I couldn’t sleep last night, worrying about a Reform government

[Cluborange666]

I am really worried. I think they’ll wreck the economy. I’ve got a few years left to pay off my mortgage from my job that deals with immigrants. I don’t want our pensions to tank. I don’t want my sons’ lives to be messed around. I worry about more racism, the more ‘voice’ that Reform get. I live in a very multicultural city and non-white people tell me that they are experiencing more overt racism. It makes me feel very insecure about the future.

wish Labour would do more to show that they are on the side of ordinary people as I think that’s what is driving this (I’m a Labour voter). I don’t think the creation of Your Party will help, just give Reform more advantages.

Sigh. Happy to be told I’m unreasonable as I think the future looks bleak.

I agree with you, but I can clearly see what is the number one concern. It shouldn't be, but it is.

Even amongst the very right wing types I can't see abortion being a vote winner in the UK. It is in the US but it's a very different culture there and religion plays a far bigger role in life and politics.

wish Labour would do more to show that they are on the side of ordinary people

Ok, so you are going to have to reconcile yourself that Labour are not by any measure 'on the side of ordinary people'.

The only people Labour are on the side of is: themselves, unions and WEF/Blackrock. Although they may lose unions to Corbyn

I'm hoping the tories will get their act together before the next election.

Labour could avoid this so easily by doing something about immigration. But they won’t, so Reform will happen. It’s inevitable now.

Out of interest-what do you think Starmer should have said or done?

I don't think Farage really wants to be PM, even for four years. He's an agitator, he wants to push the proper parties, especially the Tories, as far to the right as they can manage on certain issues in order to appeal to his base.

Then, just like he did with Brexit, he can swan around claiming a moral victory without losing face.

Reform are an absolute shambles of a party, they'll fall apart eventually like these things always do. They'll never win a general election. The absolute best they could ever hope for is getting in via some kind of coalition, but I just don't see it. Despite the noise from single issue Reform voters who want them in to "get their country back", I do genuinely believe that most people who vote base their choice on who they believe will do a better job of actually running the country.

And again, I don't think Farage wants the job, even as Deputy PM.

Reform are already winning the polls in local elections and the people who want to vote Reform are already itching to put their x on the ballot paper.

Whether people like it or not, they’ll win the next election for sure because vast swathes ordinary people are sick to death of feeling helpless and worried and being told it’s racist to object to the policies of mass immigration. Reform voters largely live in areas affected most significantly by those policies (or lack of them) and their quality of life affects their worldview and voting intentions.

So I’d pace yourself a bit on the sleepless nights and be a bit more curious about people’s genuine concerns before naively branding people as blind bigots. I don’t like the lurch to far right parties any more than you, but people like you who call everybody racist, are part of the problem and don’t even realise it.

There wont be much of an economy left to wreck if labour carry on like they are for the rest of this term.
Every small business I’ve spoken to recently are on their knees, the one bigger employer I’ve spoken to says things are dire and they are thinking they now can’t avoid redundancies. I think they employ about 2.5k people.
I’m fairly long in the tooth, and every labour government in my lifetime has been fairy poor economically but this crowd seem determined to press the self destruct button at break neck speed.

Just stop watching the news OP, there’s nothing you can do about it.

Not looked like he was malfunctioning for a start.
He had nothing to come back to Trump with, he hasn't enough personality or charisma. Trump knows that and 100% exploited Starmer's weaknesses. Trump played cat and mouse with Starmer.

Exactly - Reform's anti EDI bullshit is precisely to wind back the clock on employment rights and 're-kitchen' women. Any woman voting for them would be a true turkey.

This is what should be concerning people, it already is for the many impacted.

Yeah Labour’s stance on businesses is really weird. It's like they think all businesses are Amazon.

Said yes I agree with you Donald. Trump was completely right on most of what he said about the UK and I never thought I'd be saying that, that's for sure.

I agree it will be god awful if they get in, in every respect.

They’ve also taken away our option to live elsewhere in Europe first which is cunning of them, so we can’t just leave!

Im still hopeful they won’t get in though.

You couldn’t sleep because you are worried about one possible outcome of a democratic election 4 years away? But you aren’t worried about the utter devastation our economy faces before then? I’ll be honest: I think Nigel is a spiv. But I don’t think he’s worse than the current residents of Downing Street. And I’ve always respected the democratic process, including people and parties I didn’t vote for.

I’m assuming this is irony?

It’s actually not hard to get a visa in many EU countries, as long as you have somewhere to live and money coming into a bank account in that country. We know plenty of people who have emigrated since the we left the EU - both working age and retired.

Right. So you have no idea what he should have said. Fair enough.

Labour can shoot Reform's fox by sorting out immigration. Which they could do if they really wanted to. So if I were you, OP, I'd be more sleepless worrying about if Labour do that as then they might win again and I don't want another term of this dreadful government!!

Greece have said no one will be granted asylum, most countries are saying no benefits for illegal immigrants, France does not provide accommodation, so why is our government doing things so differently from the rest of Europe? It doesn’t take much common sense to realise why they all want to head our way. Our beautiful country town now has 7 Barber shops, 4 nail salons and countless vape shops. Our country is being swamped by money laundering and crime.

Labour needs better policies, they need to listen to people, they need to stop the identity politics bs that stokes racism.

PR is not their issue.

People who vote Reform, mostly seem to be motivated by Immigration, and love having someone to blame for all the ills of their personal economic situation.

There is no real longer term thinking, no long term plan, no societal view etc.

If you already have money you will be fine with a Reform government. It will be all about short-termism, and self-reliance

If you don’t have money, they will do less than nothing to help.. they will make your situation worse, as state funding (for anything) is reduced.

… and they won’t even reduce immigration, as it’s essential to our economic growth.

The people most vocal for reform, are the ones who will most probably be worst effected.

With Labour they are either in the pockets of the Unions, or in the pockets of Venture Capitalists, they need to cut spending… but not cut spending to old people, children, people on benefits, working people or disabled people, they need to sort out housing .. but not build any houses (unless it old industrial land, and even then people will protest)… they need to stop housing asylum seekers in hotels, but not in houses, or other government property such as army barracks..

Good luck to them .. and good luck to Reform voters, when spending it cut to all the groups about, and Reform won’t give a monkeys

Does anyone know a humane way of stopping illegal immigration? Is there one?

If you ask on the reform Facebook page you get a lot of replies saying arm the Navy. I cannot believe the Royal Navy are going to want to shoot unarmed civilians.