Is Reform done for?

@2dogsandabudgie

The reason being that Polish tradesmen didn't have families over here to support so could afford to work for less. It's not that hard to understand

Correct again. Although their families weren’t in the UK, there were cases where child benefit was claimed in the UK and sent to Poland.

The reason being that Polish tradesmen didn't have families over here to support so could afford to work for less. It's not that hard to understand.

Zalanski is doing his best to facilitate that .

@5128gap

Andy Burham agrees with Farage regards immigration

https://news.sky.com/story/why-burnham-agrees-with-farage-13551961

@5128gap

Andy Burham agrees with Farage regards immigration

https://news.sky.com/story/why-burnham-agrees-with-farage-13551961

@2dogsandabudgie

Freedom of movement only works if all countries have the same standard of living

I agree. The rapid expansion of the EU into Eastern Europe has been detrimental for both Western Europe and Eastern Europe.

Eastern European counties lost their skilled workers as they moved to Western Europe is search of higher earnings. Western European countries had a huge amount of cheaper labour to pick from. So, locals were displaced.

What the Western European countries didn’t work out was that lower wages meant lower taxes received. To combat this government’s had the following choices:

Increase taxes, or
Increase borrowing, or
Reduce spending on public services.

Now all we need, is the demise of the Greens

Conveniently forgotten how in demand Polish builders were, have we? And how the cost of getting any work done since they left has skyrocketed?

Labour won't need to sell its soul to Reform. There are other parties available to work with.

@Badbadbunny

Nail on the head. They're only interested in power for themselves. If they have to sell their soul, most would do it!

I think this is the reason turnout in general elections is declining. They say what’s necessary to get elected, then do something else once they are in.

First thing they say is:

Look at the mess we inherited. It’s going to take tough decisions to fix things.

Wow your contempt for British workers really stands out in your post. Freedom of movement only works if all countries have the same standard of living. At that time Poland and Romania were poor countries and their average wage was a fraction of ours. How could our tradesmen compete when thousands of migrants were coming here to work, living in shared houses and working for low wages. It had nothing to do with foreign workers being more honest, hardworking and competent but everything to do with hardworking Brits not being able to work for lower wages as they had families to support, mortgages/rent to pay.

Conveniently forgotten the protests at that time have we?

Those were actually Blossoms comments not mine. But I agree with her, so happy to respond.
If we had a GE now and Reform did well but not enough to form a government, it would be down to Burnham to form another.
He would then look to other parties to support him, and would find it amongst the left and centre parties. He would then head a 'progressive alliance' coalition government until such time as a subsequent GE gave him a majority, or Reform or the Tories outright beat him.
So Reform would not have the opportunity to try to form a coalition, nor would they be part of Burnham's coalition.
Reforms only chance is to win a majority.

Not if they wished to survive. All the political parties have the object lesson of the Libdems in front of them. Their vote collapsed in 2015 and Clegg lost his seat.

Nail on the head. They're only interested in power for themselves. If they have to sell their soul, most would do it!

As we saw with Nick Clegg - a whiff of power and they soon lose their values!

Parties can make a coalition with whoever they wish.

Precisely. And the only party that would wish to coalesce with Reform would be Restore - and apparently only with some conditions that would appal the majority of the electorate.

@5128gap

They really won’t.

If it gets them into power, they will. Did Conservatives and Labour announce before the 2010 general election they would not form a coalition? No they didn’t, but it happened.

Who would have thought that the DUP would become a coalition with the conservatives? Nobody, but it happened.

The only possible alliance is Reform+Restore.

Parties can make a coalition with whoever they wish.

Possible that Reform or Greens find themselves in the same position as the Liberal Democrat’s in 2010 and the DUP in 2017.

The situation with Clegg was different. Lib dems are centrist and have worked with both Tories and Labour, so they could have gone either way, gIving Tories support to form a government or refused so the opposition could. The Left and centre parties we have now wouldn't refuse Burnham to support Reform.

They really won’t. The only possible alliance is Reform+Restore.

@5128gap

With who?

Whoever needs them to form a majority. Happened in 2010. Both conservative and Labour parties approached Nick Clegg to form a coalition. Clegg chose the conservatives.

Again in 2017. Theresa May did not get a majority. So, she teamed up with the DUP.

MPs will do whatever is necessary to get a majority.

I've seen locally that the Reform posters/social media is getting less and less popular. People are challenging them more. They've had a few 'marches' and they've been so drunk, racist and offensive and it's massively damaged their cause. Basically they've shown their colours and people are repulsed. Left-leaning people are feeling more confident about challenging them. I suspect this is what will stop them gaining traction in the end.

With who? As we stand now no other party will touch them with a barge poll except Restore, and combined that wouldn't be enough for a majority. A hung parliament would see a progressive coalition.

The FPTP system makes opinion poll percentages worthless. Look at the results of the 2024 general election.

Labour votes 33.7% seats 63.2 %
Cons votes 23.7% seats 18.6%
Reform votes 14.3% seats 0.76%
LibDems votes 12.2% seats 11%

Reform unlikely to win the next general election, but possible to be part of a coalition.

Exactly that.

I think its obvious how, why and when it happens.
Working class people in deprived neighbourhoods with too few resources to go around see themselves in competition for what little they have with new communities. And rather than look at the real reasons they are poor and who is really being enriched at their expense, they are encouraged to see only their immediate competitors as the problem.
The fact that the working classes were poor and exploited when Britain was a white homogenous society, and were far worse off, seems to pass them by.
As does the fact that any additional rights and protections they do have, state support for low incomes, employment and housing protections are the work of the left. And that those they look to to save them from immigrants would remove these in a heartbeat.