To be really worried about Reform?

[FiveHorse]

Just that really. They’re predicted to gain the most from the upcoming elections, if this carries on could we see a reform government at the next general elections? Or is it press scaremongering as usual?

I'm part of the wider public and these aren't my concerns. I'm concerned about lack of investment and further austerity when the country is already on its knees.

All the issues you mention are because of lack of investment.

How would you feel if Reform got in? Use your vote for any party that has a chance of winning but not Reform. Vote tactically.

I hope we do see a reform government to be quite honest, they can't possibly do anything worse than labour are currently doing and the previous government weren't much better. Someone somewhere has to make a stand for this country, it can't possibly keep supporting untold numbers of people crowding it daily. I worry for the future of my dc and tell them they should leave Britain once they are old enough as as things stand there isn't a very bright future to look forward to here.

Don’t disagree but out of interest, when you say a tiny percentage, it’s still ~100k per year (that we know?) so in 10 years = 1 million people.

In %’s that might be small but in absolute terms I would say 1m is a lot of anything. Likely this is concentrated in specific locations so more visible to some people.

Or are there different numbers?

Reform really could do worse than Labour. Farage is a big admirer of Trump.

As for leaving Britain, it's a shame that Brexit has made it much harder for most Brits to emigrate.

You are encouraging your DC to become immigrants? Crowding another country?

I believe the percentage of people coming on small boats is around 3% of overall immigration. Asylum seekers make up around 11% of immigration, that includes people coming on various refugee schemes.

The majority of immigrants are students and people on work visas. I think that was over 1m last year.

If you are concerned about pressure on services and housing then surely bringing down immigration is the way forward.

@DuncinToffee Yes, I saw about the leaving the ECHR (only Russia and Belarus have done this so far) and minister for deportations on the same day as the news reported the 80 year anniversary commemoration at Belsen. Those who don't remember history are condemned to repeat it. Reform are extremely dangerous but I very much fear they will gain power by telling Joe Public they can solve his problems and it's all the fault of nasty foreigners. Where have we seen that approach before?

I've been appalled at the similarities. The dehumanisation is straight out of the fascist's playbook. Farage is a dangerous character, there are now Labour MPs calling for us to come out of the ECHR. He's dragging us further and further right.

Remember that 'breaking point' poster when he was UKIP leader, he has never hidden it.

Erm they absolutely can be worse.

I think they'll get a lot of protest votes but councils are skint, the officers will make this crystal clear to them.

Huh? They’re scared to sit on the beach because it was scary having a lot of men run up from the dinghy. The fact the hotel isn’t hosting immigrants anymore doesn’t mean the beach is now any further than France. The boats still arrive and my in-laws no longer sit on the beach. Instead they sit on the grass by the canal. I really don’t understand why you are arguing every point.

I'm expecting them to do well. Their success in the general election was a warning shot to people to stop just dismissing them as racists and maybe start taking them seriously and listening to what they, or at the very least, their voters have to say.

Of course, what happened was, people just continued as they had done, slagging off Reform and dismissing all their voters as thick, racist bigots. And people seriously wonder why they're getting lots of support?
As they say: 'You reap what you sow'...

Most people want to vote for a party that they think will do something like what they want, with MPs who seem sane, reasonably on the ball, respect them as voters.

They don't really want to vote for loose cannons.

But they will if no party fulfills the major conditions of paying attention to the two or three issues most really care about, and respecting them as voters - which are connected points.

When it comes time to vote will voters believe Labour or the Tories will pay attention and take action on those issues? And will they believe the MPs and prominent party members respect them?

If not I imagine lots will vote Reform, it has at least the possibility of some sort of change, there is the hope it might scare he other parties into action because in the end their vote is the only power individual citizens have to influence the major parties, and if they are too stubborn even for that at least it is giving them a big FU.

I'm English 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿.
The Reform Party aren't against immigration , they are against illegal immigration and invasion.

Some people who live in an area where you can’t get a job or a council house are going to want to blame someone - the government, immigrants etc. When you are struggling to pay the bills, the house is damp, food is expensive etc you may feel that people in power don’t understand the reality for a lot of people. Farage is good at making it seem likes he’s ’one of us’. Don’t ask him about details but quick, vague slogans are his specialty. People want simple solutions to complex problems. I too am worried. I think the level of complacency about the possibility of Reform growing massively is very misguided.

Well, i don't live in an area like that but i know loads of people, former Tories but also a few ex Labour, who say they'll vote Reform.

Why? Labour Govt... they have caused this, Starmer et al accepting gifts by the bucket load.... then the WFA, IHT on Farms & business NI... it set the tone and now everything they do is seen in that light plus they promised lower bills, water and energy going up & up, Council Tax too...

All the good they are doing on the NHS is ignored, drowned out by their earlier cock ups and a total failure to get to grips on X Channel migration or for many, Dentistry.

So "some" people are disillusioned and will give them a chance & to be frank who can blame them?

Can anyone explain why being against open borders is so controversial?

Why? Which of their policies appeal to you?

Err no party is advocating "open borders" We have a points based visa system for workers and students..... but lets hear your plan for stopping x channel migration....?

The irony of complaining about immigration while advocating that your kids become immigrants is mind-blowing.As is the idea that Reform can't be any worse when, that's demonstrably untrue.

Take their energy policy, for example, and I use the word policy in the loosest sense of the word in this case. If Reform implemented that as stated in their "contract with you", it would result in higher bills for the consumer. It would increase our exposure to the volatility of the international energy markets, decrease our self-sufficiency, and do nothing to improve our energy security.

Similarly, if they implement their tax and immigration policies, then you can say goodbye to things like the state pension or social care benefits, as there's simply won't be the means to pay for it. I mean, who genuinely thinks shrinking both the workforce AND the tax take, at the same time, when you have an aging population is a smart move???

Reform are the dodgy used car salesman who promises you a Ferrari for Ford money and then runs off with your deposit. It's depressing so many are so eager to be scammed.

If you're fed up of the status quo and want "change" the solution isn't to vote for grifters and liars. It's to actually engage with politics properly.

We don't have open borders.

Net immigration running at nearly a million and open borders on the south coast. Of course that’s what is being advocated for.

People are sick of it and vote reform. Shock, horror.

It is possible to overcome various laws, as Aus have done (international ones and domestic can be changed). Once you do the public tend to not want to go back, nor do politicians.