If you voted Reform, I would love to know why?

[AplineDaisies]

I am not here to judge so would just like to hear from Reform voters for their reasoning.

I do understand, as I said in my post, that the number is enormous. I also said previously that I can see why people might vote reform even though I don’t. But the optics change when you say 100-200 a day. For many people, they envision this constant stream of boats, constantly being processed. The reality is different.

As I said, it doesn’t matter if it’s a constant stream with little numbers or a less regular stream with big numbers. It still costs the same and what’s what people care about.

Plus we very rarely have a week with no crossings, even in winter. We may have 4-5 days with nothing and then a huge number to make up for it. The numbers are published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/migrants-detected-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats/migrants-detected-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats-last-7-days

I live in a local council area run by Reform. And I work at the council with Reform Councillors. It isn't going well here and some truly bad decisions have been made.

Inexperienced Councillors are being manipulated by council workers who are firmly in charge and are using the Councillors to push through all sorts of unpopular decisions. Residents are starting to catch on here that this Reform council hasn't made the changes they said they would.

I think the more local councils that Reform win the less support they will have for a General Election when it comes. At a local level Reform are really messing it up where I live and are losing support by their voters quite vocally via social media and in the press.

Farage (for some at least) holds some charisma and that is dangerous. We have seen throughout history how a charismatic leader who can tell good stories, have a good bluster and get people to believe them should not be under estimated. No idea what the other political parties can do to shut that down now. As above I hope that at a local level Reform councils help the scales fall from the eyes of Reform voters because it's all just words and no real positive change.

And Labour is not listening. I and my son’s consultant have tried to engage with two different cabinet ministers on two different issues affecting my life. Lammy ignored me. Wes Streeting (the other example) replied to our consultant AND ANOTHER on this thread basically with derision and the latter of those emails was to praise him.

That’s contempt for the electorate, folks. And it really pisses us off. We feel powerless to tackle it day to day: our vote is the only way.

And that’s why Labour’s fucked: they literally do not listen.

Well, I lost my home in 2022. I had to sell it to fund surgery that the NHS wouldn't provide as they deem my disease 'cosmetic.' I was keeping myself out of a wheelchair. Ironically the NHS will support me once I become disabled but will offer no help in trying to keep me mobile. The third surgery I had was more minor and I travelled to Germany for that as the surgeon was much better. Noone should have to leave the country for healthcare when we have a so called NHS that I as a higher rate taxpayer for the bulk of my career, contributed towards. Fortunately I inherited and was able to buy another home but I should not have been put in that revolting position initially.

Anyway, in terms of a US system, I'd be intrigued to know how many people have experienced the US healthcare system first hand. I did an internship in upstate New York in my 20s and was involved in quite a nasty road accident. The care I received over there was sensational and I could claim back everything through either my insurance or the insurance of the woman who caused the accident. Even my taxi fares to hospital appointments were reimbursed.

Compare and contrast with my more recent NHS experiences where I'm waiting an hour and a half after my alloted appointment time for my gynae appointment and watching all the non English speaking young women come out with their consent forms for surgical abortions. They sat down around me and placed their forms on the coffee tables so I could see clearly what was on them every time I swapped reading material.

Before anyone comes for me, yes I do have private healthcare but I needed to be more local for this treatment due to work, the private hospital my provider deals with is over an hour away.

If a vote for Reform stops that and allows me to pay insurance for the treatment that I need, in pleasant and efficient surroundings, and without having effectively to pay twice through NI, they have my vote all the way!

& that’s why YOU voted reform?
soz, you’re just lazy, couldn’t be bothered to start your own thread & thought you’d hijack this one!

Absolutely. For a bunch of people who I would imagine like to see themselves as tolerant and inclusive, some are remarkably judgemental of someone who doesn't write quite as well as they'd like.
I will never vote Reform, I find them terrifying. But I'm so sick of the virtue signalling & calling others morons & knuckle draggers. If we (and the major parties) don't start listening to people's concerns we'll end up with a Reform Govt & we all lose.

People need to understand that people lives aren’t the same so they vote for what they think will help them.

Do conservative voters get called uneducated? The party that caused brexit,austerity mortgage hikes etc that have caused so many of the countries difficulties we face today.
Why would educated people choose that? Or were they tricked into believing what they said?
laughable when they are outraged about the uneducated stupid people voting for reform.

I didn’t vote as I don’t trust any of the parties.
Boris wasn’t exactly great
Starmer is useless
Teresa May and all the rest of them I wouldn’t trust them as far as I could throw them.
But that’s just my opinion which I’m entitled to have
the same for everyone.

Absolutely. I was that other poster who Streetings office responded to with disinterest and scorn at best.

Abd yet a PP accused YOU @Piglet89 of being a Maga bot with what you said.

THIS is why the Labour government is toast. This is why people who make knee jerk reactions to posters explaining why they voted the way they do are just - embarrassingly stupid themselves.

Be careful what you wish for...

I live in a Labour stronghold, saw no campaigning by Labour and had no leaflets from them. The majority of the Labour councillors lost their seats on Thursday. Labour need to stop taking areas like this for granted, actually engage with the electorate and listen to their concerns, and not just dismiss any questions about immigration as racism.

(And no, I didn't vote Reform)

Ok then.

Are we adequately equipped for the number arriving annually

Goodness me its hard to pin down an answer to this question.

I don’t think so. It is far easier to build a wall/ fence on the mainland border than in the sea. The only way would be to put something all around our coast line blocking access to the sea. It is also easier to catch people on the land than in the middle of the sea.
I do not think migrants are biggest problem this country has. Yes, the cost of housing asylum seekers is a big issue and I think their claims should be processed faster.
However, vast majority of people who come here want to work. They will contribute to our society by paying taxes and purchasing goods and services.
I know that some of them want to claim benefits but this could be controlled by putting the same restrictions which people from Central Europe had when they joined EU- no access to public funds for specific amount of time.

Reform is cynically using immigrants issue to manipulate the vulnerable members of the society. “You are poor because of immigrants”. “You can’t get a council house because of immigrants”.
In reality people are poor because their employers get away with paying them low wages. They cannot get a council house because there aren’t enough built.

Reform is not proposing to resolve any of these issues. They are not going to raise wages or build more affordable homes. In fact they are proposing to take away many of the protections workers currently have.

I think ,a lot of people were voting reform , because restore didn't have anyone standing.

It wasn't one long sentence, though. We have a convention in the English language known as 'full stops' - as used by the poster.

It is not the case that you CHOSE to find it too difficult to read? For example, if the text completely converged with your political opinion, do you think you'd somehow manage to overcome your difficulty with comprehending written English?

Thank you! I only got down the first page and thankfully saw your post before I commented as you have put exactly what I wanted to say!

I wouldn’t vote Reform, but immediately dismissing everyone who does as stupid or racist is exactly the kind of attitude that fuelled Brexit in the first place.

People should be able to talk about the pace of change in their towns and cities without automatically being labelled racist. Concern about immigration, integration, or cultural change does not necessarily come from hatred or prejudice.

I’m from Leicester, which has been a multicultural city for decades. Growing up, visitors would often comment on how diverse the city centre was, but to us it was normal. Immigration happened gradually over generations, and as second-, third-, and fourth-generation families grew up here, communities mixed naturally. Leicester, along with places like Bradford and Leeds, became known as cities where many British Asian families settled and built lives.

What some people are reacting to now is not diversity itself, but the speed and scale of change in other parts of the country over the last 15–20 years. In Leicester when I was a child, many families spoke other languages at home, but English was still the common language in public life. Today, in some places, cultural change has happened very quickly, and that can (understandably) create fear, uncertainty & discomfort for some residents.

We should be able to discuss integration, community cohesion, and immigration honestly and respectfully without assuming the worst motives in everyone who raises concerns or tries to do something about it by voting in a party who has it as their main objective.

Do you not understand that employers can get away with paying lower wages because of immigration?

There are more people out there who want and need jobs. It’s supply and demand. Employers can advertise jobs with low salaries and know people will apply as there are so many people who need work. And sometimes (though not always) an immigrant will be willing to work for less. I am not talking about the doctors and engineers here. I’m talking about those in low paying, traditional ‘working class’ jobs.

In the past, trade unions would be against immigration for this reason. It pushed wages down and made it harder to bargain for better workers’ rights when there were more people willing to work for less.

Same with housing, supply and demand. Lots of People want housing so sellers can increase their prices. Landlords can put up their rent as there’s so much competition.

What a nasty, unnecessary post. Believe me, a post like this says far more about you than it does about the voters you are mocking - even if you think you're so clever and well-educated.

People in this country are so naive. I couldn't care less if illegals want to work etc. They are unidentified and that is why we have passports. If I was an enemy government I would be sending soldiers on these boats to cause havoc and I suspect that is what Russia, Iran etc are doing.

You need to learn how to paraphrase.

D-

A few internet seaches will set you free. If you had to sell your home you won't be able to afford the type of insurance you are imagining.

People are voting reform because of immigration. That’s the bottom line, and successive governments are ignoring this clear statement by the electorate. But if Labour don’t acknowledge this and address immigration, then at the next general election Reform will be getting in.

Here here, Skilled immigrants can apply for jobs in the uk and obtain work visas to come here, many who work in the NHS come to the UK in this way. NHS Dr’s and nurses don’t have to come here on boats from France.

Why were there so many men arriving on boats from Albania, 18000 over five years, They clearly weren’t genuine asylum seekers, there is no war in Albania. Why pay someone £££ to bring you across the channel when you can simply buy a plane ticket from Tirana to London for £100. Admittedly most of them were denied asylum, but how much money was spent on processing them, accommodation, appeals etc?

The OP started the thread provocatively.