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 ?

it doesn’t matter what the facts are it matters who gives the disillusioned hope and I was referring to the disillusioned!!!

When your living in a shit hole northern town and as on this thread you’ve been told you’re thick and stupid and if your concerned about the rate of change in your community your a racist as well you’ve got nothing to loose. AKA 2016

They’ve convinced their voters that if they stop sending money abroad, stop immigration, and stop anything green, their lives will be better. All simplistic bollocks but they won’t get in so won’t need to prove themselves.

Yes, the heated up Thatcherism was already tried and failed by Truss. Farage had called that 'at last a true Tory budget'.

But they're popular because Labour and Conservatives fail to control immigration to reasonable levels and the asylum hotels are a piss take to tax payers.

Processed immigration, which the last government had purposely got a backlog. So 48% more were sent back

its not right to keep people waiting in detention centres for minths

cut Benefits

raised minimum wage

increased workers rights

housing and planning reforms, so more homes can be built

This Labour government particularly their leadership is the most unpopular ever. Most have buyer’s remorse. Starmer is the worst PM at the worst time.

They’re now pitting farmers against the NHS and it’s crossed the line for many. I’m talking working class farmers and their families not the toffs or landed gentry that the entrenched left conjure up in their envious minds.

Don’t believe the mainstream media. Most turning to Reform are sick of being let down by both Tory and Labour - two cheeks, same arse - and they’re generally ordinary disgruntled people who feel not listened to.

Sorry, ‘right wing’ media ?! Is this a joke? The media - if you are talking mainstream media - is not ‘right wing.’ And I say this as someone who has worked for more than 30 years in the media (mainstream).

Yes, cos Truss was great wasn’t she, sorted out the economy and didn’t tank it for 2 years 🫣

OP isn't engaging with their thread

but you HAVE got something to lose - your freedom, your democracy, your free NHS health care, your pension, the regulations that protect you as a consumer, food safety, public services, your personal wealth (unless you are super rich)..., the justice system, the list goes on endlessly. Things may not be perfect now but they will be 20 times worse or gone completely.

Nigel is in it for the BILLIONAIRES not for the ordinary person. He will completely screw each and every one of us over.

It doesn't matter if it's this Gov or the last. It just prives that NEITHER has their own peoples interests at heart and reform just might??

Small state doesn't necessarily mean worse public services. There's so much tax payer money wasted of things we don't need the government to intervene in. We could cut the bloated civil service hugely, reform the benefit and immigration system, all the red tape etc.

You can have lower taxes and have excellent public services.

Nonsense.

@ramowwo thought so. You don't have any evidence to back up what you're saying. So you resort to being rude and insinuating that you're somehow intellectually inferior.

Yup. You can sell it to stupid people though as the solution to all of our woes. That’s why they exist- tell people what they want to hear. Populism.

But if they ever got a sniff of power- hint- they won’t as the U.K. on a whole is more intelligent than that… they’d crumble on their arse within a week or two.

*superior

They offer simple unworkable solutions to complex problems and tell people what they want to hear.

They're unscrupulous grifting hypocrites - agitating against renewable energy whilst taking full advantage of its benefits for themselves, for starters.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/feb/13/reform-mp-rupert-lowe-hails-solar-energy-money-saver-while-party-vows-tax-sector

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14394573/Awkward-Reform-green-energy-Rupert-Lowe-solar.html

(Posted articles from both sides of the political divide just because).

And then Reform will do even more damage. Then what?

We need an alternative to Labour and Conservatives, and the current parliamentary system in general as it is isn't fit for purpose. Right wing populism isn't going to solve it. That's the other appeal of Reform though - liberalism has really overplayed its hand.

Not sure why you’re quoting Truss, look at Reeves who has done far more damage and continues to do so.

i agree we could be run more efficiently as a country, but that won’t happen with a far right government. They don’t want to encourage free green electricity- they’d rather tax it and use other sources which come from foreign owned companies. That’s not looking after the people of this country - it’s taxing a product for the sake of it

How is it being rude?

Intellectually "inferior" ok. If you say so.

I read the news and study current affairs, I have eyes and ears and studied history. I see what is going on. Nigel gave us Brexit, Nigel aligns with Elon and Trump. Look at what is happening in the US at the moment. They are screwing over ordinary people.

You only have to open your eyes and read and see what is going on, check your sources, employ critical thinking and listen to experts and professors in their field. Not take your news from questionable sources (GB news, FB) and populist mouth pieces.

People seem to not understand how to employ critical thinking any more. It is so sad.

Interest rates are down and inflation is down

The country is basically bankrupt after 14 years of Tory government, a pandemic and Brexit which wiped 5% off our GDP and has made us all poorer.

The Tories, post Brexit, had to open the borders wide open, just to give an illusion of growth.

Reeves is out of her depth, but there's not much any chancellor can do now. Any tax rises and blue murder is screamed, yet people demand better public services. Tax cuts and trickle down economics isn't going to work either.

Even Ken Clark came out and said Reeves was doing ok - that’s something in itself when he is a tory

People want the NHS privatised, workers rights reduced and a huge tax on green energy that is definitely nothing to do with taking a bung from the oil industry.

Not sure what she's expected to do.

Arguably made some mistakes but the country is bust. You can't raise taxes like Corbyn would and you can't cut them like Truss did, it has to be more pragmatic, but everyone is suffering under cost of living and the rich (who ultimately pay most into the coffers with tax) can always take their money/business elsewhere.