Page 3 | Reform wants women barefoot and pregnant

Sweetiedarling7 · 2026-02-14T07:57:55+00:00

Reform candidate Matt Goodwin wants women to have children early in life and introduce extra taxes as punishment for anyone who chooses not to have children. Misogyny in plain sight. How long till they ban abortion too? Women voting Reform may want to consider if they are turkeys voting for christmas.

LydiaFunnyGums · 14/02/2026 08:56

“Reform UK welcomes backing from adult film star Bonnie Blue’ Look it up. Says it all really doesn’t it. I won’t be voting for Reform!

StepAwayFromGoogling · 14/02/2026 08:57

Furlane · 14/02/2026 08:54

I think that’s the important bit, you need to do what’s right for you, not be pressured into doing it via the government. Getting pregnant in my 20s would have been an absolute nightmare for me and I wouldn’t have gone through with it. Late 30s was the perfect time, for me personally. I don’t think the government should be dictating to women when (or if) to have a baby.

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This with bells on.

Dragonfruitini · 14/02/2026 08:57

Furlane · 14/02/2026 08:54

I think that’s the important bit, you need to do what’s right for you, not be pressured into doing it via the government. Getting pregnant in my 20s would have been an absolute nightmare for me and I wouldn’t have gone through with it. Late 30s was the perfect time, for me personally. I don’t think the government should be dictating to women when (or if) to have a baby.

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It always feels strange reading people online saying 20s is young and would have been a nightmare for them. I had my second baby last year at 24 and feel extremely old as I had my first at 16

ValueofNothing · 14/02/2026 08:57

Thelostjewels · 14/02/2026 08:01

That's not good but neither is the idea that women feel pressured to have DC and then put them into full time nursery care from very very young ?

What's the second part of your sentence got to do with the first part?

Reform don't plan to help women in any way, just punish us for not living our lives the way they've prescribed.

Whether you have a child or 20 or 40, you're still going to be the one coughing up to put them in nursery.

Or stay at home and then be vilified for claiming any sort of benefits.

WhereYouLeftIt · 14/02/2026 08:58

SumUp · 14/02/2026 08:50

What would a higher birth rate achieve?

Theres a massive employment crisis amongst young people due to a weak economy and AI. What are Reform’s policies that will make this better?

Even if there is a need these babies for the economy, it will take 20 years for the policy to start delivering workers. So it’s nonsense.

It’s all about.controlling women of course, and not part of any coherent plan for the nation.

What does our current low birth rate achieve?

An aging population being supported by ever-fewer people of working age - who not only have to physically support this aging population but also see their taxes disappear into pensions, reducing the services they and their children receive.

Our current low birth rate is not sustainable.

And yes of course it will take twenty years for those born now to become working age! It always did. This population crisis has been brewing since the introduction of effective contraception sixty years ago.

Sartre · 14/02/2026 09:00

SusanChurchouse · 14/02/2026 08:56

Cheaper housing would solve a lot of issues. The reason my parents were able to have children in their 20s was due to having an affordable rented home, which they then exchanged as their family grew.

Reform do want to remove worker protections which often help those with caring responsibilities, mainly women. So that will remove women from the workforce. They are both hateful and clueless, a worrying combination.

This isn’t returning, you can thank Thatcherism for that. Greedy landlords aren’t going to disappear and the government isn’t interested in building truly affordable housing. They build the houses, sure but they’re 300-400k a piece even where I live in Yorkshire. On paper it looks like they’re doing their bit but seriously, how many first time buyers can afford a mortgage like that?

The worst thing is, there’s a new estate being built where I live directly beside a train line. Some of the houses literally back onto the train line, who would want to pay 400k for a house like that? Sorry, I’ve digressed.

Furlane · 14/02/2026 09:00

Sartre · 14/02/2026 08:53

To play devil’s advocate… We are facing a bit of a crisis in the west in particular, though swathes of East Asia are experiencing it too. Nobody is dying but very few are being born, the average age is increasing and this impacts public services. I think the average number of children a woman has in Japan is down to like 0.3 or something.

I don’t know what the solution is but I do know lots of couples are waiting until their mid-late thirties or even later in some cases to have children and finding it’s much too late then regretting it. I have noticed I’m always one of the youngest parents still at school, even though I was 27 when my youngest DC was born. Most seem to be at least a decade older, in some instances 15ish years above me. They’re more likely to stop at one child too.

I’m not a fan of Reform but I do think women have been fed a lie of being able to have it all. You can be successful and have children but I think women need to realise their fertility isn’t finite, it does decrease after 35.

Edited

Unless you have had no access to media or the internet in the last 30yrs, I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t know fertility decreases with age (for both men and women), not quite the cliff edge of 35, but declining nonetheless.

The higher the education levels for women, the lower the fertility rate. Even in countries with good healthcare, cost of living, etc. Some women just don’t want children.

It’s our choice, the information is all out there, we are able to make our own choices, we shouldn’t be pressured into having children we don’t want, or at a time that is not right for us, just because the government can’t finance things properly or are scared of foreigners coming in.

EverythingGolden · 14/02/2026 09:01

I assume this is so they can counter the argument that we need immigration to keep the population up.

Lifesd · 14/02/2026 09:01

Rightly or wrongly governments across the developed world are concerned about declining birth rates and need to make policy decisions based on that. I’m no reform fan but parties shouldn’t be cowed away from talking about this issue. Pretty much the same as immigration and reform of the NHS.

Imbusytodaysorry · 14/02/2026 09:02

WelshRabBite · 14/02/2026 08:22

Reform want conflicting things.

They hate “benefit scroungers” and yet want women to have DC in their 20s, which statistically means they’re more likely to need/receive benefits.

They want women to breed young (like cattle), so they can then berate her for taking money from the state to help raise that child, knowing she didn’t have the time to build her career to a level that would support a child.

Also, divorce rates lower the older you get, so essentially you’ll end up with a lot of young single mums, which is another sector Reform voters hate.

They want women to breed young but be hated for it.

Suppose if women breed young and know there is no financial support if divorced then you know what happens . They will stay married and this allows the man to cheat and get the next younger version with no consequences to his finances/life.

Just a constant supply of young females .

Yes life is moving backwards .

Sartre · 14/02/2026 09:02

Furlane · 14/02/2026 09:00

Unless you have had no access to media or the internet in the last 30yrs, I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t know fertility decreases with age (for both men and women), not quite the cliff edge of 35, but declining nonetheless.

The higher the education levels for women, the lower the fertility rate. Even in countries with good healthcare, cost of living, etc. Some women just don’t want children.

It’s our choice, the information is all out there, we are able to make our own choices, we shouldn’t be pressured into having children we don’t want, or at a time that is not right for us, just because the government can’t finance things properly or are scared of foreigners coming in.

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No I do think some women are unaware and naive about it. They think they’ll be ok up until menopause and if not, they can have IVF and all will be fine. Except when it’s not and they end up childless but it isn’t through choice.

I agree, women should have the choice not to procreate but I can also see how the low birth rate is unsustainable.

SumUp · 14/02/2026 09:02

“I’m not a fan of Reform but I do think women have been fed a lie of being able to have it all. You can be successful and have children but I think women need to realise their fertility isn’t finite, it does decrease after 35.”

Where have you been @Sartre ?

We are all very aware that fertility declines after 35. There are pages and pages about it on this forum alone!

We are all aware that juggling paid work with kids is hard. This is why a lot of younger women are now choosing to not have kids and to prioritise child free!

Women want to make our own choices, Reform essentially want to punish women (not men) for making choices.

PandoraSocks · 14/02/2026 09:03

WeepingAngelInTheTardis · 14/02/2026 08:24

Me too. His party has much better policies, and isn’t hypocritical.

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Great to hear Lowe is doing this. Split the far right vote, and all these parties will go the way of UKIP, Brexit Party etc.

ThingsAreNotWhatTheyWere · 14/02/2026 09:03

RingoJuice · 14/02/2026 08:41

I’d be fine with this as long as childless men are affected too. If you don’t directly participate in creating the next generation, then it is reasonable, especially in a British context where the young generation basically are heavily taxed to fund the elderly anyway.

Of course I am having all my kids in my late 30s, more tightly spaced than I’d have liked … but there’s nothing that would have convinced me to have them any earlier. Even if it would have been slightly less chaotic

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What about those who are unable to have children and are therefore locked out of "participating in creating the next generation", even though they might have liked to? Do they get a pass?

Asking for a friend...

Furlane · 14/02/2026 09:04

Dragonfruitini · 14/02/2026 08:57

It always feels strange reading people online saying 20s is young and would have been a nightmare for them. I had my second baby last year at 24 and feel extremely old as I had my first at 16

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Exactly!! It’s so different for everyone! Imagine the government trying to encourage you to have a baby in your 40s!! I didn’t say 20s was young, just it would have been completely unsuitable for me. People should have children when they want to and feel ready to. It’s our body, men in government need to stay in their lane!!

PeachOctopus · 14/02/2026 09:05

I think extra taxes on single people would perhaps be fair enough as they don’t have the huge financial burden of having children and a small extra tax might offset that.
We should prioritise children and old people first as a society as they are the most vulnerable.

SusanChurchouse · 14/02/2026 09:07

Sartre · 14/02/2026 09:00

This isn’t returning, you can thank Thatcherism for that. Greedy landlords aren’t going to disappear and the government isn’t interested in building truly affordable housing. They build the houses, sure but they’re 300-400k a piece even where I live in Yorkshire. On paper it looks like they’re doing their bit but seriously, how many first time buyers can afford a mortgage like that?

The worst thing is, there’s a new estate being built where I live directly beside a train line. Some of the houses literally back onto the train line, who would want to pay 400k for a house like that? Sorry, I’ve digressed.

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No, I absolutely agree and could digress away with you about this all day! Selling off council homes (for ideological reasons imo) and not replacing them has had a catastrophic effect on housing. Most new house building here is merely tinkering round the edges, a few social homes on new estates or some mid market flats. But overall not the amount and type needed. I was hoping Angela Rayner might be a bit more radical but that’s not happened obviously.

Dragonfruitini · 14/02/2026 09:08

Furlane · 14/02/2026 09:04

Exactly!! It’s so different for everyone! Imagine the government trying to encourage you to have a baby in your 40s!! I didn’t say 20s was young, just it would have been completely unsuitable for me. People should have children when they want to and feel ready to. It’s our body, men in government need to stay in their lane!!

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I do find it interesting decades ago they were doomsdaying over overpopulation, moaning about people having children too young and now it’s the complete opposite!

ScarlettSarah · 14/02/2026 09:09

Dragonfruitini · 14/02/2026 08:57

It always feels strange reading people online saying 20s is young and would have been a nightmare for them. I had my second baby last year at 24 and feel extremely old as I had my first at 16

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How on earth did you support yourself and a baby when you were 16 though? It's hardly ideal.

randomchap · 14/02/2026 09:09

PeachOctopus · 14/02/2026 09:05

I think extra taxes on single people would perhaps be fair enough as they don’t have the huge financial burden of having children and a small extra tax might offset that.
We should prioritise children and old people first as a society as they are the most vulnerable.

So controlling women's reproductive choices through taxation? A genuinely awful idea

Furlane · 14/02/2026 09:09

Sartre · 14/02/2026 09:02

No I do think some women are unaware and naive about it. They think they’ll be ok up until menopause and if not, they can have IVF and all will be fine. Except when it’s not and they end up childless but it isn’t through choice.

I agree, women should have the choice not to procreate but I can also see how the low birth rate is unsustainable.

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Well, I don’t wish to be blunt, but the information is out there and has been for decades. It’s literally at your fingertips. Being unaware and naive is on them. I can’t believe people would do more research on buying a new washing machine than the reproductive process. Do these people literally do no research at all when making choices?

Happyjoe · 14/02/2026 09:10

Sadly people will still vote for them. I mean, all the anti-abortion and help for womens health in the USA and people still voted Trump. People, including women, are stupid in far too large numbers.

FreeTheOakTree · 14/02/2026 09:11

Dragonfruitini · 14/02/2026 08:57

It always feels strange reading people online saying 20s is young and would have been a nightmare for them. I had my second baby last year at 24 and feel extremely old as I had my first at 16

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But 24 is very young by today's standards. 16 is still a child and my thoughts on that I shall keep to myself.

Whilst I appreciate some have read the OP and made it about when they had children, the overall point and concern being expressed is of Reform's intentions, which will not be sincere or in support of women.

The wider implications are concerning.

Sally2791 · 14/02/2026 09:11

How can anyone vote for a government that would dictate when or if we have children?
madness.

Ginmonkeyagain · 14/02/2026 09:12

It's Matthew Goodwin. Man's a massive cunt. Not sure even Reform will be going full Kinde, Kirche, Kuche any time soon.