What I would like to ask Reform supporters what are the specific Reform policies they support?

LMAO well if your voting for a party that supports doing little about immigration YOU my friend are part of the problem.

All frontline NHS and social care staff to pay zero basic rate tax for 3 years.
Introduce new visa rules for international students that bar dependents.
Deport foreign nationals immediately after their prison sentence ends.
Bank of England to Stop Paying Interest to Commercial Banks on QE Reserves.
Cut Residential Stamp Duty to 0% below £750k.
Lift the Income Tax Start Point to £20,000 Per Year.
Abolish Inheritance Tax (IHT) for all Estates Under £2m.
Scrap environmental levies.
Scrap Net Zero and Related Subsidies.
Start fast-track licences of North Sea gas and oil. Grant shale gas licences on test sites for 2 years.
Fast-track clean nuclear energy with new Small Modular Reactors, built in Britain.
Recruitment to increase UK per capita police numbers to 300 per 100k population.
Ban Transgender Ideology in Primary and Secondary Schools.
Personal Independence Payment and Work Capability Assessment should be face to face.
Increase basic pay across our armed forces to boost recruitment and retention.
Public toilets and changing areas must provide single sex facilities.
Legislate to ban ULEZ Clean Air Zones and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods.
Every foreign fishing vessel must pay for a licence to gain access to the UK’s 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Ban Dutch vessels from electric pulse fishing in Britain’s 200 mile EEZ.
Amend the Mineworkers Pension Scheme arrangements so that all the
scheme surpluses accrue to the Mineworkers.
Surveillance of the public must be limited and those monitoring us held to account.

I could go on, but these are just some of the Reform policies that I agree with.

I’m amazed that so many people voted Reform. Immigration is obviously the top issue for lots of people. And this is a fairly recent thing too, surely. Ten years ago nobody was talking about immigration , were they?

I’m letting in lots of unvetted men?

I don’t think I am sir, I work in education recruitment, I’m not the Home Office. Think you must be confused.

I don’t know what “our” values are, because I certainly don’t think we share any, based on your word salad so far.

What a load of waffle 😂

Every Reform voter I’ve ever spoken to a) talks about immigration (when usually they actually mean refugees) and b) talks about what a good bloke Nigel is and how he speaks for the people.

I watched a fair bit of the coverage last night and the Reform representative was aggressive and kept wanging on about the country being taken over etc. They know it’s what their voters want to hear.

Reform’s policies don’t stack up fiscally but people seem utterly uninterested. It’s like fucking Brexit all over again.

As far as I can tell, Reform voters believe that if we just sort out the “immigrants” and have a man of the people in charge, everything will be rosy.

The lack of coherent policies or the wherewithal to implement them seems to be surplus to requirements.

I think that’s actually why I feel so despondent. I’m not a Tory, I’m left-wing. I don’t feel despondent when the Conservatives win. A bit frustrated or irritated yes. Worried about what it might mean for vulnerable people, yes. But although I might disagree with the Tories, they do actually know how to run a government.

I don’t think Reform have got a clue. They’re like rowdy teenagers who have nicked the keys to a car - no clue what they’re going to do, but you can guarantee it will be a mess.

And not a single Reform voter I’ve ever met has demonstrated otherwise.

I would respond to your points that:

A) the majority of the British population has been against high levels of immigration since polling on the issue started. Whether they mean refugees or economic migrants, ultimately studies have consistently shown that certain groups are disproportionately impacted by the disadvantages of immigration whilst other groups have disproportionately from large scale immigration. We supposedly live in a democracy. Why is it wrong for people to want a party that seem more dedicated towards bringing immigration down? Will their policies be completely workable? Probably not, but neither have Labour or Tory policies been on this issue.

B) Labour had an astonishing lack of coherent policies in the last election. Other than putting VAT on school fees, everything else was unclear and has often been seriously diluted. They have of course managed to implement ideological policies they said they wouldn't though like lifting the two child benefit cap. Implementing change is difficult, look at Labour and the Assisted Dying Bill. It won't be easy for Reform either but people obviously prefer their direction of travel.

C) Labour's policies have never stacked up financially either. Why doesn't this bother you? Do you think raising taxes on businesses has been good for the economy or anyone? All Labour know how to do is tax and spend and people have had enough. The irony that you accuse Reform of so much that Labour have already proven they are guilty of too.

I would respond to your points that:

A) the majority of the British population has been against high levels of immigration since polling on the issue started. Whether they mean refugees or economic migrants, ultimately studies have consistently shown that certain groups are disproportionately impacted by the disadvantages of immigration whilst other groups have disproportionately from large scale immigration. We supposedly live in a democracy. Why is it wrong for people to want a party that seem more dedicated towards bringing immigration down? Will their policies be completely workable? Probably not, but neither have Labour or Tory policies been on this issue.

B) Labour had an astonishing lack of coherent policies in the last election. Other than putting VAT on school fees, everything else was unclear and has often been seriously diluted. They have of course managed to implement ideological policies they said they wouldn't though like lifting the two child benefit cap. Implementing change is difficult, look at Labour and the Assisted Dying Bill. It won't be easy for Reform either but people obviously prefer their direction of travel.

C) Labour's policies have never stacked up financially either. Why doesn't this bother you? Do you think raising taxes on businesses has been good for the economy or anyone? All Labour know how to do is tax and spend and people have had enough. The irony that you accuse Reform of so much that Labour have already proven they are guilty of too.

"Given how many people who voted Reform today you would think we'd be inundated with posters saying why they voted."

Can you think of any reason why someone who did vote Reform might be uncomfortable discussing it?

People are sick of being told they are racist and stupid. It's fighting a losing battle with those who couldn't care less about their concerns.

Nope. 69.93 million according to ONS data.

@WildGarden

My point was that I am interested and would love to know if people want to explain

People don’t have to explain how or why they voted. This is just another anti Brexit/Farage thread in disguise.

Watch the BBC question time special last night which was meant to discuss the local elections, but almost immediately focussed on the gift of £5 million to Nigel Farage.

@Myli1 oh god, not a member of the ‘utter nonsense’ brigade, How very superior of you. I think the supermarkets and water companies have a better handle on population numbers than government do, based on consumption. They’ve been disputing official numbers for nearly 2 decades. 8.6 million EU migrants applied for settled status after Brexit. We’re likely approaching 80million and even that might be conservative.

Just that really. I am a Labour voter, and I know what Labour policies I support. I think I know what Conservative and Lib Dem policies their supporters like. I don't know about Reform.

I would respond to your points that:

A) the majority of the British population has been against high levels of immigration since polling on the issue started. Whether they mean refugees or economic migrants, ultimately studies have consistently shown that certain groups are disproportionately impacted by the disadvantages of immigration whilst other groups have disproportionately from large scale immigration. We supposedly live in a democracy. Why is it wrong for people to want a party that seem more dedicated towards bringing immigration down? Will their policies be completely workable? Probably not, but neither have Labour or Tory policies been on this issue.

B) Labour had an astonishing lack of coherent policies in the last election. Other than putting VAT on school fees, everything else was unclear and has often been seriously diluted. They have of course managed to implement ideological policies they said they wouldn't though like lifting the two child benefit cap. Implementing change is difficult, look at Labour and the Assisted Dying Bill. It won't be easy for Reform either but people obviously prefer their direction of travel.

C) Labour's policies have never stacked up financially either. Why doesn't this bother you? Do you think raising taxes on businesses has been good for the economy or anyone? All Labour know how to do is tax and spend and people have had enough. The irony that you accuse Reform of so much that Labour have already proven they are guilty of too.

Given that 85% of rapes and assaults on women in the UK are carried out by British men, the vast majority of them white, 90% are carried out by someone known to the victim and over 50% are carried out by a partner or ex-partner with one in 3 taking place in the vitctim’s home, with the statistics even higher for children, can you articulate why you think it’s important to focus on the tiny fraction committed by immigrants and not on the huge male violence towards women issue that is currently endemic in the UK?

Also, can you please explain how you think a party led by a man who is friends with known rapists like Trump and Andrew Tate, and who are happy to put forward reform candidates who celebrate rape on social media, are convicted paedophiles, and celebrate the crimes of rapists like Jimmy Saville are the party to reduce rape offences towards women and children?

There is a very good 2 part documentary that was on BBC2, so probably still on iplayer and it categorically shows that resistance to immigration started gaining serious ground as soon as Eastern Europe had the freedom to move and work here. We were told 40k max a year would be making the journey, we were getting 300k and more. It's not sensationalist, it's not hyperbolic, it just follows the trajectory of the immigration debate. People wanting fewer immigrants predates Brexit by more than a decade but it absolutely shows that Brexit was nailed on and the dickheads who were pushing for remain and using economics as their reasons were always going to lose. This country has wanted less inward migration for a very long time and in that time we have added 20 million people.

All illegals and foreign criminals deported as would happen to me if I turned up without a visa in any other country.

@WildGarden

My point was that I am interested and would love to know if people want to explain

People don’t have to explain how or why they voted. This is just another anti Brexit/Farage thread in disguise.

Watch the BBC question time special last night which was meant to discuss the local elections, but almost immediately focussed on the gift of £5 million to Nigel Farage.

The OP was interested and asked why people have chosen to vote Reform.
I was here to try to understand that better too.

This is a great opportunity for "intelligent, educated, and well-informed people" to explain why they voted how they did today.

Given how many people who voted Reform today you would think we'd be inundated with posters saying why they voted, what policies appealed to them, why they think Reform can follow through on their proposals.

Also, these are local elections. People weren't voting about securing borders. They were voting about bin rounds, street lighting and library opening hours.

🙄 don’t give him air time