Reform voters - why? Which policy attracted you?

I know 2 people who voted reform. This is what I know about their vote.

The first person has always voted conservative. He was a big fan of Thatcher and, more recently, hopes Trump gets back into power. He is very involved in a Christian church. He is very patriotic, thinks highly of the monarchy, thinks immigration is out of control. He says that Reform's policies align with his Christian beliefs and he pointed out Reform's policy about banning transgender ideology in schools. He's said many people he knows in his church have voted Reform. Most of these people are over 60 years old.

The second person is also a lifelong conservative voter, also over 60 years old. She thinks we will all be a lot poorer under labour. I'm not sure about her reasons for not voting conservative this time though.

I'd say it's a mix of two reasons rather than policies:

. The dishonesty of the Tory Party in speaking against mass immigration while doing nothing to stop it (legal migration is all government policy). They won't speak about the benefits of immigration so it leaves a vacuum for Reform to speak against and provide easy solutions.

. Culturally conservative people who are fed up with voting for 'conservative' governments and getting neoliberalism.

But like with Brexit their easy solutions are anything but.

@FrancisSeaton I didn’t vote reform, I am not white. To be honest immigration issues frighten me a lot as though born here it’s obvious I’m not white European and if it’s not tackled we will end up moving much farther to the right which is happening already. The behaviour overall of huge amounts of the single males who have arrived is awful. Too many have medieval views of women. Sweden one of the countries beloved on MN as a bastion of social cohesion and fairness has moved to the right, this would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.

Reform are nowhere near as right wing as some of the parties gaining popularity in mainland Europe. When Marie LePenn refused to wear a hijab a couple of days ago when she was meeting with the Muslim leaders I thought good on her and then I realised what a mind melt it was for me to admire someone who makes Farage seem quite the Liberal.

Labour won but the overall percentage of people who bothered to vote and for who, it’s not the victory it entirely seems, they have a majority but the actual stats speak volumes.

I feel that REFORM policies aspire to this :

All goods should cost a lot more (result of wanting to inshore manufacturing)
Food should cost more (result of paying farmers more)
Fishing industry should collapse (result of not allowing European boats in British water means no access to Europe markts where British boats sell most their fish)
NHS should have fewer staff (since fewer immigrants to be allowed in)
More polluted air to breathe (result of being anti-ULEZ)
More road traffic accidents and deaths (result of being anti 15 minute cities)
Noisier towns & cities (result of being "pro motorist")
Worse paid teachers & NHS staff (low tax policies, so low funding to public services will result)
Russia should be encouraged to be dangerous (result of not supporting Ukraine)
Pension fund collapse (result of financial markets viewing Reform economic policies as unviable)
Kids with problem should be shut away out of sight to become future adult underclass (result of education policies, they probably want return of Grammar schools, too)

My cousin is visiting UK from California & asked me where are the homeless, she's used to seeing them everywhere in CA, tent cities, but why so few here? I tried to explain the social welfare models in operation. I could see Reform policies resulting in many more homeless, though.

The Reform voters I know have some threads in common:

1. Get all their news from right wing media and their social media is awash with fear mongering. The policies align perfectly with what this type of press has been telling them for years.
2. Don't have any friends that aren't white
3. Are scared of change and feel a bit powerless. So the policies reflect "the good old days".
4. Range from a bit, but hide it to very racist (hello FIL) and feel the policies reflect this.

I like all there policies, and after 4 years of Labour I think a lot more people will like there policies. I have lived through a Labour government twice and I’m not looking forward to the next four years!! I am hoping I’m proven wrong for the country’s sake but i doubt that.

I didn’t have the option to vote Reform but I liked their ideas for the NHS, as simply throwing more and more money at it isn’t solving anything - we need to try something radical. I also liked their idea of “front-loading” child benefit so you get more money when your kids are little. Plus I’m a racist xenophobic thicko, obv.

Farming support
More special school and PRU places
Getting more people into the trades rather than the university Ponzi scheme
Defence
Reform the NHS to a French/EU style system.
investing in British manufacturing and British industry.
Stopping illegal immigration.
Reducing legal immigration to something the country can actually handle.

Well considering you've only met 3 out of 4million I'd say there's a high chance that they're not all racist, and that you maybe need to change your social circle

For the first time in 30 years, I didn't vote Conservative and voted reform.

Why? Partly as I believe the Conservatives have become too centrist. The tax burden is the highest since WW2, as is our public debt. I believe the only way the NHS can cope with the ageing population is through reform to a French or German model. I think immigration is too high and is putting additional pressure on already squeezed housing, education and healthcare. (I also know that HNW individuals are amongst the most internationally mobile and raising taxation further will result in some of the highest net contributors leaving the U.K.). And I think the Conservatives have managed the country poorly at times, particularly during the pandemic, so no longer deserve to govern.

It's a more nuanced point but I have issues with immigration that doesn't go hand in hand with a level of integration. I've spoken about this before but my brother lives in a closed (religious) community and my SIL gave birth to her first child (not via my brother) in the U.K. at 13. That's child rape, irrespective of whether it's under the guise of marriage or not. Forty years later she can't read, write or speak basic English and she is not atypical of the women in their community. Yet political correctness means that this still continues today and I don't believe it's a healthy situation.

I knew Labour would win a huge majority but, like the 14% of the U.K. that voted reform, I hope it has some impact on the direction of future policy, at least for the Conservatives.

It really is simple, you don’t need to over complicate or over think this.

It’s nothing to do with racism either.

The answer is simple. Reform is neither Conservative or Labour.

This is why they will win the next election, then you’ll see a landslide.

Im old enough to know the Tories ruled for so long because beforehand labour couldn’t have done a worse job, then conservatives go and fuck it up too. They’re both shit. Time for a long overdue change.

lol you do realise many non white people voted reform?

Immigration
Getting rid of gender ideology in schools
Protecting biological female spaces and races
No longer being forced to pay for TV licence which supports the woke BBC but instead making the BBC a subscription service
Getting rid of net zero before other countries like India implement it
meaning manufacturing is not closed down in the UK if it was it means we'd have to import manufactured goods from other countries that did allow it so support other countries not getting to net zero plus import cost
Raising of personal threshold to £20k to encourage people off benefits
Higher defence budget
More support for veterans
New model for NHS based on French model so those who can pay do so but low paid workers don't pay but still get access to full service

A friend of mine (early 20's) did due to tax claims as he is on just over minimum wage.

If you don't know there racist undertones their policies seem entising. They ran a great campaign on social media.

I voted Lib Dem.

I know two people who voted reform.
There reasons were around immigration. They were concerned about illegal immigration not being tackled. They both were happy with skilled immigration on a points basis, both OK ish with asylum but really couldn't see why people weren't safe in france and weren't really convinced they were all asylum seekers anyway.

They were also concerned about clashing cultures, particularly Islam. One didn't want to be heckled in the street as was happening to them and felt any granddaughters they had might end wearing a burqa as they felt there was an organisation to return as many muslim candidates to parliament to impact on law.

I am trying really hard to not dismiss reform as I don't want them in power. I live in a very nice area and my view of immigration isn't one where I feel under threat in any way so I am trying to understand people's worries not just think racist.

I did not vote reform

however, their education policy really interested me. More special school places. More pupil referral units and easier to move disruptive students out of mainstream into PRUs

But you would have to swallow the racism ,and the sheer nastiness to refugees.

The three people I know who voted reform are racists and don’t know anything more about policies apart from reform are against non white people coming here or those already in the UK (including British citizens born here) getting what they believe to be preferential treatment. I have yet to meet a reform voter who is not thick and a racist. Maybe some are less racist and just xenophobic.
The people I know are not living in a deprived area or in an area with a high level of immigrants. They are not poor and in fact one had a private education. It is just that they hate black people and think anyone non white is a lesser being.

That's exactly why I voted Reform.

I'm rural with a farming background. Lib Dems and Labour are really urban in their approaches. Lib Dems especially who were the only alternative in this Tory stronghold.
But I also didn't want the Tory's in for another term. Went with Reform as they have good agricultural policies but I knew they would have no chance in this political seat.

Immigration.
Being able to keep my petrol car.
Not being taxed higher.
Increasing police.
Keeping all the woke rubbish out of our schools.
Getting rid of the tv licence.
Reforming the House of Lords.

What I don't think many on Mumsnet understand is that many parts of the UK have their own identity that's separate to London. They don't want all the immigration that idealists from other parts of the UK have forced on them.

I realised I had just written Reform off as a potential vote without knowing anything beyond press headlines. So I took a look at their manifesto. It only took a quick scan of some of the points for me to write them off again: green lighting fracking, fast tracking new gas and oil licences for the north sea, cutting foreign aid by 50%. I didn't need to read more!

I'd hazard a guess a lot of people saw them as an F U to the big parties, a protest, a vote against. Without fully appreciating what they were voting for

I wasn’t voting Labour because they don’t know what a woman is, and I wasn’t voting Conservative.

I work in Lee Anderson's constituency. People like him because he's proactive. He is an MP that gets involved at least.

Immigration.