Reform winning big

[Keirawr]

Reform had a good night, winning county councils, probably will win a mayoral seat and won the parliamentary by election also.

You don’t have to be a Reform voter to acknowledge that they are taking votes off Labour. Or that they are being electorally effective.

No doubt the ‘basket of deplorables’ crowd will be along in a min with their usual quips calling reform voters names, having learned absolutely 0 from Brexit. Insult the voters at your peril.

These same people also totally miss the point that winning is winning. Feeling all moral and superior about ‘oh well, what will they actually do’ changes nothing.

Perhaps those who label everyone that wants immigration limiting as ‘racist’ Will think again. But likely not.

I wonder how many people are actually aware of all their policies.

Clearly immigration is a concern for people who voted Reform.

Are they concerned about how the NHS might change?
What are Reform's views on social care?
We have a social care crisis, an ageing population - what are their views on tackling that?
Housing - how would they tackle that?
Education - how would schools be funded?

Vote for Reform because you they might be able to reduce people coming here by boats - but if you can't get social care and if you have to start paying to use the NHS, then you only have yourself to blame.

I honestly don’t get this ‘people’s anti immigration pov is not heard’. I’ve spent my life listening to it from family, extended family, random people I’ve met on holiday. People always seem to think you will automatically agree with them as well.

I’ve also spent my life seeing it discussed in the media and we seem to have done very significant constitutional changes and policy decisions based on it. The system is fucked and not working for anyone precisely because of some of these decisions.

I love and respect family members who express these views but they are without exception racist. They are polite to all, they would help anyone in front of them, but they are racist most definitely.

It didn’t seem to trouble Bojo so why would Farage be any different?

This type of racism is becoming far more common place than ever before. You think it’s acceptable to say this?

The rest of us can only hope that the closeness is the Runcorn result will persuade more decent people to come out and vote next time.

You totally miss the point. For many years now the UK voting landscape has been full of people voting against what they don’t want rather than voting for something they do want. This is quite often because there isn’t anything very appealing to vote for.

At nearly every election nowadays the talk is more about removal of one particular party or another rather than explicit support for an alternative.

The last GE for many people was all about removing the Conservatives regardless of what that meant we ended up with. The next GE will be all about removing Labour again with little thought about what replaces them.

We have a complete scarcity of competent alternatives hence the situation we now find ourselves in. They are all to blame.

I actually felt a bit teary at the result. I'm in Scotland they will never get in here but bloody hell!!
This is on you Rachel and Keir.

I think this nails it - reform are now - rightly or wrongly - attracting the “silent majority”, the ones who feel they’ve worked hard all their life, and are getting penalised for owning an home, having to sell it for care home fees whilst those who never saved get exactly the same treatment and they can’t pass on their hard work to their families etc etc

I’m not saying this is right - but it is happening and these voters should be dismissed at your peril!

Reform has gained popularity extremely rapidly and has run excellent media campaigns. They have taken a lot of votes from both Tories and Labour.

However, I'm not sure what the purpose of your post is. Is it just an attempt to stick two fingers up at people who don't support Reform or are you trying to make a useful or interesting point?

You only need one of two things (or both) to see the rise in populist parties:

economic crisis and a distrust of the democratic process

so Reform are in a perfect storm moment

However now they have a few councils they will have to actually do stuff so it’s interesting to watch.

im never sure what actual policies people like from reform- they are good as saying all the things but don’t seem to have any answers that are workable.

I have had two sets of Roma neighbours who were absolutely awful. Yeah the majority won't do what they did but it seems quite a few do. I had hoped it was just a one off the first time. I don't care if my neighbours aren't from the UK but I would rather not have them as neighbours again!

Yes and it's bizarre working class people would vote for these kind of policies as they are the ones most likely to be badly affected by them, it would make them poorer.

You are racist love. Just own it.

Perhaps those who label everyone that wants immigration limiting as ‘racist’.

What can a local council or mayor do about immigration policy?

And why do people think problems they’re facing are caused by immigration? Rather than decades of low pay and rising costs due to the greed of big corporations or wealthy individuals? Or failure of successive governments to adequately invest in essential public services, including energy generation and food production.

Of course, it’s completely possible to debate immigration without being racist. And we should. But the problem is so much anti-immigration rhetoric IS racist because it’s based on appearance: people objecting to immigrants whose ethnicity isn’t regarded as ‘White’. Or viewing as immigrants people who are British, including people born British in UK or British colonies. Or blaming immigrants for their problems, rather than shockingly bad, short-sighted government policy.

I wish people who’re struggling would realise who the real culprits are. The greedy rich. And privileged private school boys like Farage and Tice, who’ll say anything to deflect the blame from them. Some folk can’t see when they’re being played.

Waking up to what?

Andrea Jenkyns won, it's definitely the two fingers in honour of her

No it isn't illiterate. Illiterate is the inability to read and write. The poster clearly can do both.

The globalists will never listen..it's infinite immigration and open borders and bureaucracy to ensure we can't deport anyone.

Of course it impacts people we cannot adequately house people born here but we can house people from overseas backed by the government

Money removed from our elderly and disabled due to a massive financial black hole but Money found for migrants

Rumours that the NHS and other organisations are hiring from overseas first not UK (no idea if that's true bur the point is no-one is stepping out to prove it isn't true and plenty of British trained Dr's and nurses say it is)

Attacks on shops and people by bored men from overseas

The inability of the government to deport predators and convicted criminals

What does 'taking it on board' mean?

Becoming more racist?

Why would you expect that to deliver a different result? Arguably based on the polls there was a higher % turnout of prospective Labour voters than there were Reform voters. Statistically if the turnout increased you would expect to see a larger Reform majority if the polling was accurate.

look at history
quite worrying

There is a tiny bit of me that thinks, yeah, bring it on, let the Reform-voting idiots actually reap the consequences of their awful electoral choices so that they have to live with what they've done. But the trouble is, the rest of us would have to live with it as well, and some of the damage might be irreversible.

I would say that Reform voters have learned nothing from Brexit which has been an unmitigated disaster that has had a worse impact on the country's finances than Covid.

Three out of four Britons say they don't trust Donald Trump, but people are still voting for Trump ally Farage who has said that he would get rid of the NHS.

@Reetpetitenot I think what OP means about not learning from Brexit, is that Brexit was voted in because people were fed up with immigration. Nothing to do with trade agreements etc. It was a big statement from the population saying they were sick of seemingly uncontrolled immigration. That’s all it was about.

The “success” of Brexit or otherwise is irrelevant. The point is that David Cameron called the referendum in a state of complete denial at the mood in the country, and did so at his peril. This election is sending the same message. People are sick of immigration. And until governments address it in a meaningful way, Reform will continue to gain votes. It’s as simple as that.