Scottish voting coming up soon and I think I am voting reform

[ScroogeMightHaveBeenOnToSomething]

Scottish elections coming up next month. I think I have decided to vote reform.

I guess my reasons are (in no particular order)

1. Policing - I am getting really worried by the lack of law and order. I live in a decent place and there is constant trouble at the bus station at night with buses getting their windows smashed. Police have been seen riding the buses to try and get it under control. However I just don't think our current police force is fit for purpose. The job is too dangerous for what it pays and so it can't attract people. They don't have enough powers to deal with the little scrotes and there is no respect. I mean look at the whole shoplifting chaos and the tik tok riots. The whole thing is start to feel quite dangerous and reform are saying they will have more police with more powers and be more strict with law and order. This is what I want - more jails, more police, tougher sentences, respect brought back
2. Housing. Okay so we all know about the housing situation and it's long been an issue. Tonight I was watching an old episode of 'how to get a council house' and I felt so angry and helpless and outraged. Family of romanians come to UK with no money. Mum and Dad and 5 kids. The dad has no particular skills so has been doing odd jobs at a car wash but currently not working. Both have broken english and missing teeth (in other words I don't think they will find getting work easy). So what does the council decide. Well the man is claiming job seekers allowance which maintains his 'work status' and so because of this and the fact he has 5 kids he gets a 4 bed council house. Presumably paid for then by benefits since neither he or his wife are working. They were both very, very pushy and aggressive and then when they got the house waxing lyrical about 'how generous english people are'. You couldn't make it up. Update on how they were getting on a few months later. Neither parent had started working so them and their 5 children were just in their paid for house living on their benefits with no skills that the UK needed. I mean seriously if you want to see what is wrong with the UK this is a good place to start. British people homeless and this outrage going on. So yes give me reform who can hopefully do a Trump and start rounding the fuckers up. I have no issues with people moving to UK and coming with a plan and money and getting jobs and supporting themselves etc. This family came to the UK with no money, no jobs and literally were outraged when they thought they were not getting their free house. The housing lady said they were getting a house through gritted teeth. I got the impression that it was to shut them up and get rid of them but totally unfair on homeless british people.
3. Benefits/Welfare - well I guess I have touched on that above. I think most of us used to have real sympathy and no issue with real disabled people or genuine out of work people being helped. They were in the minority, it was often short term as it was something they were embarrased about. Now I feel like because there are so 'many of them' I have no empathy at all. Which means the genuine folks are being lumped in with the scroungers and I sort of hate them all now if that makes sense. So another reason for voting reform.

Now I'm no doubt going to get told how terrible I am and that the kids are just having fun throwing bricks at buses, that I'm racist for not wanting unskilled romanians and their 5 children to live life free on our tax pounds. I'll also be a monster for being sick of the benefits issue and woah is me little johnny is going to be out on the streets with his 25 disabilities. Fuck me though. Surely voting for more of this shitshow would be insane.

Will it be better under reform. Yeah probably not but at least it's someone different and it might be better and yes I have read their manifesto.

(By the way one episode of get a council house had a boy with multiple sclerosis and he was getting a council house which of course was right. However you saw him crying and telling his dad he didn't want to live on his own (he was about 20) and it made me think of the posters here who are dead against homes or institutions for their disabled kids. I just thought what a disaster giving this boy a house on his own with careers 4 times a day was going to be (he was in trouble with police alot and was always drunk and getting brought home by them). He was just far too disabled to be living alone even if he was getting a house plus benefits. Sure enough the update was he had been moved into supported accomodation. So for this chap some kind of home was the right place to be and where he wanted to be. I've digressed a bit with this point as it's not really about reform and voting but I just wanted to throw that in there to see why people don't want their kids to go into homes. I mean do they really want to live alone in a council house with benefits. This one definately did not. Anyway might need a seperate thread for that issue or I guess we can discuss both issues here)

Next...

I actually think this is the problem. People have been pushed and squeezed to the end of their tether and so yes we have no empathy.

Just watched a current affairs podcast about how our benefits is now equal to our income tax. That is literally the defination of a dsyfunctional country. As he put it we are now a welfare state with a country attached.

If SNP get in again it's because the majority of scottish workforce is employed in the public sector so they are protecting their jobs. Any country where more people are employed in the public sector than private sector is doing it wrong. We are dependent on UK subsidies which is just embarrasing.

That’s completely inaccurate, the asylum process is incredibly long and arduous and the reason we spend so much on housing asylum seekers is becuase of that long process. If people weren’t being throughly checked, we’d just be granting asylum on the beaches of Dover wouldn’t we.

are you telling me you don't care about any of these issues?

Friday night bots.

Crack on.

Well I am a human scottish person. How many others have you asked?

I imagine they’re telling you that those issues aren’t likely to be solved by a party with no costed plans, who just spout slogans and populist views for attention.

the issues you mention are legitimate (except for the decades old episode of a program about social housing which in no way reflects the current state of social housing) but voting
for reform isn’t the answer to any of them.

.

I'm just sick about all the shoplifting and violence going on up here and lack of police. It's actually getting a bit scary to realise how little frontline police are holding the thin blue line now. (Source friend in police)

I understand what you are saying. Of course I don't want rights for women eroded but what is the solution. Just don't vote I guess which does not seem like the solution either.

What a mess.

Are you talking about local elections? If so, local councillors will have very little (if any) effect on crime. If you mean General Election it’s a long way off yet and perhaps it might be wise to see what the current government achieve by 2029 and if you’re still not happy, look at what the alternative parties are offering then. No one even has an election manifesto for you to decide who would serve you best at this point.

I’ve spoiled my vote twice now, which I think is better than not voting at all, just. It’s a terrible situation, politics is broken. But I just try to focus on becoming a better person myself. Sounds trite but that’s my contribution.

the sad thing is you are obviously one of the genuine cases. You worked for a long time and then had the misfortune to need help.
I should have loads of empathy for people like you (and I do if I think about it).
The trouble is so many people are claiming now that you are all being tarred with the same brush. The scroungers are ruining it for those who have genuine need.

I mean how long can the country go on dishing out more in welfare than it brings in via income tax. Our debt goes up each month and interest rates are rising as the UK is no longer seen as a great bet.

You should be angry at all the silly benefit claims nowadays. They are ruining what was probably a good system for genuine people in hardship. They are sinking the ship.

Honestly I think we have no good party to vote for so I am picking a few issues that are important to me and voting for who I think might actually fix a few of them. If benefits are reformed I would not expect people like yourself to be affected anyway so please don't take offence. I'm pretty sure most people feel like this about genuine people.

What benefit reforms would you like to see that would stop these “silly benefit claims” you think exist?

What are "real disabled people"?

"Sure enough the update was he had been moved into supported accomodation. So for this chap some kind of home was the right place to be and where he wanted to be."

Supported accomodation is not going into a home. You don't know much do you.

The trouble is they are too soft on issues like law and order. Police used to be feared and respected. Now they are being attacked and spat on. I don't want to live in a society where there is no law and order. That scares me more than the fact I can't get a GP appointment or the fact I have been on the NHS wait list for more than a year. Both these issues annoy me but I'm less scared than of all the buses getting bricks thrown at them etc

Our UK economy is going down the toilet. No growth, inflation, interest rates are expected to go up, more debt each month, UK being downrated. That is under the labour party not any posh white men. People on here saying job market is dire. People's wages not enough to pay their rent or buy a house.

I welcome people from other countries who have skills we need. I don't even mind ones that don't have these skills as long as they work and pay taxes and don't expect free stuff. I mean what kind of person thinks we should give houses to foreigners before our own people. If they were much needed doctors or tradesman well fair enough but low skilled benefit claimants.

Not a local election and not a GE. Scottish election is next month for our MSPs who will sit in Holyrood. Pretty important up here.

Ah my mistake! Are there manifestos for these?

so since the point of your post is to discredit any issues I am pondering which one are you
Bot
Foreigner who lives in a council house on benefits in UK
Criminal benefitting from lack of law and order
Benefit claimer lifestyler

Did I miss any?

Oh lord, this has to be a wind up. Or Jenrick under an alias.

”what kind of person thinks we should give houses to foreigners before our own” 😂😂😂

oh well according to this threads that's two of us at least!

(joking I know quite a few reform voters)

Last I checked some were out but I haven't googled in the last few days. Mainly Scot conservatives came up on Google this week. But I've had election bumf through the door from Lib Dem, Labour and Conservative. We're a Lib Dem area at the moment and I tend to swing between Lib Dem and SNP depending on my feelings on the day.

At the moment I am undecided.

@ScroogeMightHaveBeenOnToSomething UK Reform is currently heavily made up of Boris Johnstone's old Tory cabinet - I would never have voted for any of them. And the UK Reform party is headed by someone who is a career politician who I doubt ever intends to lead as he enjoys being a shit stirrer instead. I don't believe they would ever have the competence or desire to fulfil any manifesto pledge so I think vote for Reform is pointless.