Are you now more likely to vote for REFORM (the party)

[Decisiondecisions]

NC for this and apologies if Q already asked. My quick search yielded no result.

Reform plan to undo the reversal of 2 child cap benefit. Are you now likely (or more likely) to vote for them? There have been endless threads about the welfare bill.

I do sometimes wonder how long it would be before a Reform government collapsed. Would they last the full 49 days?

I think the point of the Opposition is to critique the sitting government. I wouldn't call that supercilious, more part of the job.

They're definitely not more dangerous, hateful and damaging than Reform. There's no far right connection for a start, nor are they in bed with Putin's Russia.

As a woman there is very little you can do to undo the damage of Farage. As someone from a poor background I’ve yet to hear any real plans to overhaul the economy and make it work again… from anyone. I’m certainly not trusting a lying snake oil merchant who knows nothing beyond pre existing capital and financial wheeler-dealing. No go.

And, oh yes, as a British person concerned with British people and British economy I’m not impressed with anyone so obviously hooked into either the USA or Russia.

I think a lot of people can’t, or won’t, see the impact beyond “giving them more money”. They can’t think about the long term issues that come from childhood poverty

I completely agree. There's an assumption that everyone starts from the same point and anything that happens after that point is a matter of individual responsibility/failing.
Unfortunately for them, lack of understanding about how life, and people, actually functions is no excuse for moralising.

I think that has been an issue for a while. And it's hard to see sometimes the connections between small scale programmes and later public issues because of the time lag (it takes several years for a child failed in primary school education to become an adult who struggles to find employment). But we had a large scale social experiment in what happens if you cut public spending and remove services and social programmes. It was called austerity. And a lot of the effects showed up 10, 20 years later. But it is encouraging a shift further right NOT a rethink. You just get threads asking why so many adults are incapable of working etc etc. Plus, it's a lot harder to spend money to get services back when the economy/tax revenue is suffering and stuff has to built up from the ground again.

For crime - I don't think eradicating poverty would eradicate crime as some of the more idealistics types on the left suggest. Rich people also do crimes. But reducing poverty has been proven to reduce many different types of crime.

I don't want to vote for Trump-lite thank you. REFORM can keep their racist, divisive and downright foolish policies to themselves.

That's a great point and something that I don't think about enough myself.

Of course I don't want child poverty but realising that not having child poverty benefits everyone is a good way to get more people on board.

I agree it is good for us all. I meant I don't just think about my own personal circumstances but the wider picture. We all benefit from a more equal society.

So many things would be better if we could tackle the inequalities from a young age and help to break these cycles. Sadly people want immediate results rather than to invest for the long term.

Things like sure start where fantastic but it’s all been stripped away. I would love to see information on the impact of that but I bet it hasn’t saved any money long term.

The two child cap (whether in place/removed) has become a mere gimmick, thus a firm stance on either side is somewhat insincere.
Looking at long term effects through the prism only of child benefit is pretty pointless, because families relient on benefits will be, and are, subject to other benefit cuts. It's notoriously difficult to gauge effects, given other factors.

The inarguable backdrop to any discussion on welfare is that the current welfare bill is entirely unsustainable.

I want the 2 child cap to remain in place and for the benefits bill to be reduced. I’m sick of funding everyone else and getting nothing in return when I’m struggling too. So yes, I’d consider voting Reform!

Truss crashed the economy in a couple of weeks and we are still paying for it. Labour aren't miracle workers but Reform will absolutely be towards the Truss end of things. Can you imagine anyone spooking the markets more than Farage? But from his pov it'll be deliberate- he doesn't want to improve anything, he wants to burn it down and make a quick buck from the ashes.

And how would forcing others into poverty help you exactly?

Why do you think the benefits bill (rather than welfare which in the UK is something slightly different) is unsustainable? And what would you do to change that, especially in the light of AI and other threats to jobs, the increasingly ageing population and the better understanding and diagnosis of disability we now have?

The growing cost is well documented. Discussing individual outcomes is a luxury we don't actually have, because on the current trajectory the welfare system faces complete collapse (in the short term!).

In terms of what can be done, an honest discussion is required; succesive governments avoiding same and opting to kick the can down the road has got us into this precarious position. Perhaps that's why reform are appealing to growing numbers? They're talking radical change, not just lip service.

Those Children are our future Doctors, nurses, teachers, carers, firefighters, solidera etc. With immigration now falling we need our birth rate to rise, and surely children who come from more financially stable homes do better

So you want to the state to enrich the billionaires rather than supporting low income families with children?

I'm wondering what statistics back up what you're saying? Because if demonstrably right, the collapse of the benefits system would be a terrible catastrophe, leaving many millions destitute. If you were able to prove that this is imminent, in what way do you think a Reform government would alleviate the problem? I'm not familiar with their policies in this area.

I am, in theory, in support of the 2 child benefit cap (with some exceptions). However, it wouldn’t make me vote for Reform. I wouldn’t vote for one party on a single issue.

If we want to reduce the welfare bill long term we need to look now at why people are needing support. A lot of that comes back to issues not being picked up on and steps taken to alleviate them early enough.

prevention is what we need to really tackle so many of the issues we currently face

In the past 30
years the UK population has gone up 12 million (22% increase) or effectively a ne London.
This has placed enormous pressure on existing infrastructure, services and the environment. If you want to know why services and infrastructure doesn't seem to work as it used then it's simply down to more people using the existing infrastructure and services. On an environmental level the most cost effective way to protect the environment is less people.

We most definitely do not need the Government encouraging population growth whether that be by immigration or birth rate.

Welfare spending has grown rapidly year on year, I'm surprised you're unaware of that? The OBR forecast it to reach dizzying heights by 2030. In terms of stats, the economic affairs committee has been sounding the alarm for a long time, I doubt there is any government official in any of the parties who would say it was sustainable. All of the parties agree it absolutely isn't.

I wasn't suggesting reform has the answer (my question about reform was rhetorical).

This constituency got rid of that waste of oxygen when she resigned, thank God. Not that she was ever here in her constituency. She was far too busy writing shitty novels, smiling for the tv cameras, and sucking up to Boris to have any time to serve her constituents.

The Reform party is welcome to her. She's about as much use as a cardboard saucepan.