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?

At the GE or local elections?

If the former why not?

I am not arguing people should vote for Starmer/labour. I am arguing against voting reform because of the very unpleasant views the party hierachy & activists hold.

Excellent. They’ll cock everything up as local councillors and we’ll have the opportunity to see how ineffective they are.

We are in an area which has local elections tomorrow. I have had about four leaflets through the door from Reform, one from the Tories and none from the Labour and LibDem candidates. I had to google to find out who they were.

I would never vote for Reform but we have a Tory council and I am not sure if voting Labour or LibDem would be wasted votes.

I have read the blurb about the candidates and the LibDem is a retired doctor who seems to be mainly concerned with climate change, which whilst important is not the most pressing local issue in the area.

The information on the Labour candidate just refers you to the Labour website and there is no detail about his concerns for the area or what Labour would do if elected.

The other parties seem to be uninterested in these elections and give the impression they really don't care. I am genuinely concerned that their lack of interest will contribute to a Reform led council.

I had hoped that something had been learned from the Brexit result but quite clearly not. The arrogance of the political classes is likely to contribute to a significant Reform vote and that is very worrying. They should be engaging with their voters not ignoring them.

Well I am a bit sick of Starmer and Co., but there is no way on this earth I would vote Reform. In fact I would vote Tory if it was the only way to keep Farage from power.

Reform will likely do well tomorrow and there will be a lot of crowing from the Reformites. Let's see how well Reform function with a little taste of power should it manage to gain control of a council or two. Reformites will be expecting a lot from Reform if it does manage this.

Leaving of their own accord, without notifying authorities, and at at their own expense is not the same as being deported. Hence the article by BBC verify.

Disillusionment and loss of trust in other parties.

That's the why part.

I’m worried too. So much so that I’m thinking about anti-campaigning - going door to door and making people aware of what they’re really voting for, if they vote Reform.

I’ve voted for all the major parties in the past (except UKIP) so I’m not suggesting who to vote for - I just want to make people aware that populism never stops at the immigrants they think are the root of their problems. Watch as they erode your working rights, women’s rights - Farage has even said he wants to reduce our human rights.

His voting record is proof that he’s not some bloke down the pub championing the working man - he’s directly voted against everyday interests time and again. I wish more people knew that.

Because their idea is picking up refugees and drop them in France?

International law is why not.

If they get mandate to follow Aus policies they can have the same outcome

Numbers of crossings? Perhaps, I can't find data on that at the minute.

"Despite a record number of applications, fewer people - 39,616 - were given asylum in 2024 than in 2023 - 63,000 - under the Conservatives"

So they're refusing more people and returning more people...and that's still not good enough?

If Reform were to come into power, there would be as much difference in Asylum figures as there was when Nigel Farage promised a reduction in immigration if we voted leave.

@Shakeoffyourchains

And please don’t pretend that the discussion isn’t rooted in racism and bigotry. Not once have I heard anyone complaining about the number of white and/or Christian migrants from Australia, America, or Europe. It’s always... always... about Muslims and brown people.

There are reasons for that, not a reason to tar all Muslim and brown people with the same brush, I hope my other replies in this thread have shown you I really do dislike blanket thinking, one way or the other.

The day the Left is ready to admit that cultural differences should be neutrally assessed for what they are (is it democratic? Is is sexist? Is it tolerant?), rather through the prism of post-colonial guilt, self-hatred, white saviour complex and the insidious racism of exoticism, this will be a good day.

I think you would be wasting your time, sadly. The people planning on voting Reform won't listen. You see it on this thread.

International law is why not.

So, how were Denmark and Germany able to return all illegal Albanians to Albania?

Tbf this is true for some of Labour.

I agree with you. But I can also understand why so many are turning to Reform in desperation. In a lot of constituencies, it's Reform or Labour, as we're seeing in Runcorn.

They came in half way through 2024. You’d have to compare 2025 to 2024 when the year is up.

The only politicians who can decrease the numbers are those who get mandate for Aus style policies.

To add - which Reform could run on, maybe Conservatives.

Voluntary returns are preferable over forced deportations surely?

The end result is the same, they are leaving the UK

How would Aus style policies work in the UK?

You haven't managed to explain that yet.

Of course they're preferred, and cheaper. That's not the message Labour wanted to send though is it.

Reform won't last as a party long enough to make an impression on the next general election. Farage is a showman - he doesn't actually want to do the work of politics. The man took a salary as an MEP for years and basically spent the whole time acting like the dickhead at the back of the class, making comments and looking around to see who was laughing with him. And the other Reform MPs are the same ilk.
They'll implode before long.

The Australian navy towed asylum seekers back to Indonesia.

And where will the British navy tow refugees back to?

Reform and conservative can say what they like, conservative clearly cant implement anything different or they'd have done it in the last 14 years. And reform haven't demonstrated how they would manage to implement anything that hasn't already been tried.

As labour are finding out, promises are hard to keep when you're the ones in charge of the purse strings

And please don't pretend that the discussion isn't rooted in racism and bigotry. Not once have I heard anyone complaining about the number of white and/or Christian migrants from Australia, America, or Europe. It's always... always... about Muslims and brown people

How can you honestly say that with such conviction and truly believe it when the majority of people in British voted to leave the EU because they were fed up with mass immigration and the impact?? It was all too much too quick. The vast majority of the people moving here were white!

This is where the argument that it’s rooted in racism is completely moot and completely nonsensical.

Do you honestly believe that if the people on the boats were all white everyone would be fine with it? If you answer yes to that then you seriously need a reality check because I can assure you, it’s not who they are, where they came from, what colour their skin is, it’s the infrastructure can’t currently support the vast numbers of people wanting to come here. That is it.

There is current a debate going on whether to allow young EU nations 18-30 to come here for a set period to work etc… Do you think that potential open border will go down well? Of course it won’t because again, the influx of more people isn’t helping the situation for the average Brit who can’t find a house to rent, a Dr, a dentist…