To be starting to worry that Reform will win next GE?

[TortoiseMantle]

The polls have shown a consistent lead. Is there any realistic chance of Reform actually winning the next election?

I vote Labour, but it’s hard to see how they’ve managed to throw away such a lead in just a year, and it’s hard to see how their polling improves. The Tories maybe have more opportunity for improving, but we’re going to see a Reform government, aren’t we? Nigel Farage is going to be our next PM.

The way I see it, there really isn’t much choice. The welfare state is too big and unaffordable. If it continues to grow at the current rate, what do you expect will happen?
It is simply unsustainable.

So the government should be making moves to reduce spending. People should pay for some sort of insurance during their working life to cover potential care costs. And by the looks of it, some sort of private insurance to cover if you need to leave a job due to sickness. I don’t see why it’s my duty to work longer and harder, to pay for everyone.

And the amount of people taking the piss is staggering, although we don’t want to admit it. I know people who made a living out of the welfare state, too damn lazy to work. The argument is that these people are a minority. I simply don’t believe it. Private insurance and private consultations if sickness benefits are required all the way.

You’re entitled to your opinion. Twenty years at ‘the coal face’ has convinced me otherwise. Disabled people would simply be unable to secure health insurance, or it would be unaffordable. There are many things which could be cut from the budget before sacrificing the support for disabled people, but there isn’t the political will to do it because it would lose votes.

For the love of God stop repeating that robotic phrase. I’m sick of seeing it spammed across numerous threads. You don’t like the PM, we get it.

For the love of god I will say what the hell i damn well like. I don’t take orders from you! Im sick of seeing you on this thread but I don’t say anything! 😂
And I keep repeating it because people keep quoting me! If you’re sick of it it must be a you problem 😊

It’s all over countless threads and not because it’s been quoted. At least find some new words to describe the PM instead of endlessly parroting the same phrase.

I haven’t said it over countless threads, I’ve only said it on this one! And no I won’t chose other words I’ll say what I like and I’m not taking orders from you! I don’t care whether or not you like it. Sorry not sorry 😂

Hang on, I thought that those who wanted leave had rather a lot of airtime, buses promising £350m to the NHS etc, and the remain camp were subsequently vilified for not making the case to stay in better. I certainly don't think remain messages dominated. On the day of voting, in my very liberal multicultural neighbourhood, the infamous 'hordes of immigrants' leaflet was posted through my front door, warning that Turkey was joining the EU and the UK would be overrun. My take is that people thought Remain would win because actually being in the EU was a net benefit, in the main. But propaganda won. In February 2023, Bloomberg Economics estimated Brexit is costing the UK economy £100 billion annually in lost output, equivalent to a roughly 4% reduction in GDP.

Do people not see that the more they insult Reform voters the more likely it is that Reform will win? It sometimes feels like this is more about virtue signalling than anything else.

I think a lot of the votes are likely kneejerk reactions against the perception that nobody is tackling immigration and 'enough is enough'. The more resistance they see the more incentive there is for them to get up and vote to make sure they seal the deal. They'll be reading these types of comments thinking 'these daft lefties don't have a clue'.

The best case scenario is that they get complacent in their assurance of victory like the left did with brexit. Mud slinging will just strengthen their resolve.

Reform is push back against warped left wing ideology, it’s not going away by ignoring it or dismissing people as stupid and racist.

Please don't.

Do people not see that the more they insult Reform voters the more likely it is that Reform will win? It sometimes feels like this is more about virtue signalling than anything else.

You're bang on. The current Left is not a serious movement. It treats women, Jews and the working class with utter contempt. If it were actually serious about trying to win support and advocate for people who need it, it would do some proper politics. Instead, it's founded these days on performative virtue signalling and feeling superior rather than any actual serious attempt to understand what's causing the rise of the far right and addressing it. It's spent so long monstering people with perfectly normal and legal (albeit not universally shared) views as Far Right Fascist Bigots that it's managed to get a lot of people wondering what's so terrible about being far right. Slow clap, guys.

@Whatifitallgoesright LOL, exactly this. The left comes across as completely wacky

It seems to me that the staunch left will bitch/moan/slander and exaggerate at every possible opportunity whilst the right are more likely to make their choices and vote with their feet, which is why there always seems to be such shocked surprise when things like Brexit and Reform dominance come to pass.

Obv I'm generalising here as there are also a vocal minority on the right as well. However, I'd say that the stereotype of the left as being self righteous/morally superior virtue signallers is more accurate than the stereotype of frothing right wing gammons.

I say this because I'm pretty sure that the average person would think these ranting thugs protesting outside hotels are idiots. However, this is at odds with the fact that the average person right now is more likely to vote Reform than any other party.

So logically there must be a lot of Reform supporters that don't fit the 'bigot' stereotype. It's always been the case that lefties are outspoken because typically they're adopting the stance that they think is politically correct/most compassionate/etc. Whilst a lot of people that vote Tory/Reform/Brexit tend not to broadcast it. But you can see the tide is changing for better or worse (no, I don't need a patronising lecture on why it's going to be worse, thanks).

I think it's not a completely dissimilar dynamic to when workers go on strike - for example, the binmen in Birmingham. Rather than attempt to address their concerns, or at least understand them, the council treated them like idiots and agreed to certain adjustments before backtracking on said adjustments once the binmen agreed to resume work.

This then resulted in a further strike and the workers digging their heels in and refusing a plethora of offers which one ponders may have actually resolved the situation if offered in the first place. Not saying I'm necessarily on the side of the binmen but it seemed that the more they were demonised the more they dug their heels in because they knew that the growing piles of rubbish in the street and increasing number of vermin was going to hit the council where it hurt.

Similarly, the frustrated individuals on the right know that a Reform win will be a kick in the teeth for the left. I'm not saying people should capitulate to them or suppress their beliefs, but nothing is more certain to secure a Reform victory than continuing to deride those genuinely concerned about immigration.

People support Reform because of the failure of the main parties to address a whole range of issues, not just immigration.

Labour have been in for 14 months, very little has changed or shows any signs of change.

Add in many own goals and is not a surprise Reform are ahead but remember, still only 30% or so back them.

Same with Lab, 34% of the electorate voted for them, leaves a lot of people unhappy.

Agree! And I do feel that a lot of people are getting sick and tired of being shut down and told their opinions don’t matter because they aren’t in line with what others agree with!

I was called out for saying the word ‘robotic’ on this thread because the poster who called me out said THEY are sick of seeing it so I should stop. It just shows how much the lefty lot want to silence and control what other people say just because they don’t like it. Makes me want to say the word ‘robotic’ even more 😂

Agree with this also. Again, too many people with real genuine concerns shut down and told to be quiet because the situation ‘isn’t affecting them’ and they don’t agree with it.

Yes I am very worried. A few months ago I was not as concerned

Farage has a knack of being able to tap into peoples fears and concerns and use them to create headlines and make people feel heard and understood (and lets face it the press love him even if they don't agree with him they supply us with endless articles about him).

I am not surprised by the rise in support for Reform and have felt for many years Farage has not been taken seriously enough and he was stupidly mocked rather than sensibly challenged.

My auntie was told to go home recently, she is in her 70's and frail 🙁 hearing people saying they shall leave out of fear for themselves and their families is really upsetting

The green party's new leadership appointees are more troubling for me. Mixing religion into politics? can't be a good thing. That will be an interesting ride

So true, the left never learns this, unfortunately.

Funny that, i ve just been told, on here, i'm a labour bot..... is that not trying to shut down my opinion?

Even you using Lefty Lot is an attempt at belittling and making fun off.

btw i'm not saying i'm perfect, but i'm not the one complaining about the Righty Lot am i....

What has that got to do with a poster telling me to stop saying ‘robotic’ because in their words, they said they ‘are sick of seeing it’?

And yes I will say lefty lot because you lefties are quick to call us ‘far right’ and ‘racist’ for the tiniest of concerns we have. Is that not belittling and making fun of too?? Or does it only work one way? Works both ways. Maybe when the left stop calling people with genuine concerns ‘racist’ and ‘far right’ your argument might stand up!

Totally
Shame as I'm a green voter ..or was

This week's polling. Now only 2% between Labour and Tories