Andy Burnham - how can this be allowed?

I actually think it does have something to do with the economy and cost of living.

One of the reasons why Farage’s messaging is getting through so effectively to people now, compared to ten years ago, is because people are absolutely fed up with the economy and the cost of living.

That’s because they think migrants are taking all their jobs and are getting privileges they don’t have. I think it’s also because they think EU membership contributed to this by encouraging other EU citizens to move to the UK and take jobs that a British person could have done.

They are nothing to do with economy and cost of living though, Farage opened and pushed the much needed debate in mainstream politics about immigration and the relationship with the EU, people are voting for Reform because these topics and people"s views on them were ignored in the mainstream for so long.

Yes that’s the idea!

After every GE the band of brigade join the winning party.

When they inevitably all social climb and back stab then we can actually vote.

By making amazing-sounding manifesto promises to people in return for their vote?

Reform are really good at this, because they can see most of the country is fed up with economy and the cost of living, so all they have to do is promise a few belters in their manifesto and watch the votes roll in.

I’m not a Reform voter, btw.

Well if you are a party with donations it helps doesn’t it? I think the spending limit was 180k per candidate per by-election?
Unnecessary posturing by-elections are as noted also a detrimental cost to the taxpayers , via council tax.
But if Labour are going to do this, they can’t then pull up the drawbridge for Reform? Who do seem to be looking around for legitimacy and big names and I bet that if they do actually get significant amount of seats then suddenly a whole lot of rich and influential people may join and may try and join in this sort of way. They won’t be able to break the rules of course, but money helps.
So my point is they are setting a precedent for by-election resignations on the grounds of making way for someone else in their own party.

On the donation note, Labour were meant to introduce a 100k donation limit from March 26 from foreign donors but all the shenanigans now means what exactly for this proposal?

So @Araminta1003, Reform win Doncaster North, Basildon South, East Bolsover and West Dudley (obvs made up constituencies) with candidates that have come through Reform's selection process. Then all four resign, triggering by-elections and Reform candidates for by-election come through Reform's selection process but this time are all richer and all four win by-elections - how is this democracy being bought (granted, we as nation are paying for the by-elections but that's life living under democracy - you can't predict how many by-elections there may be in any parliament)

How do you think democracy can be bought? There are millions of voters with different ideas and opinions.

But this argument misses out the chosen candidate having to be voted in by the electorate first. Just as would be the case if they were chosen to stand at a GE not a by-election. Which has backfired in the past, because no political party can enforce the vote. Admittedly usually in cases where the candidate has weaker links to the constituency than Burnham- unusual form of parachuting when you've lived there years- but it's not like there's no possibility of that here.

It's also not buying, unless you're suggesting either of the parties concerned are going to start paying for votes.

@alliumursinum - because Reform are still working on their “legitimacy” as a party. However, if they establish it firmly and democracy can be bought, then I think it could set a dangerous precedent.

Look at Labour as well - they have democracy the wrong way round. They seem to think they can choose their voters by parachuting someone in, not the other way around!

Why didn't Reform select the rich members as candidates in the first place?

Most of the Reform UK Party Ltd MPs are rich in any case. Tice funded the party before the shady overseas cryto billionaire. Farage got a £5 million bung to stand for election. Rupert Lowe is rich & was elected under the Reform UK Party Ltd banner. I'm not sure of the wealth of the Tory Turncoats but I don't think they are short of a bob or two.

@Araminta1003 am still confused by the confected scenario you posed yesterday about rich Reform members parachuting themselves into constituencies that Reform hold (and i believe you were suggesting that this would happen at scale) What is driving all these sitting MPs to stand down? Why didn't Reform select the rich members as candidates in the first place?

Oh dear. Do you believe that you can throw out the figure of £9b, couple it with a little right wing ranting in which 'arses' predictably feature, and imagine you've scored a point of logic?
Maybe start by educating yourself on the difference between fraud and overpayment. Because your figure is the second, not the first.
Then ask, rather than 'tell' the DWP how much of thatvoverpayment is due to official error, genuine error on the part of claimants, and working people under reporting earnings.
You might then need to have a deeper dive into your figures for unemployment.
You are currently quoting the media figure for working age people in receipt of benefits. This figure includes sick and disabled people and carers, as well as those who are unemployed but able to take up work.
The actual figure for the number unemployed who are able to work is 1.7 million. Which while high, is someway off your figure. And there is no evidence of how many, if any, of these people are committing benefit fraud (failing to find a job isnt fraud) unless you're aware of some I've missed?

Tell that to the DWP who say it costs us £8.5-£9.7bn per year. There are over 5 million unemployed - are you suggesting that all of those are working their arses off to get a job?

Benefit fraud is deplorable but amounts to only 2.2 % of benefits paid. Compare it to the nearly £50 billion of uncollected taxes that is 5.3% of total theoretical tax liabilities.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2024-to-2025-estimates/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-ending-fye-2025#total-estimates-of-fraud-and-error-across-all-benefit-expenditure

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/measuring-tax-gaps/1-tax-gaps-summary

There are 1.694 million unemployed not the 5 million as you claim.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/employmentintheuk/april2026#unemployment

Oh dear, do you really believe there is no benefit fraud and no scroungers?

Tell that to the DWP who say it costs us £8.5-£9.7bn per year. There are over 5 million unemployed - are you suggesting that all of those are working their arses off to get a job? And if they are, why are we bringing in lite immigrants who also need benefits and jobs?

Your ‘left wing’ talking points are not founded in logic or reality.

You think economic migrants and people who smoke weed all day are vulnerable groups? No wonder people are voting Reform in droves!

This will be his third try at leader, it is just a clown show, they tried to cancel the recent elections didn"t they, and Labour types were very vocal in trying to overturn the Brexit vote, they only like democracy when they win so jumping through any hoop rather than just accept that they are out of touch and over as a party is what they will do!

The real story for the UK is Iran and higher inflation and interest rates in general and the real prospect now of a Reform led government, the media don"t want to talk about these things though (they liked talking about Iran when they thought it would be over soon and they could get back to encouraging people into debt) so they will double down on the Labour clown show, which honestly is just embarrassing to watch, so to answer your question, don"t worry about what they are doing they will be gone soon, hopefully for good.

Because them's the rules?

Well the Centre/Centre Right seems to be clamouring for an end to the triple lock instead - which makes much more sense to me. The poorer pensioners will be topped up by pension credit anyway.
We cannot be baking inflation into the benefits system in some sort of doom loop feeding itself.

Reform voters have been presented with acceptable and deserving groups to screw over. Immigrants and 'benefit scroungers'. We're fed a steady diet of the harms these groups are supposed to be doing to our society, with much coverage given to immigrant crime and 'fighting age' men, and endless anecdotes about people who don't work who scam the system and live the life of Riley.
These folk devils allow otherwise good and decent people to support vulnerable groups being screwed over, because they are presented as an enemy.

But I don’t think any became Prime Minister after not even being an MP at the preceding General Election.

Sir Alec Douglas-Home was sitting in the House of Lords as the Earl of Home when he became PM. He renounced his title & stood in a Scottish constituency which happened to be vacant. For a period of several weeks he was PM while neither a member of the House of Lords nor an MP.

@incidentally - to the modern sentiment that image is far more Handmaid’s Tale - a wife- than Marie Antoinette’s let them eat cake.
Why else would she still be that thin!
And personally, I would much rather be a Martha with something to do in the kitchen than a Wife.

Try living in Scotland, we don’t even get to choose what party get into power.

thank you

I really do think people have more in common. Simple categories like soft/ hard left, centrist, right wing etc is exactly what I’m talking about when I say Farage and Reform, along with many in the media are using Trump‘s playbook.

The be kind movement is only dead when it’s your opponent, people often complain when they feel insulted just look on this thread…

They're talking about this politician who isn’t a citizen but here on a student visa. They were elected as a MSP www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g82j03w94o