yes this does happen! Wanting less ILLEGAL migration does not mean you are Racist. How about the knife crime in this country? Labour & Conservatives did nothing? The justice system needs to change. The NHS is on it's knees and it will only get worse under this government. Pensions are going to be taxed even more than they all ready are with this government. Is that OK with you? Some people are sick and tired of being the lies and deceit from the Labour & Conservatives and felt this was the only option left available to try and make a change to what was once, a great county.

@Shazam2 family is different. Friends would become ex friends if they voted Reform.

She made the right choice REFORM Don’t let it destroy your friendship. I have a brother who’s Politics are quite different from mine and we argue all the time but we still remain friends.

One of my best friends is a lefty, I’m slightly right of centre. I love her anyway. It’s not like any of our parties are extreme left or right, even reform. And this election really didn’t have any great options in my opinion. I don’t see why this should change your relationship.

Nigel Farage is a fully paid up (pun intended, he's a loaded financier)member of the elite he's managed to fool you he's against. And you appear to have swallowed it hook line and sinker. That alone would make me think less of you, let alone all the " what other protest vote do we have " self-excusing nonsense.

Black and Hispanic people vote for Trump. Doesn't make him any less far right, and dangerous.

I don't think you can draw any conclusions just on the fact that she voted for Reform. I think a lot of people in the last election just wanted the Tories out but didn't think Labour was any better. Votes for Lib Dems, Greens and Reform all went up - it could have just been a protest vote. I wouldn't read too much into it.

OP just out of interest, who did you vote for? Just because someone votes Reform, it doesn’t make them racist, bigoted, stupid etc. Why do people assume voting reform means
you dislike other religions / minorities? It actually doesn’t. My friend (a Muslim male) voted reform and is very proud of it. He is pakistani born and has lived here for years and works hard as a GP, paying his taxes and sending his children to private school. He is likely to be taxed now on giving his children the best he feels he can offer them. As an NHS worker he has been treat like shit by the government for years. (I work in the NHS so know this is true). His Children have been attacked, spat at and called some really horrific things by illegal immigrants in his home town and wants Migration to be controlled ‘like it was when he came here to live and work’. (His words not mine). The ignorance seems to be coming from the dogooders who believe all the crap this Labour government and the conservatives have spouted on for years about. Cover ups, lies, and a failure to deal with things that really do need speaking about without fear of retribution. Maybe voting reform was the best out of a series of bad options? Kier Starmer….dont get me started, the delightful billionaire Rishi Sunak who thinks working class people are the scum of the earth or Nigel Farage? Just because someone wants Great Britain to be great again and wants net migration to be reduced (not stopped, reduced to what it was 15 years ago), doesn’t actually make them a racist does it? And before you say, oh you voted reform….. no, I was one of the idiots who voted the government we now have.

Starmer will find it hard if his plan to smash the gangs fails and numbers increase each summer

How is someone in dire need if they are in France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Holland or any other number of EU countries.

They don't need to come here, it's not life or death if they are in those countries. They come here because they want to, but we can't let everyone who wants to live here in, it's not sustainable, it has a knock on effect on services.