Page 22 | If you voted Reform, I would love to know why?

AplineDaisies · 2026-05-08T23:58:14+00:00

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

TeenagersAngst · 09/05/2026 13:26

sofiathewurst · 09/05/2026 12:26

I think the concern is though, that NF wouldn't be up for setting up not for profit healthcare, and all for the US model. There are some good examples of well funded and pretty well functioning systems in Europe (and also the option to self fund privately should you wish), but would he promote that or something that has $$$ opportunity in it for him (and his ilk)?

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Have you listened to anything he has to say on the matter? He repeatedly refers to EU healthcare models as something we can learn from. I think you be hard pressed to find him publicly stating he wants to move to a US style model. Certainly in the last couple of years.

shuggles · 09/05/2026 13:27

@eyeballer Reform want to reduce the IHT limit

I wasn't aware of that, but obviously that's a common-sense policy.

The inheritance tax threshold is a colossal £325k. It increases to £500k if a home is left to direct descendants, and then it goes up to £1 million for a couple combining their allowances.

Obviously, anyone able to leave that type of money to their children or family is not a working class family, and taxing that sort of colossal wealth is a no brainer.

LoyalMember · 09/05/2026 13:27

nearlylovemyusername · 09/05/2026 13:07

Are you happy with your choice now?

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The millions of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants certainly are.

eyeballer · 09/05/2026 13:27

@nearlylovemyusername you can’t sort prosperity out without investment & if you want to tackle welfare we need to look at pensioner welfare. The electorate don’t want to hear that though.

eyeballer · 09/05/2026 13:28

LoyalMember · 09/05/2026 13:27

The millions of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants certainly are.

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Yes, the Tories did a great job on that! 😆

NorthXNorthWest · 09/05/2026 13:29

MaidOfSteel · 09/05/2026 13:18

I managed to read it perfectly well. Why can’t you?

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Why do I have to read it like you? Why is your response that matters? Why are you so invested?

Maddy70 · 09/05/2026 13:30

caringcarer · 09/05/2026 02:26

The UK has almost open borders policy. We cannot afford to pay for the people who already live here and yet almost everyday between 100-200 more illegal immigrants come. To process each on cost £12k. They all need accomodation on average costing taxpayer £41k each per year. They need feeding, healthcare, the children need education and elders need care. These people have paid nothing into the UK economy they just want to take. Meanwhile people who have paid into UK econyall their working lives wait over a year for a much needed operation. Our schools are in desperate need of equipment and old buildings upgrading and modernised. We don't have enough houses for people already living here. We need to accommodate those people who have paid into the UK through taxes ffirst. We need to put a freeze on all immigration for a year whilst we sort the country out. Our country can no longer defend itself. Far more budget should go to defence also boosting our economy as our armed forces buy new British made equipment. We don't have the funding for this whilst 25 percent of the country is disabled according to the Disability Alliance using DWP figures for 2024. Disability benefits should be scaled back and those with mild anxiety, depression or ADHD should not get benefits for disability. UC claimants got an above inflationn rise this year in benefits. I think too many people only work 2 or 3 days a week because they think I'll just stay home and claim UC top up rather than working full time. I think if people choose to work part time instead of full time they should not be given UC top ups. The tax payer should not be funding a lifestyle choice. As a nation we need to get more young people in the workplace. UC as an out of work benefit should have an expiry date of 6-12 months. If people don't even apply for jobs they should lose their benefits. We need to build more houses for social housing boosting our economy and the money saved from UC could be used to restock social housing for hardworking families who may be on minimum wage but often working 60 hours a week. At the moment tax is taken away from these hard working people to fund those choosing to only work 2-3 days a week. I think ex service employees who leave the forces should be given more support to find a job and social housing if they need it. I'm hoping we come out of ECHR and instead create a UK bill of rights that gives same protections but does not recognise rights of immigrants to stay. Especially those already convicted of crimes in their own countries. Honestly they pretend to be gay and persecuted in their own country just so they can stay, yet often have wives and children. Once in the UK having asylum there should be no being allowed to bring across wives, children, parents or siblings. Overseas students should not be able to get money from SLC because so many go back home and never repay this money. If they want to study in UK there own countries should lend them money and get it back after graduation. There are too many EDI people employed at huge expense in public services like the NHS. There is already diversity there.NHS money should go to employing more nurses and doctors, more equipment, to get through waiting lists more quickly. Peywho do not attend appointments should be fined £100 for each missed appointment. If they don't pay the fine on installments if necessary they should go to the bottom of the appointment queue. A missed GP appointment should carry a £50 fine for time wasted. These fines money could fund more NHS dental appointments so every child can have a NHS dentist. Tax bands should start at £15k to encourage more people back into workplace. Stupid tax on farmers should be reversed, as should additional tax on LL's as this tax increase is just passed in to tenants anyway. Nigel won't shy away from making tough decisions.

This is absolutely not true. Where in earth do you get those figures from ;). I couldn't read it all but the bits I read were total fabrication

eyeballer · 09/05/2026 13:31

@shuggles sorry I meant increase! 2mill I believe

ilovesleep6 · 09/05/2026 13:31

eyeballer · 09/05/2026 13:27

@nearlylovemyusername you can’t sort prosperity out without investment & if you want to tackle welfare we need to look at pensioner welfare. The electorate don’t want to hear that though.

That’s a whole other thread. Most pensioners will not even accept the state pension is welfare/ a benefit (it is).

Most of us know it’s not sustainable in its current form and people under 50ish will be waiting a lot longer for a state pension because of it. I suspect it will become means-tested of sorts in the next decade or two too.

But no party will touch it as it’s a vote loser. When changes are announced (whether it’s mean testing or a very high qualifying age) I’m sure it will be for older millennials and younger as they’ve historically just accepted these sort of changes with little resistance.

cloudtreecarpet · 09/05/2026 13:31

eyeballer · 09/05/2026 13:08

@shuggles

I have studied and work hard all of my life. I don't socialise or do drugs because I prefer to work instead. Yet, I have gotten nowhere, because the system has been designed by the elites to trample over working class men like me

We have a very unequal society but why will Reform change that? Nigel Farage the investment banker who went to Dulwich College and is a millionaire is surely an elite?

Exactly this - the idea that Farage and his friends have ordinary people at the heart of their politics is ridiculous.
Farage and his billionaire backers are exploiting the unhappiness of poorer people who are disillusioned with politics and their lot & they are doing it for their own personal gain. They are the proverbial wolves in sheep's clothing.

Many people do feel, and actually are, poorer but there are many factors involved in this, some of them global and out of our control.

What Labour need to do is really listen to this and try to help poorer people ride out the storms we are all facing.
I think they have been trying to do this - raising NMW, ending the 2 child cap for example - but there is so much more to do in a very difficult economic climate and the pace of change is not quick enough for people to see it or feel it.

However, Reform are not the answer for people who are feeling left behind. They will not solve the problems this country face any quicker or any better & will probably make things far worse.

shuggles · 09/05/2026 13:33

eyeballer · 09/05/2026 13:31

@shuggles sorry I meant increase! 2mill I believe

Which I would be opposed to.

Though as I said, it's more about disrupting the political establishment rather than their policies. But I would support their main policy, which is border security.

eyeballer · 09/05/2026 13:34

@ilovesleep6 but if we want to fix our economic problems we need to invest now. i am not so sure about young people accepting things, we will likely see more skilled young workers look abroad for opportunities which will exacerbate our problems.

shuggles · 09/05/2026 13:34

@cloudtreecarpet However, Reform are not the answer for people who are feeling left behind. They will not solve the problems this country face any quicker or any better & will probably make things far worse.

So what do you want to do, continue swapping between Tory and Labour, which we have been doing for the past 100 years, and hope that somehow things just change?

Bamboozle30001 · 09/05/2026 13:35

caringcarer · 09/05/2026 02:26

The UK has almost open borders policy. We cannot afford to pay for the people who already live here and yet almost everyday between 100-200 more illegal immigrants come. To process each on cost £12k. They all need accomodation on average costing taxpayer £41k each per year. They need feeding, healthcare, the children need education and elders need care. These people have paid nothing into the UK economy they just want to take. Meanwhile people who have paid into UK econyall their working lives wait over a year for a much needed operation. Our schools are in desperate need of equipment and old buildings upgrading and modernised. We don't have enough houses for people already living here. We need to accommodate those people who have paid into the UK through taxes ffirst. We need to put a freeze on all immigration for a year whilst we sort the country out. Our country can no longer defend itself. Far more budget should go to defence also boosting our economy as our armed forces buy new British made equipment. We don't have the funding for this whilst 25 percent of the country is disabled according to the Disability Alliance using DWP figures for 2024. Disability benefits should be scaled back and those with mild anxiety, depression or ADHD should not get benefits for disability. UC claimants got an above inflationn rise this year in benefits. I think too many people only work 2 or 3 days a week because they think I'll just stay home and claim UC top up rather than working full time. I think if people choose to work part time instead of full time they should not be given UC top ups. The tax payer should not be funding a lifestyle choice. As a nation we need to get more young people in the workplace. UC as an out of work benefit should have an expiry date of 6-12 months. If people don't even apply for jobs they should lose their benefits. We need to build more houses for social housing boosting our economy and the money saved from UC could be used to restock social housing for hardworking families who may be on minimum wage but often working 60 hours a week. At the moment tax is taken away from these hard working people to fund those choosing to only work 2-3 days a week. I think ex service employees who leave the forces should be given more support to find a job and social housing if they need it. I'm hoping we come out of ECHR and instead create a UK bill of rights that gives same protections but does not recognise rights of immigrants to stay. Especially those already convicted of crimes in their own countries. Honestly they pretend to be gay and persecuted in their own country just so they can stay, yet often have wives and children. Once in the UK having asylum there should be no being allowed to bring across wives, children, parents or siblings. Overseas students should not be able to get money from SLC because so many go back home and never repay this money. If they want to study in UK there own countries should lend them money and get it back after graduation. There are too many EDI people employed at huge expense in public services like the NHS. There is already diversity there.NHS money should go to employing more nurses and doctors, more equipment, to get through waiting lists more quickly. Peywho do not attend appointments should be fined £100 for each missed appointment. If they don't pay the fine on installments if necessary they should go to the bottom of the appointment queue. A missed GP appointment should carry a £50 fine for time wasted. These fines money could fund more NHS dental appointments so every child can have a NHS dentist. Tax bands should start at £15k to encourage more people back into workplace. Stupid tax on farmers should be reversed, as should additional tax on LL's as this tax increase is just passed in to tenants anyway. Nigel won't shy away from making tough decisions.

Fuck off Nigel.

2026baby · 09/05/2026 13:35

caringcarer · 09/05/2026 02:26

The UK has almost open borders policy. We cannot afford to pay for the people who already live here and yet almost everyday between 100-200 more illegal immigrants come. To process each on cost £12k. They all need accomodation on average costing taxpayer £41k each per year. They need feeding, healthcare, the children need education and elders need care. These people have paid nothing into the UK economy they just want to take. Meanwhile people who have paid into UK econyall their working lives wait over a year for a much needed operation. Our schools are in desperate need of equipment and old buildings upgrading and modernised. We don't have enough houses for people already living here. We need to accommodate those people who have paid into the UK through taxes ffirst. We need to put a freeze on all immigration for a year whilst we sort the country out. Our country can no longer defend itself. Far more budget should go to defence also boosting our economy as our armed forces buy new British made equipment. We don't have the funding for this whilst 25 percent of the country is disabled according to the Disability Alliance using DWP figures for 2024. Disability benefits should be scaled back and those with mild anxiety, depression or ADHD should not get benefits for disability. UC claimants got an above inflationn rise this year in benefits. I think too many people only work 2 or 3 days a week because they think I'll just stay home and claim UC top up rather than working full time. I think if people choose to work part time instead of full time they should not be given UC top ups. The tax payer should not be funding a lifestyle choice. As a nation we need to get more young people in the workplace. UC as an out of work benefit should have an expiry date of 6-12 months. If people don't even apply for jobs they should lose their benefits. We need to build more houses for social housing boosting our economy and the money saved from UC could be used to restock social housing for hardworking families who may be on minimum wage but often working 60 hours a week. At the moment tax is taken away from these hard working people to fund those choosing to only work 2-3 days a week. I think ex service employees who leave the forces should be given more support to find a job and social housing if they need it. I'm hoping we come out of ECHR and instead create a UK bill of rights that gives same protections but does not recognise rights of immigrants to stay. Especially those already convicted of crimes in their own countries. Honestly they pretend to be gay and persecuted in their own country just so they can stay, yet often have wives and children. Once in the UK having asylum there should be no being allowed to bring across wives, children, parents or siblings. Overseas students should not be able to get money from SLC because so many go back home and never repay this money. If they want to study in UK there own countries should lend them money and get it back after graduation. There are too many EDI people employed at huge expense in public services like the NHS. There is already diversity there.NHS money should go to employing more nurses and doctors, more equipment, to get through waiting lists more quickly. Peywho do not attend appointments should be fined £100 for each missed appointment. If they don't pay the fine on installments if necessary they should go to the bottom of the appointment queue. A missed GP appointment should carry a £50 fine for time wasted. These fines money could fund more NHS dental appointments so every child can have a NHS dentist. Tax bands should start at £15k to encourage more people back into workplace. Stupid tax on farmers should be reversed, as should additional tax on LL's as this tax increase is just passed in to tenants anyway. Nigel won't shy away from making tough decisions.

Is there a competition for how many inaccurate statements you can make it one post? Besides the fact that absolutely NONE of the so-called "issues" you have outlined in your post can be solved by your local councillor as they are central government policies I am going to take the time to quickly educate you on some key facts:

The UK does not have open borders.

The NHS is largely under pressure due to an ageing population not immigration.

The UK has one of the world's largest defence budgets.

Benefits claimants with disabilities are thoroughly assessed on how their condition affects them before they are awarded. Claimants with mild anxiety and depression are not awarded disability benefits as they are not severely affected by their condition.

There have been isolated fraudulent asylum claims but they are rarely then given refugee status and this is not a widespread issue.

Overseas students are not eligible for student loans from SLC.

Employing "EDI people" to work in the NHS is no more expensive than employing "non-EDI people" whatever that term even means.

There are already policies in place in some NHS trusts for patients to be removed from waiting lists etc if they miss appointments.

Landlords pay tax on their profits if they earn over £1000 a year, the same as any other person who is self-employed. Why should landlords income be taxed any different to say a plumber?

As said above local councillors in effect have no influence over the central government issues you have described. Would you like to discuss what is within their remit and how Reform are more qualified e.g. bin collections, libraries, local transport, parks and potholes?

cloudtreecarpet · 09/05/2026 13:36

shuggles · 09/05/2026 13:34

@cloudtreecarpet However, Reform are not the answer for people who are feeling left behind. They will not solve the problems this country face any quicker or any better & will probably make things far worse.

So what do you want to do, continue swapping between Tory and Labour, which we have been doing for the past 100 years, and hope that somehow things just change?

No absolutely not.

I want to give Labour longer to sort things out & try to implement real change.
They came in after 14 years of Tory rule, after Brexit, after Covid, after the Ukraine war started & now the Iran war has begun.

They have been in power two short years & yet people expect them to have instantly fixed everything. 🤷‍♂️

sofiathewurst · 09/05/2026 13:38

TeenagersAngst · 09/05/2026 13:26

Have you listened to anything he has to say on the matter? He repeatedly refers to EU healthcare models as something we can learn from. I think you be hard pressed to find him publicly stating he wants to move to a US style model. Certainly in the last couple of years.

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I know he hasn't explicitly said a US model. I think it is a worry to many that he would be motivated to do this though, given the opportunities for huge profits for the chosen few. And people who don't like him do not trust him to have the country's best interests at heart. If he wanted to implement a model such as those used in eg France or Germany I don't think there would be such a backlash, it's just that people maybe don't know much about insurance based models that are not the harsh, and to many very undesirable, US model.

ilovesleep6 · 09/05/2026 13:38

cloudtreecarpet · 09/05/2026 13:31

Exactly this - the idea that Farage and his friends have ordinary people at the heart of their politics is ridiculous.
Farage and his billionaire backers are exploiting the unhappiness of poorer people who are disillusioned with politics and their lot & they are doing it for their own personal gain. They are the proverbial wolves in sheep's clothing.

Many people do feel, and actually are, poorer but there are many factors involved in this, some of them global and out of our control.

What Labour need to do is really listen to this and try to help poorer people ride out the storms we are all facing.
I think they have been trying to do this - raising NMW, ending the 2 child cap for example - but there is so much more to do in a very difficult economic climate and the pace of change is not quick enough for people to see it or feel it.

However, Reform are not the answer for people who are feeling left behind. They will not solve the problems this country face any quicker or any better & will probably make things far worse.

Show quote history

Ending the two child cap was a big mistake. Many people not entitled to any benefits limit their families to 1-2 kids (sometimes having no children at all), due to finances, and yet people on benefits are incentivised to have more.

The way the system works, some parents are often better off working 2-3 days a week and getting UC top ups than they would be if they worked full time. I worked with a woman who turned down both a pay rise and an increase in hours as she would lose UC top ups and be worse off in this scenario.

NorthXNorthWest · 09/05/2026 13:38

shuggles · 09/05/2026 13:27

@eyeballer Reform want to reduce the IHT limit

I wasn't aware of that, but obviously that's a common-sense policy.

The inheritance tax threshold is a colossal £325k. It increases to £500k if a home is left to direct descendants, and then it goes up to £1 million for a couple combining their allowances.

Obviously, anyone able to leave that type of money to their children or family is not a working class family, and taxing that sort of colossal wealth is a no brainer.

If they have earned it though PAYE, bought a house with a mortgage, and saved, it has all ready been taxed, several times. They should be able to pass it on.

climbintheback · 09/05/2026 13:39

Bamboozle30001 · 09/05/2026 13:35

Fuck off Nigel.

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Fuck off Keir

ilovesleep6 · 09/05/2026 13:40

NorthXNorthWest · 09/05/2026 13:38

If they have earned it though PAYE, bought a house with a mortgage, and saved, it has all ready been taxed, several times. They should be able to pass it on.

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Only if they bought their house in the last few years. If they bought it a while ago, the value has likely increased far beyond what they paid, even in relative terms.

Katypp · 09/05/2026 13:40

Dontbeatwat · 09/05/2026 13:16

Here here, couldn't agree more.

The moral superiority demonstrated on this thread is quite staggering.

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Seconded.
I wonder if it's because a lof of the loudest anti-Reform pro-Labour posters know they will never have their liberal views tested?
They live in nicer areas and are homeowners, so don't see any of the issues around immigration they say don't happen.
They own their own home so are not scrabbling around to find a rental when their landlord serves them notice.
They probably don't visit their local high street that often (unless it is a chichi 'independents' high street aka upmarket) so are not affected by shops closing and vape shops and barbers moving in.
They don't live in cities so overcrowding of schools is not that much of an issue.
They work in either the public sector or a corporate so don't see the fallout of the higher NLW or NI changes.
They can't imagine how awful it must be to not afford 'essentials' like a car, activities and holidays, so feel desperately sorry for the poors who are not like them
Etc etc.
I am guilty of all of the above but have also been bankrupt due to my business failing so i was one of the poors too.
I was not entitled to any UC (tax credits at the time) initially and at one point, my bank account was literally zero.
By every measure, my family was in poverty. However, my children did not starve, they went to school and we lived a normal, if limited, life.
I think one of the reasons Reform have gathered traction among the poor, elderly etc is that they have lived through hardship and think it's bloody unfair that they are now contributing to enable more and more people to stay at home with a better standard of living than they have and do it tax free as well.
The 'enlightened' middle classes who consider themselves morally and intelectually superior can only imagine how awful life must be for poors and want to make things better, knowing that any consequences of their largesse are unlikely to affect them.

27TimesAway · 09/05/2026 13:40

shuggles · 09/05/2026 13:27

@eyeballer Reform want to reduce the IHT limit

I wasn't aware of that, but obviously that's a common-sense policy.

The inheritance tax threshold is a colossal £325k. It increases to £500k if a home is left to direct descendants, and then it goes up to £1 million for a couple combining their allowances.

Obviously, anyone able to leave that type of money to their children or family is not a working class family, and taxing that sort of colossal wealth is a no brainer.

£325 is not a colossal wealth when you take into account the average house price.

I live in a mid-terrace Victorian well outside of London. That does not even touch the sides here in the south. I recall my neighbour saying how IHT only hits 'the rich'. I just asked him 'How much do you think your house is worth?'. The slow dawning on his face was quite funny.

He's gone into an equity release now.

eyeballer · 09/05/2026 13:41

If they have earned it though PAYE, bought a house with a mortgage, and saved, it has all ready been taxed, several times. They should be able to pass it on.

This is disingenuous, the vast majority of wealth is tied up in housing. Older generations have seen huge equity gains and did not earn that.

My parents paid 50k in the 80s for their 1.6m house. Why shouldn’t wealth be taxed more in line with income? It would be far better if housing wasn’t the main driver of economic. growth and so much of younger people’s income weren’t tied up servicing that debt.

Blondiebeachbabe · 09/05/2026 13:43

Ikeatears · 09/05/2026 03:00

So, aside from all that, why did you vote for your local Reform candidate and what do they offer to your local council?

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I don't think this is quite the "Gotcha" moment that you think it is.

Some people care about the whole UK, not just what Reform can do for them.

I live in an area where we don't have much immigration, but I care deeply about the girls and women who live in areas where there has been an influx of undocumented men, from countries where rape isn't a crime. May I remind you :

Brighton Beach, East Sussex: Three migrants (two Egyptian, one Iranian) who crossed the English Channel in small boats were convicted at Hove Crown Court for the gang rape of a woman on the beach.
Leamington Spa, Warwickshire: Two teenage asylum seekers from Afghanistan were sentenced to youth detention for the rape of a 15-year-old girl in the area.
Nuneaton, Warwickshire: An Afghan asylum seeker was found guilty of abducting and raping a 12-year-old girl.
Oxford, Oxfordshire: An illegal immigrant was convicted of raping a woman in a churchyard.
Horley, Surrey: A Syrian asylum seeker was convicted of multiple sexual assaults while residing at a Home Office-contracted hotel.
Nationwide Operations: Landmark cases, such as the widely documented child sexual abuse and grooming scandals in towns like Rotherham (Yorkshire), Rochdale (Greater Manchester), and Oxford, involved perpetrators of predominantly South Asian immigrant heritage.

I don't need anything from my local Councillor. But I do want them to tackle this bullshit ^^

That said, I'd like the personal tax limit to be upped to £20k, and, as a person in my 50's, I like the fact that they are pro pensioners and would keep the triple lock.