Reform lost 6 by elections this week 🎉

And how many more times are you going to repeat the same thing? It has been acknowledged that there are problems in all parties, but last night's documentary was about Reform which is why it's being discussed today. As others have said, you're only here to argue.

But the point is, not all politicians would do that. In fact, in a party where prejudice was being taken seriously they’d do the opposite - as Keir Starmer did when he took over the leadership and suspended the whip from Jeremy Corbyn. That’s a party taking the accusations of prejudice levelled against them seriously - and if Reform want to seen as a potential party of government they need to take serious action too.

(Another, more historic example, is Heath, sacking Enoch Powell over the rivers of blood speech)

Has she criticised them? I wouldn't have thought she was a hypocrite no. Given it is Kemi Badenoch, she is the party leader and as far as I am aware she is not a racist or anti semite.

Keir Starmer supported Jeremy Corbyn as leader though while being aware he was an anti semite. In fact supported the election of an anti semite as PM although luckily that attempt failed.

Sure, and that made the party unelectable.

They only became electable once they rooted the poison out. If Reform want to be a party of government, they need to do the same.

Enoch Powell's problem was that people didnt seem to be as well versed as he was in classical literature. I thought his reputation had been somewhat rehabilitated now anyway.

But I thought from this thread that supporting the poison by not seeming to have a problem with it was also bad. If you support an anti semite so much that you want him to be PM that must mean you don't have a problem with anti semitism.

I dont think you should be telling people when and how and what they can post on a political chat? If you don't like contrary views just don't engage.

So it is not hypocritical to criticise Reform's racism, Islamophobia and anti-semitism as long as you are personally not racist, Islamophobic or anti-semitic, even though the party you support might be less than squeaky clean on those issues.

I agree. 👍👍👍

Is the conservative party a racist party?

To defend Enoch Powell, who’s support for anti semitic conspiracy theories is well documented, while at the same time suggesting Keir Starmer didn’t do enough to oppose anti semitism, and so therefore Labour can’t criticise racism from Reform, genuinely might be the clearest case of cognitive dissonance I have ever seen.

You are clearly being deliberately contrarian. So, I’m going to bow out now.

The But Labour tactic didn't work for the Tories at the end of the last government. Applying it in the defense of the disgusting antics of Reform shows the right wing in the UK is a shambolic mess, intent on splitting the vote.

It didn't work for the Conservatives then, it's not working for them now.

I didn't say I supported Enoch Powell. Just that the rivers of blood phrase was from classical literature which people didn't realise at the time. But obviously you must bow out as you wish.

Well that I agree with. Its a bit of a disaster but hopefully this will turn a few more people to the Conservatives so its not all bad.

I think I've got it now.

If you're Kemi Badenoch, you're allowed to call out racism in Reform.

If you were anything to do with Labour under Jeremy Crorbyn, you are never, never, never allowed to speak out against racism in Reform because unless you resigned and put on a hair shirt and are still wearing it today, you're antisemitic.

And Enoch Powell didn't mean it that way and it was all bantz.

I can't even.

Why would the Tories benefit from defending Reform?

Are they squeaky clean on that front?

Definitely not. If @Pineneedlesincarpet is allowed to hark back endlessly at the Corbyn years, then it is also fine to hark back endlessly at the Boris years: bum boys, letterboxes and watermelon smiles.

Baroness Warsi called out Islamophobia within the Conservative Party. The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) defined Islamophobia as being 'rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.'

So what do you suggest then? Ordinary people must stop speaking out about racism and anti semiticism altogether? We should none of us criticise the Greens because of historical anti semiticism in Labour? Conservatives shouldn't criticise Reforms 'vetting errors' because Badenoch accidently (and then deliberately) appointed a person who ten years ago was a nazi serving a prison sentence for a campaign of terror against Jewish women? Or does ten years not count, but 5 years does?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0qvxvw87lpo

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/sep/14/britain-politicians-complacent-islamophobia-rising-hard-right-politics

That's easy. Islamophobia is when you take the actions of a minority of criminals and extremists who are Muslim, and project them onto all Muslims, concluding that being Muslim is the problem rather than those individuals.
Its when you spend your time deliberately looking for misdeeds on the part of Muslim people to stoke your fear, and then invest further time publicly panicking about them to stoke fear in others.
Its when you're so entrenched in your fear that you look at societal problems like run down neighbourhoods and litter and blame it religion.
Its when you sit there in your bubble feeding yourself with negativity, cowering behind your keyboard from your bogey men (and women and children) rather than growing a spine and venturing out into the real wider world, where you'd quickly see that the majority Muslims are ordinary people and nothing to be scared of at all.

Indeed. Arguing with that poster is pointless, we just go round in circles!