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 ?

Isn't it crystal clear? Because A LOT of people are fed up with economic migrants, so called refugees/asylum seekers from Islamic countries. What's not to understand?

Do I also need to tell you why? Because their worldview, values, lifestyle and treatment of women are incompatible with our modern Western life.

Just because MN is an echo-chamber, full of 'poor people escaping war, everyone lurvs them, it's just a handful of thick racists who think otherwise' - it doesn't mean that it is so in real life. And your continuous screeching about 'thick, ignorant racists' will just make people double down and vote for Reform in droves. See: Brexit.

...because people have been let down by Labour and the Tories. I think one big factor is that people are fed up with the rate of immigration and they're the only party to take it seriously....and it's not racism, we simply don't have the infrastructure to support the current rate of immigration. It's near impossible to get a dentist appointment, doctors appointment, waiting lists are at an all time high and schools are overcrowded with people struggling to get their kids in good schools.

This exactly!

... it will be even harder to get a decent school place, hospital appointment doctors appt etc under Reform. They will defund schools and the NHS and make health care private. They will screw over the average person and give it all to the rich.

The only serve themselves and the super rich.

There is also the Communist party. Ironically they don't have an equal share of the voters....

Quite simply Reform are not the Uniparty (LibLabConGreen) which always promise great things at election but never deliver, never answer a question directly and always move in the same direction acting in the interests of their globalist masters.

People are waking up to the pantomime that is modern politics and looking for something, anything, else. In the UK (and much of Europe) this shift is mostly on the right at present but give Labour a few more years and I am sure a new left wing party will start to gain traction, maybe the Workers Party or the newly re-energised SDP.

Interesting times.

@Nonamenoblame

Many people are disillusioned across Europe in the UK. I think lots of these people are looking at the USA and seeing rightly or wrongly a politician putting their own people first.

If Reform are smart and don’t get carried away then they could be incredibly popular by promising inquiries and releasing information into known UK scandals and corruption if it doesn’t involve their own chums.

It will be interesting what happens in Germany on the 23rd of February to see what gains the AFD can make to see how the bounce of the right in USA has filtered down.

Interesting times

Ah...here we go!!!

Do you really think 20/30k of asylum seekers each year make such a difference to the country?

I could understand if you said it was the 750k students coming in each year from abroad and studying at universities

but asylum seeks in boats are a tiny proportion and yet are seen to do what?

how have they affected your life negatively?

What happened to the social democrats, are they still around?

"putting their own people first."

WTF. They are dismantling democracy and enabling corruption and cronyism. To a crazy degree. They are aligning with Putin. They are screwing over their allies. Since Trump came into power the people are the most fucked they have ever been. I dread to think what will happen. US currently a dangerous place for any non-super rich person to live in.

I am not keen on reform as they support a right wing ideology which I do not agree with. I don't think it is as simple as they are all racist little Englanders but I don't think they have put massive thought into their view of what the UK should look like and how they fund public services whilst promoting growth and higher living standards for all. I am not sure they are particularly inclusive or support diversity and have way too many testosterone fuelled men at the top of the party, Farage included.

In all seriousness Reform getting into power will do the country no good.

But at this point neither will any other party. 5 years isn't enough to repair the damage and that's the extent of any parties foresight.

They are popular because people are generally fed up of main political parties and see them as offering change. I don't think it will offer change for the better though

Richard Tice was being interviewed on LBC this afternoon! Talking about taxing wind farms, Green energy etc , shutting down Govt Departments, cancelling Foreign Aid!

Like a poor man's Elon Musk! 🙄

Yep - a change into fascism and oppression.

@ramowwo how do you come to that conclusion?

The country needs a long term cross party plan, but that will never happen.

You'd think, but MN is full of sanctimonious delusion. Of course there are other contributing factors that have made us poorer, but mass immigration has failed us terribly. Why isn't it time we try to tackle it to see if it makes a difference to our quality of lives? Calling us thick racists is so insanely lazy, and all it does is help our cause.

Also, many people actually want small state/government and lower taxes. Why do people find they so hard to fathom.

I'm almost hoping they get in next time just so everyone can see how bad things can actually get!

Let's just get it over with!

I feel like this Country is going backwards!

Our prime minister told us its "wrong" to say only women have a cervix. Then it was 99.99 women don't have a penis: so why the hell should I trust his judgement on stuffbi font understand why he lies to my face and insults me on stuff I'm sure about?!?

What things have Labour done in the last few months that have impressed you OP?

I don't blame you.

It's beyond help.

Also, many people actually want small state/government and lower taxes. Why do people find they so hard to fathom.

because if you cut taxes, it means public services are cut - which adversely hits the working class harder. As they don’t have the money to pay for those services privately

A brain.