Anyone else gutted about reform ? Feels like it’s going to turn very trump here

[ShrunkInTheWashAgain]

In this country soon

I'm not gutted at all . The Labour government have failed already , I can understand people being fed up and voting for Reform I did.
In the 10 months this shower have been in they have removed the WFA from most pensioners, put up employers NI and taken endless freebies .
And don't tell me the Tories were worse. I already know that.
Keir Stsrmer has no idea how most people live

I’m frightened by the rise in popularity and penetration of GB News. My mum told me today tgat ‘immigrants’ get £3,000 for driving lessons.

GB News looks and sounds credible because it’s presented by, y’know, real journalists. But the information on it is at best only ever a half-truth, and at worst fake news spun out and manipulated so it bears little resemblance to the facts of the issue under discussion.

I'm delighted.

in many places there was a small turnout so I don’t believe it’s indicative of the whole country. It’s also councils who actually can’t run government and for all Farages shouting about no wfh and Andreas let them live in tents they actually are going to find the reality of running councils that are mandated to provide certain services so actually they can’t cut them but they have no money for anything else difficult

People will have a number of years to the next general election to see they couldn’t run a piss up in a brewery and so will
move back to one of the other parties

I have no doubt that if we had had elections on Thursday, our Council would have gone Reform too.

There were a lot of posts asking why we weren’t having an election and accusing Labour of “fixing things”.

It’s sadly the new Sun and Daily Mail.

I’ve been saying this for ages that we really need to get a grip on social media propaganda. The algorithms just push more and more of the same stuff.

They have won a few hundred council seats. It is very little in the wider scheme of things- for example, the greens have a couple of hundred seats more across the UK than Reform. Plus the turn out was very low.

@PandoraSocks

we can't deny what has happened has happened.

These are the councils - top tier councils - you know the one's responsible for things like Children's Services and Adult Social Care - that Reform won outright. Won outright - eg have complete control over.

They deliver those top-tier services to around 8 million people

Kent County Council - 1.6 milliion people

Lancashire County Council - 1.3 million people

Staffordshire County Council - 0.9 million people

Nottinghamshire County Council - 0.8 million people

Lincolnshire County Council - 0.8 million people

Derbyshire County Council - 0.8 million people

Durham County Council (unitary) 0.5 million people

West Northamptonshire Unitary Council 0.4 million people

North Northamptonshire Unitary Council 0.35 million people

Doncaster (unitary) 0.3 million people

So to repeat Reform has guaranteed control of Councils covering almost 8 million people.

For those 8 million people it is going to be a big deal.

How many top tier Councils do the Greens control outright? - I'll save you the trouble of looking, as that would be none whatsoever. Though to give them credit they are the biggest party, though not with a majority, on Bristol City Council which has a population of around the 0.5m mark. Substantial in local goverment terms but smaller, and in a number of instances, significantly so, compared with those listed above.

and then we have the likes of

Worcestershire - population 0.6 million where it is 2 short of a majority, but with Cons as the next biggest party we can probably take a reasonable guess on what might happen.

As for turnout - local election so typically around 30%. Thursday very slightly up on that by a couole of precentage points. So turnout - in the context of local elections not really "very low". But certainly low compared with a GE.

Me too. Though for completely different reasons.

These results have far more potential to herald the beginning of the end for Reform rather than the end of the beginning.

Farage and Tice can get away with doing nothing - having 5 MPs out of 650 is a genuinely good excuse for not effecting change, and a genuinely great place for blaming everyone else for pretty much everything.

Running seriously large councils and their critical services leaves them totally exposed.

No one else to pass the buck to.

They can’t blame the government for underfunding councils because in their world councils are spending too much money already.

Their voters might, people like you presumaby, expect to see their Council Tax bills fall for 2026/27, if not an earlier in year reset given all the waste and savings Reform have said they will find. And will be disappointed when that does not happen, or when services are cut (as in stopped).

And may express their exasperation at the ballot box which in a number of those councils will with planned local government reorganisation come in two years time, not the four years that these Reform councillors might be expecting.

Finally voters in local elections (or other elections) due in 2026 seeing the likely broken promises and failures in these Reform led Councils may think twice before they decide who to put their X against.

You seriously expected this government to reverse 14 years of damage in 10 months?

Really? Wow.

Oh sweetie, I know only too well what the issues are and would love for a credible party to address them. All of them. Reform ain't it though. Trust me. They're a shitshow and it isn't because they lack posh people who have gone to the right schools. You really are naive.

Let the car crash that are reform, begin their work, and get back to me when it all goes to shit amazingly well.

Do you think Reform HQ will be controlling all these councils centrally? I’m not sure some of the Reform counsellors have enough experience to do it by themselves?

Well, let's see how the 8 (is that right?) Reform controlled councils perform. The proof of the pudding etc. The next couple of years will be interesting.

Some of them are teenagers. Others are retirees who have previously had no interest or experience in politics.

I voted Labour because i want a Labour government. What we have isn't a Labour government with Labour values. Starmer has to go or Labour will go with him. I won't vote Conservative. I won't vote reform. I won't vote Lib Dem after they fucked us and did the coalition so who's left? I can understand why people are looking for a solution to their poverty/ desperation. When people are desperate they tend to want to blame someone for the shit in their lives. I'm not surprised they are turning to Reform.

I really feel like this will be Brexit 2.0, where, when it goes horribly wrong, the other Councillors from different parties will be accused of sabotage

I'm quite shocked tbh. Brexit wasn't that long ago & people are believing the same lies & stitching themselves up again.

I agree with all this. People have voted for reform because they are unhappy and don't feel the government are listening to them.

The problem is people don't want to hear the truth so it's easier to blame the ills on the boat people.

I really feel like this will be Brexit 2.0, where, when it goes horribly wrong, the other Councillors from different parties will be accused of sabotage

@Nunaluna well in all those councils listed Reform have comfortable majorities in terms of cllr numbers.

So it will be all on them (ie Reform) when the proverbial starts hitting the fan. No wriggling out of this one.

It will show them up for exactly what they are.

I don't think recent govts are different (worse). I reckon voter expectations have changed.

I'll get flamed for this but so many older people seem incredibly selfish. They want excellent public services, great benefits eg triple lock, WFA, but want others to pay for it so they can protect their inheritance and oh yes no more immigration.

Britain is broken. Nothing works. Mainstream politics has failed, and failed again. Labour was elected by a landslide promising ‘change’, but they have delivered more of the same. More austerity. More economic stagnation. More cost of living crisis. More NHS failure. More uncontrolled mass immigration. Things have got worse, not better.

It’s no wonder people are disillusioned, angry and looking for real change and a real, radical alternative to the failed mainstream consensus. Farage & Reform may not be the answer, but at least they are prepared to actually break with that failed consensus. People are angry and they are desperate. What do they have to lose?

An economy based on children inheriting a house is an economy built on sand.

And this is where we have gone down wrong

You’re not wrong sadly. They’re used to a time when money went further than it does now, so expect minor contributions to result in something lavish. Hence the ‘I’m being fleeced’ mentality when they’re just being charged how much something costs.

Do you think Reform HQ will be controlling all these councils centrally? I’m not sure some of the Reform counsellors have enough experience to do it by themselves?

I think you are being overly generous @BurntBroccoli - none of these Reform councillors will have the first idea. Though they likley will need a lot of counselling. 😀

Is there a central Reform HQ? Equally clueless if there is.

I really do think they (Reform) are celebrating prematurely - because failing in these Councils - to repeat some of the largest in England - will be plain for all to see and will expose them for what they are.

I honestly think they will attempt to wriggle out of it somehow. It’ll all be Labour’s fault.

plus the removal of pensioner cold weather payment

it wasn't removed it was bloody means tested like so many other benefits!