AIBU to be utterly baffled at how many people are falling for Reform after the Brexit mess?

[TheCoralShaker]

I’m not into any political party or ideology – honestly, they all seem like varying shades of grifters to me – but I just can't believe how many people are jumping on the Reform bandwagon like it's some magic fix.

After everything that happened with Brexit – the lies, the infighting, the broken promises, the economic fallout we’re still wading through – how are people still falling for this kind of simplistic, shouty politics? The "common sense" soundbites, the "tell it like it is" nonsense, the constant scapegoating of whatever group is most convenient that week... it's all so transparent.

I'm not saying any of the main parties are perfect (far from it), but Reform seems to be just a bunch of media-savvy populists spouting whatever will get the loudest headlines. What’s worrying is how many people lap it up without even questioning what’s actually being proposed, or whether it’s remotely feasible.

Where are the critical thinking skills? Why are people so easily seduced by these pantomime figures who tap into anger and offer no real substance? It’s like the more outrageous someone is, the more they’re celebrated, and never mind whether any of it makes sense.

I get that people are frustrated, disillusioned, sick of the status quo, so am I. But falling for another bunch of opportunists who thrive on division and offer nothing beyond slogans seems like doubling down on the same mistake.

AIBU to think that we should have learned by now? Or is this just how politics is going to be from now on, performative outrage and no actual plan?

Tbh, your second paragraph sums up Labour nicely.

Yes Labour seem to be trying to emulate Reform its disgraceful.

It honestly doesn't matter who you vote for they all lie. I voted Labour and what a mistake that was

YANBU OP. You’d need to be a conspiracy theorist to believe a word they say. Do people actually want an English Trump?

I agree with you.
And after Trump!
I dislike a lot of what Labour are all about but I have slightly more confidence in Keir Starmer to represent us on the world stage and handle the tangerine toddler accross the pond than the rest of them.

.

Yes I'm not mad on Labour but Kier is at least highly qualified and competent. The way he's handled Trump so far seems OK and the deal with th EU is progess. People will complain about the deal but that's the problem with Brexit - no one can agree on anything.

Nigel Farage is just a charlatan in the pockets of corporate American who'll sell us out to the highest bidder if he gets power. Why can't people see him for what he is? Do they honestly think a millionaire right winger represents the working man??

They’re disruptors - and we desperately need that in British politics at the moment. Are they capable of running the country? Of course not. Can they get our ‘real’ politicians (across all parties) to sort their shit out? I really hope so.

So did I and it's not been great but Reform would be an utter disaster. Dismantle the NHS, tax breaks for the rich, basically what Trumps doing...and it's not exactly going well there is it

I agree with this. I think the main parties are complacent but the problem is they try and emulate rather than challenge Reform, allowing Reform to set the agenda which isn't good.

YANBU.

You'd think voters would have the measure of Farage after Brexit. But no.🤦‍♀️ Some people just have to learn the hard way.🤷‍♀️

Yes, I think a lot of them do. One of the real concerns at the moment is the amount of people, despite all that has gone on both here and in the US, that still actively endorse and champion this sort of populist ideology.

I do think social media echo chambers play a part. I have a relative who wasn't really ever into politics but now sounds like Tommy Robinson when he talks about immigration. It's all from online stuff

Still beefing about Brexit?
Still thinking people other than you vote the "Wrong" way?

I listened to The Rest is Politics and Alistair Campbell was talking to a guy he met who was a reform member. He basically said that he knew Farage would be a terrible PM and he wasn't under the expectation that they would be in Government but he needed there to be something different to make the other parties make a change.

Tell me the concrete benefits of Brexit then? I'd love to see the list

Sorry OP. You're making the mistake of expecting people to apply critical thinking to their political choices. So many don't. It's about emotion. In hope or desperation, people hear what they want to hear and say 'Labour and the Conservatives have failed. We may as well vote for this lot and give them a go.'

Farage, sadly for his detractors, is an absolutely brilliant communicator, with no other politician coming close. He has the knack of homing in on what resonates with lots of people - immigration, British people failed by successive governments, wokery leading to nonsensical decisions, British values under attack from Islam, billions spent on illegal immigrants, Brexit betrayed. It's a complicated story of national struggle made simple, and it's one that populist politicians are telling across the West.

A lot of people dislike the truth/reality so when someone is saying it's all the fault of the boat people they buy into it.

Yes well we got told that Brexit was a protest vote but guess what it won the referendum and we left the EU. The country had been struggling since the recession and since brexit it's going downhill even faster.

I don't think we need any more disrupting, just capable politicians with a sense of duty, some honesty and a long-term plan that doesn't involve austerity. They are in very short supply, it seems.

Yep. I spend an awful lot of time trying to counter this type of narrative on social media and get non stop abuse from people who really are regurgitating absolute bilge. They don’t even understand what they are saying half the time.

But Farage leaves out big chunks of the story, eg long history of poor gov policy decisions that mean the rich (like him) have got richer and living standards suffer. He hones in on immigrants as they're a handy scapegoat. He talks about 'elites' - he IS the elite! You don't have to be rocket scientist to see this

They genuinely think that Brexit either hasn't been done, or would have been a shining triumph if only we'd done X/Y/Z. Often while simultaneously denying that it hasn't been a shining triumph. These are not serious people.

"Belief in Brexit" basically has nothing to do with the reality of things that actually happen, it's just a cult, a catechism, a way to belong to a tribe. At heart, you have to be stupid and/or gullible to have voted for Brexit, and stupid and/or gullible to vote for Reform. And there are millions of such people.

Sick of the boat people being brought up all the time. Or this week it's women in burgas. It's never billionaires or massive corporations, they just pick a marginalised group to be the villain

I'm surprised that more hasn't been made of Farage's comments about giving more tax breaks to married people and reducing women's reproductive rights. While he's not yet proposing Gilead there is definitely an undertone to it all that should have people far more worried than they seem to be. Then there are his comments about moving the NHS to an insurance based system, proposals to remove the equality act and leave the ECHR and more. Why are people not seriously scared of this man taking power? Yes, the mainstream parties are not great. But they are more moderate and less of a risk to us all.

Yes you've nailed it. It's a cult mentality, a bit like MAGA in US. There's no reasoning with stupid