Why on earth are Farage and Reform so popular ?

[Nonamenoblame]

Their ideology is essentially heated up Thatcherism, more deregulation (if that’s possible) and laissez faire light touch for businesses, more cuts to public services because they love an even smaller state, cuts to benefits apart from those for pensioners, no real solution to the immigration issue apart from sinking the small boats.
So why isn’t Farage being challenged ? Everywhere you read that Farage is the next PM in waiting but his policies are a rerun of the last 14 years but worse, they haven’t worked so far, why would they work with a Reform government ? What’s an even worse thought is a Tory/Reform coalition, are we as country daft enough to fall for it ?
And how long would we give a Reform government to turn things around ? 6 months, a year ?

Because they often feel that they aren’t seeing the changes they want through the traditional political parties.

Reform often target working class areas like Blackpool and the Welsh Valleys to spew their bile under the disguise of being like just like them, but they’re far from it.

Propaganda.

Because they listen and represent what a lot of people think.
The majority are fed up with the damage the main 2 parties have done to this country and want change. I'm one of them.

Because people want "change" I guess. They see Garage as anti-establishment. And "one of them". Even though he's a rich, racist ex-trader that went to one of the fanciest private schools in the country (Dulwich college) because he likes a pint and a fag!

agreed

Ha! Garage should say Farage. Obviously. Thanks autocorrect 😆

Because some people want the things you’ve listed; they’re saying these things because it’s getting them support.

People are fed up of everything before. Tbh this is exactly how the SNP got in, and that’s been disastrous. Parties who don’t have a clue how to run anything run out of steam very quickly. Time will tell if Reform can keep their momentum up for 4 years. For now, they are on the right side of a lot of public feeling.

I know few very lovely English men here who were liberal, democratic etc.
They all started listening videos about Farage, you can stop free speech but you cannot stop free thinking and observing

Because some people are thick racist arseholes.

The thing is though - they may "represent" what you think but all they want to do (other than the racist stuff which I won't get into) is cut taxes, and government spending. Which means the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Is THAT what you want? Really?

The typical uneducated response from the left.
I support Reform, am married to a non white husband with mixed race children. I'm not racist in any way, nor are the majority of Reforms supporters.

See I do actually think MOST reform supporters wouldn't consider themselves racist. But I'm not sure they've really thought through what lower taxes means. Because what it WILL mean is less money for housing / the NHS / disability benefits / green economy/ schooling. But the rich business owners will be able to keep more of their profits as there'll be less protection for workers, landlords will benefit and tenants will lose out. Basically the top 1% will be able to cream EVEN MORE odd the rest of us. Is that REALLY what you want for all of our futures?

I think the support for Nigel Farrage and Reform is because people feel let down by the Labour Party - there was hope but over the last sixth months the mood of the country has dipped, the cost of living has risen and its nothing but doom and gloom. Ordinary people see nothing happening about immigration and the amount spent on it rising. The average working class person feels neglected, they feel that they are despised as they are non woke by the political elite and Reform make them feel valued. Until this is grasped then I think Reform's support will grow.

Of course you are.

i dislike them but probably because:

1. Everyone feels poorer every year, and nothing works. No one seems to have a solution to this.

2. Brexit and the debates after it made it clear the UK, broadly speaking, wanting immigration to be controlled. Net migration figures continue to grow.

The existing parties don’t appear to be able to see the problems people have, nor be willing to address key issues like immigration.

IMO the freezing of tax thresholds is extraordinarily damaging and the government don’t even seem to realise it.

The UK has completely crushed the aspirational working and middle classes.

Probably because they don't realise that Reform are planning to tax all their Amazon purchases and use the money for tax breaks for businesses.

But do you genuinely think they can deliver their promises? End the problems with the NHS and slash taxes? It’s just impossible.

I don't think it's that hard to get why. It's the same reason EU countries have similar

just to point out, I wouldn’t vote for reform if they paid me to, but I can see exactly why they’ve gained popularity, and I suspect Farage will be our PM in 5 years time.

In many areas there are problems with immigrants, issues around hotels and hostels housing illegal immigrants, cultural differences issues such as the Pakistani rape gangs, but being open about it, having a problem with the impact it’s having, is apparently akin to being racist.

Gender ideology, accepted by tories in 2004 and enthusiastically accepted by Labour is insidiously damaging to women and children, yet the left routinely call people bigots for raising it as an issue they are concerned about.

If people are dismissed, insulted and shouted down by the very people who should be listening and referring to up to date science then you have a situation where people will not want to vote for them, and you end up in a perfect storm of people like Trump getting into power.

I used to consider myself left, but not any more. I’m hoping for something better than the corrupt ideological shit show we find ourselves in.

Sadly it's because a lot of people agree with what they're saying.

So many of Reform's policies are what year 10 would come up with if they had to create a manifesto (actually that's unfair on year 10s). There is no funding or balancing of the books because they've never actually had to think about that - it's just a wish list with a bit about stopping immigration in there. So I can see why they're popular in that sense as it's unfunded nonsense.

Nigel Farage being popular is more of a puzzle to me. But then Boris Johnson was also a puzzle to me. How anyone decides that rich people who quite honestly wouldn't piss on poor people if they were on fire are "men of the people" just utterly baffles me.

Populist politics.

the idea that society is divided in two, them and us

politics based on the negatives of others rather than the positives of themselves

appealing to the ‘Everyman’ when they are anything but

Are they really that popular though? or is it really due to a large part of the media endless interviewing/inviting Farage to be part in TV debates?

They are given a completely disproportionate media profile compared to the Lib Dem or the Greens because the right wing media see them as a good opportunity to push their own agenda.

There is no substance in Reform or anything beyond Farage's ego trip.

Because when people feel desperate they do extreme things.
The two main parties have failed most people and coalition didn't work, what's left? 🤷

The Conservative Party did a huge amount of damage Labour look set to do even MORE 😳 so people are looking for something different the liberal Democrats are a non entity since the coalition the green party imploded what is left?