Council Elections

[OneTealShaker]

The first declared seats going to Reform.

Reform +2
Labour -1

Buckle up people.

Desprate people do silly things. The public are feeling they are in a desperate situation, extremely and silly things happen because of it.
Nothing unexpected is happening.

This government, yes.

Past and present tense.

One of the Reform councillors in Staffordshire is married to a Nigerian lady. Do you think he is racist? His wife came to the UK legally. I rent out a couple of my houses to tenants from Poland, Rumania and Nigeria. Am I racist or just making sure any tenant is in the UK legally. If you are here legally you have nothing to fear from Reform UK. I feel sick to my stomach with Labour voters. I hate the way they punish business owners and drive up youth unemployment. I hate the continuous U Turns because Starmer doesn't know what he is doing. Look up the average council tax bill in Reform led councils. It is on average lower than other councils.

Quite.

I'm more concerned about what comes after. We all know Reform don't really care, they are just harnassing the growing anger.

I am worried about what happens when they don't deliver. If you think Reform are bad, just wait until you see what is coming next. Our politician's have been playing a very dangerous game, and it is very nearly too late to stop it.

The attitudes on here have shown that both sides are still unable to think critically (no lessons were learnt from Brexit, not a single one). Too short sighted, both those voting for Reform, and those trying to (very ineffectively) emotionally shame them from doing so.

Look up the average council tax bill in Reform led councils. It is on average lower than other councils.

@caringcarer so have Reform cut council tax in those areas or was CT already lose in those areas?

Ahhh, the old “I’m not a racist, one of my best friends is black” meme.

Thanks - very amusing.

Mine used to go up 4.99 percent every year. This year it went up 3.99 percent. Reform have been in about 10 months and I have noticed pot holes are being filled in. On the doorstep this seems to be most people's number 1 moan. Motorist hate potholes. There is a lot to do because the previous Labour council left a lot of debt. Reform have paid down some debt in this year's budget. It will pay down more next year. It can't pay it all back at once or it would hit service.

This is a hugely disingenuous comment. Council tax bills vary enormously around the country because they are to fund local services and split between those who live there.

If you want to assess the performance of Reform councils you need to look at two things:

1. how much they have increased/ cut the council tax bill in each area compared to the average increase across the country (bearing in mind that their pledge - when the existing Reform-run councils were elected and also for the local elections yesterday - was to cut the Council tax bills. Have they done so where they have gained power previously?

(Clue - the answer is no. The council tax bills have increased substantially, and far more than the national average increase. Therefore, what rational person would give any credence to them making similar promises elsewhere?).

2. Have local services improved or got worse? In the areas where Reform councils have been elected to date, they were elected on a promise of substantially increasing and improving Council services within a short space of time.

(Clue: In every single area in which they have been elected, pretty much every measure of quality and satisfaction with council services has decreased. They have failed to deliver on pretty much every measure that they told the electorate in these areas that they would deliver, and actually made things substantially worse than they were before).

Facts matter. And any sane person checks such facts before casting their vote. If they don’t do so and they vote based on soundbites and undeliverable promises with no credible plan about how to deliver them, and are taken in by the lies of a charlatan multiple times despite these having been exposed over and over again, then they have only themselves to blame when they get precisely what they voted for: charlatans who will do the precise opposite of what they promised to do.

@caringcarer thanks, so no services have been cut?

I've been voting in Scotland. We don't count overnight do I won't know my local results until tomorrow afternoon. The SNP is a single issue party. They have ruined education, ruined Scottish NHS, ruined law & order. 20 years of failure in devolved matters. My council tax went up 8% this year, 10% last year. £3k p/a on a modest house & almost no local services. Higher tax than rest of UK. And England appears to be voting in its own version. Reform - a Limited Co full of division and (soon to become apparent) lack of ability to run a drinking session in a brewery.

I thought it was hilarious that in our local area we received two flyers - Labour and Reform. Labour’s was basically filled with all the many ways they’ve helped the local area over the past few years and what they will continue to do.

Reform’s was literally their five pledges to the constituency, none of which fit within the realms of a local council. Think it was end Net Zero, get the migrants out, British jobs for British people… Nothing about the local area at all. Turkeys and Christmas.

They are relying on the type of people who vote for them mostly being completely ignorant of what is within the remit of the Council and what is controlled by central Government. The fact they are sending out leaflets like that shows beyond any doubt that they are exclusively targeting the intellectually challenged because anybody with any modicum of intelligence would be able to discern that local councils have no control over those things and therefore no cast their vote on that basis.

My daughter found a leaflet from Farage on our doormat and wrote a letter back to him telling him he was a slimy slug and not to say such horrible and nasty things. She even drew a picture of the Farage slug with an arrow and labelled it saying “Farage, this is you. Stop sending things like this to our house”. I posted it back to Reform’s headquarters with a covering letter.

I haven’t really spoken to my children about politics and she’s only 6 so I am quite proud of her ability to identify a malicious charlatan already. It’s a shame that a significant proportion of adults in our country haven’t yet reached her level of ability to filter lies from truth and to discern someone’s true character.

Nope - our Reform led council have increased our CT by 9% this year 😡

How does a six year old get that impression of someone without listening to their parents? There’s nothing to be proud of, she hasn’t made her own mind up you’ve done it for her so let’s not pretend otherwise.

They might not.

Where my parents lived they were involved in a group that supported disabled people and had links to the council, so they were on good terms with a number of councillors.

The BNP got a couple of councillors elected, they didn't do anything, they didn't attend any meetings at all.

I had a conversation with someone who was raving about the improvements to their local area since BNP were elected.

I tried to explain the improvements were not due to the BNP.

He wouldn't even consider it.

She saw his leaflet and read what it said. She clearly didn’t like it.

Of course she did 😂

Also I’m actually a lone parent, so unless you think I’m sitting here in earshot of my children talking to myself about how much I hate Farage like someone with schizophrenia, then there’s zero chance of her having “heard her parents talking about it”.

She picked up his leaflet from the doormat and made up her own mind about it and clearly felt strongly enough about it that she had decided to go off to her room and write/ draw him a response which she handed to me at bedtime.

Hence my pride in her judgement of character.

I thought you was talking about a grown adult daughter until I read she was 6!
A 6 year old directing so much hate and making personal comments about an individual! Wonder who she gets that from!

I haven’t really spoken to my children about politics and she’s only 6 so I am quite proud of her ability to identify a malicious charlatan already.

That’s hilarious - what you mean is - she learned it from you.

Well done - prejudice at such a tender age.

I hope Reform gives them what they wanted in their lovely local councils.
Increased council tax by over 8%
Massively increased prices for services which they have to pay for I.e social care for elderly.
If they thought it was bad now let them feel what bad is.

Good luck with the shit show.

You asked the question and I answered it. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Believe what you wish, I don’t really care, although I don’t appreciate insinuations that I’m a liar.

You really think I’d be discussed the intricacies of UK politics with a 6 year old, the disturbing things that are happening that are not age appropriate for her to know etc?

I suppose given the things some people on this thread are prepared to believe then this isn’t any more barmy, but still quite ridiculous.

Nope.

Why on earth do you think Reform are the answer? Why can't you see how utterly vile Farage is?

I can't believe I'm watching this country be taken in by the relentless propaganda.