Council Elections

[OneTealShaker]

The first declared seats going to Reform.

Reform +2
Labour -1

Buckle up people.

Labour have lost most seats that came up for grabs. It looks like they are losing overall control of Birmingham to Reform and a few independent Gaza people. The Muslim vote has deserted Starmer. They like others in Birmingham are fed up of not getting their bins emptied and public services in disarray in Labour's Bankrupt Birmingham.

God help the population of Birmingham.

The only way to persuade people to not vote Reform is to hurt them in their living standards and wallet. It will be what undoes Maga in the USA. When Americans hurt enough they will, eventually turn on Trump. But they will only do it when they are really hurting. Financially, economically.
When the NHS voucher you are given doesn’t touch the sides of the cost and is not enough to pay for treatment, when there is no social care placements for your elderly parents. When you don’t qualify for a pension because the new threshold is too low. When shopping costs even more than now.
That sort of thing.

I am in a Reform run county and they have invested £67 million to improve the county's roads including potholes.

They promised it last year - have they actually done it?

Yes I have noticed in the town I'm in that potholes have been repaired and you can actually go on the council's website and report a pothole. Not that I have done that. Some country roads near me are still bad but maybe they are starting with heavy traffic flow areas first. We shall see.

Edited to add that a quick Google shows that they'd repaired 23,000 potholes in my area at the end of last year and I think £11 million spent on improving road surfaces.

You could always report potholes via council website… doesn’t mean they actually do anything about it though…

Excited to see how Reform turn the financial fortunes around.

My county council turned reform with a massive debt.

To the surprise of literally no one, the debt is as big as it ever was, while services decline.

They seriously can’t do any worse than Labour who bankrupted the council and didn’t collect rubbish for months on end. Birmingham is an absolute dump. I loved living and working there for two decades, now I’m too scared to go there

What are you talking about. A complete ramble.

So what? Who is going to call it in? The US economy is going from strength to strength. Despite Trump derangement syndrome.

The Greens just need the big curled toe shoes, stripy pyjamas, a red nose and a curly red wig to complete their look to match their credentials.

I know. The ‘noise’ is getting louder from MPs. He’s dust.

The fact you are only now asking yourself this question is a big problem.
Non-Reform supporters need to be questioning rather than dismissing and throwing insults.

Exactly the same has happened in the U.S. Too many willing to disparage and label his voters as mouth-breathing rednecks; no one ready to ask Why?

@Swiftie1878 - Exactly this! Non Reform voters love to shout how racist the reform voters are and how thick they are… No one, including Starmer and Rishi have stopped to ask why
Maybe if they did that, they would understand, I don’t particularly want Farage as PM however I am fed up with being squeezed at every turn, we have a mortgage, kids, cars and get zero child benefit or anything else which is fine
But our Council Tax is now insane, petrol prices, food prices, Tax threshold
Wanting a new system for immigration does not make me racist
Wanting to fly the St George flag also does not make me racist (not that I do)
THIS is why people are voting Reform
Everyone is fed up! And to be fair, Nigel is excellent at articulating his point

Birmingham declared bankrupt under a Conservative Government.

I’m not surprised given the year on year millions of pounds worth of cuts my Conservative led councils have had to make under the Conservative government too.

Conservative policy did not support local authority control.

He has to go. Even Sadiq Khan is calling for it now.

London has been a Labour heartland for eons. It's quite astonishing to watch so many London boroughs now fall to Greens or NOC.

Oh, really? The only people who suffer from Trump derangement syndrome are the ones who still support him.
US economy going from strength to strength?

Key Comparisons: Now (Early 2026) vs. 2024

• Current Inflation (March 2026): 3.3% annual rate (330.213 CPI index level).
• 2024 Full Year Average: 2.95%.
• Trend: Inflation is currently accelerating, with March 2026 showing the highest levels since mid-2024, reversing the downward trend observed throughout much of 2024.
• Drivers: The current surge is largely fueled by energy costs, with gasoline rising 18.9% and fuel oil 44.2% as of March 2026.

2024 Average: The unemployment rate for 2024 was 4.11%, which was a slight increase from 2023.

Current Situation (April 2026): The rate is 4.3%. Unemployment is higher despite deporting all these illegals who were stealing the jobs!!!

2024 vs. 2026 Standard of Living Comparison

• Affordability & Cost of Living: The cost of a "basic but secure" life has continued to rise, with food prices in early 2026 significantly higher than in 2024. By early 2026, utilities increased by over 6% in a year, and 7 in 10 Americans found raising children unaffordable.
• Income & Debt: While median household income has grown, it is heavily challenged by rising household debt and higher costs for essential services, making it harder for the middle class to gain wealth compared to 2024.
• Economic Well-being: GDP per capita has continued to rise from 2024 levels, indicating theoretical wealth growth. However, this is largely overshadowed by high interest rates, high rent, and daily necessities taking a larger portion of income.

Where is this supposed strength?

Reform voters like to shout don't call us stupid etc. - yet when asked which Reform policies will make your life better they often can't answer that question and actually don't know what the Reform policies are.

But our Council Tax is now insane

Are you in Worcestershire (Reform council), with an Increased council tax of 9%?

I think that’s the same for most voters tbh.
People vote for who they ‘think’ represent their views, rather than actually wading through their policies.

Who do you vote for?
What are their policies?

Could you explain the top 5 Reform policies that you’re convinced will improve your life. Genuine question.

Agree that's it is not unique to Reform voters. However, it would seem that this is more common of Reform supporters in my experience.

Unfortunately, there is not a political party out there that matches all my views, so I have to vote for the one that matches most closely. But this is the situation for most I would think. But I certainly do my research and make sure that I'm not voting for a party that would actively destroy the NHS and allow massive tax cuts that would result in even poorer public services. That means never voting Reform.

Didn't Brexit voters tell us that they knew exactly what they were voting for and we need to listen to their well thought out opinions? Now people are starting to admit they don't bother researching a party's policies before voting, they just vote for whoever they'd like to go down the pub with. At least that's a bit more honest.

100% this!!