Chance of a general election next year and Reform winning?

[Confused78]

They are winning in the polls it seems. I've been watching Nigel Farage's Instagram, he really just talks common sense. I find myself agreeing with a lot of what he says.
I'm definitely not far right and I'm not a leftie,
I think I'm somewhere in the middle.
But I am sick of Conservative and Labour and think it's time to give a new party a chance, especially if they are going to properly tackle illegal immigrants coming over and the ones that are already here.
I don't necessarily agree with his call to deport those with Indefinite leave to remain however.

I think they're on my side because they want to make the economy work well.

Blimey - that went well with the last Govt, with all the economic (self)harm they managed to inflict.

P.S. Taxes support public services that are used by everyone, including you. You'd soon notice if they weren't there.

There's a lot I don't like from Boris Johnson's time in government, but I'm incredibly, unbelievably grateful that Corbyn wasn't in power over the pandemic.

Of course. But I think enough money is being spent on them.

Nice swerve. I raise you Liz Truss. And let's not forget the biggest economic self-harm of all, Brexit. The Tories (and our Nige) whipped up hysteria and support for Brexit among the very people who suffer the economic consequences now.

You still need a growing, supported private sector for this and Labour’s policies are hammering it. That’s the problem for us but Reeves and Starmer too.

It's a good thing then that there is no evidence that this is happening in significant numbers, and that this is just Farage stirring up a 10 year old story...

Labour’s policies are hammering it.

How? This country has comparatively low taxation and not nearly enough taxation of wealth. Ordinary working people can barely make ends meet because of high cost of living. They deserve protections and decent wages, including at the bottom rung of the ladder.

Liz Truss got it wrong, but Labour have done worse damage than Truss by all the measures she was condemned for.

Cameron campaigned hard for Remain. Corbyn didn't. In the end, it was the public's choice, not a politician.

I think Cameron was right to recognise the strength of public feeling and act on it - that's the role of a government. They are mediators for the country, not dictators. I would have preferred a higher bar to leave though: such a drastic change shouldn't be undertaken with such a small margin.

I voted Remain, but I understand why others voted Leave. The economic damage is huge, but I think that in a generation or so we might be glad we left.

The NI policy has created a £50bn problem or thereabouts, alongside very high debt servicing which takes up tax paid.

You can’t hit businesses, SMEs especially and expect growth. Without that funding drops.

You too. Maybe you'll be a little less confused about who supports what next week.

On the radio this morning apparently no one was available to comment.

Interesting. I wonder what Lucy Powell is up to, she can’t be backing it. There must be others.

Liz Truss got it wrong, but Labour have done worse damage than Truss by all the measures she was condemned for. LOL

In the end, it was the public's choice, not a politician. Not at all influenced by the lies spouted by the Brexit campaign?

Even Ayesha Hazarika seemed a bit taken a back by it talking on Times radio.

I listen to her too. I assume Mahmood needs to defend it? It’s her gig.

Your opinion is just that - an opinion - not divine revelation.

You can't control other people's opinions. Stop trying.

I smell a u-turn coming up.

Oddly her failed to mention it in her speech the day before.

I could manage my tax money much better than the government.

I can assure you of that.

I know you're a hard line Conservative, but not everything can be justified by prioritising growth at all costs. There are other things to consider. Taxes are not an evil but a good thing. In the almost universally lauded Nordic countries taxation is high, and public services are good. Countries that are consistently voted the happiest in the world. Inequality serves no-one. And you cannot have a well-functioning society that doesn't consider the living standards of all its citizens.

Labour's NI policy will impact some larger businesses, but IMO those with the broadest shoulders.

All policies will adversely impact someone. Reform's floated immigration policies, for example, will cause untold harm to many hardworking people and families who are here perfectly legally, paying their taxes. I am one. What economic damage they may yet inflict on ordinary working people with their half-arsed la-la land promises that don't make any economic sense, one shudders to think.

You must be a hardline Labour supporter. And no you don’t know that anyway, I don’t know who I’ll vote for yet.

You still need growth, even Labour knows this, in theory if not practise. Reeves and Starmer’s policies are failing to get that, hence their issues.

In the almost universally lauded Nordic countries taxation is high, and public services are good.

Leaving aside the fact that Nordic countries are not the Utopia some people believe they are, taxation tends to be higher on low and middle earners. Higher earners pay very little, if anything, more than they do here.

I can’t see many people clamouring to pay more tax here. It’s all “tax someone else” / “tax the rich”.

Increasing VAT to 25% which mirror Nordic countries. I think that is the way forward.

Sorry but needs to corrected. Labours NI policy in particular the lowering of the minimum earning threshold has the biggest impact on smaller businesses. Only the very smallest are protected by the employment allowance.