Is anyone else terrified by the popularity of Reform UK?

[NewNameNigel]

I am. I feel like it's indicative of sentiment that is really bad for me and my family.

I know that they are unlikely to win many seats but the fact that so many people will consider voting for racists is not a good sign.

Have a look at Nigel F comments on Loose Women today. He is clear the BNP vote goes to Reform. If Reform didn't want to be the racist party, they would have done more to correct this, regardless of the c4 doc, which I only heard about tonight.

if you're old enough to know the BNP, then you know Reform is the new version.

Thank you@TheShellBeach .

I am white but I find Nigel Farage a dangerous man. Can't imagine how non whites view him. I thought that him standing as an MP in Clacton was not going to get traction - he might get in, but so what. His party would be a non event. It all seemed a last minute decision.But then I found an old Sunday supplement from when he just came out of I Am a Celeb. There was an interview with him. Turns out the idea of him standing in Clacton was always on the cards - the only thing preventing him making that decision was he didn't want to have to go to Clacton every week. And he is being pushed to run by right wing Tory's. The aim being that he gets in as a Reform MP and then defects to the Tories, and then with the backing of a lot of disenchanted Tory members, he mounts a take over to become Tory leader. Now that is scary. Then he would have traction.

I work supporting young homeless teenagers.
The amount that are supporting reform is terrifying!
Absolutly NOT who i would vote for.
But i see the appeal for them.
Conservatives & labour offer them nothing. Led by 2 rich men with posh voices who sound like they wouldnt have a clue about real life.
& despite what it should be, the parties are too similar to be different

Reform come across as party of 'normal people'

I have Begged them to look at policies before voting.
A few have come back still saying reform..
I wont be surprised if they do well this election.

I (as a white woman) find it absolutely horrifying. Though after seeing all of these people come out of the woodwork during brexit I am sadly not surprised.
It saddens me to hear of the people whom this affects more than myself on a day to day basis.
Why can't we all just live and let live.
Why does race, religion and immigration have to be such a big debate in the place we should call home.
There are bigger issues we should be addressing here, and this party are thriving on the support of uneducated racists who feel they need a say in things that do not and should not concern them.
I am so sorry to everybody who has been personally affected by this ludicrous party and their supporters.

I don’t think Reform is popular, but what terrifies me is the blind eye and complacency being shown. I cannot believe that the electoral commission has not cancelled their status as a legitimate political party months ago. The racism survey showed a major issue was racism denial amongst British, and this is a case in point. They are willfully ignoring overt racism.

It is the rise of the far right in Europe before our eyes.

It's horrendous as is the rise in popularity of the far accross Europe right now. We are living in worrying times.

I agree. It's terrifying.

Why does race, religion and immigration have to be such a big debate in the place we should call home.
There are bigger issues we should be addressing here, and this party are thriving on the support of uneducated racists who feel they need a say in things that do not and should not concern them.
Religion is a massive issue. Just take a look at the teacher in Batley and similar happenings as something that we should all be very concerned about. I would argue that it's the cultural issues that are causing the disquiet, rather than the racial aspect.

People underestimate the lure of Reform to certain inhabitants of this island. There will be some shocks to come. Brexit anyone?

I am white but Jewish and I am utterly terrified of the rise of the far right in the UK and across the world. Rather than shutting them down, it seems the media wants to give them every platform to spout their vile propaganda. Sadly the political left is virtually silent on it and in some cases adding to the problem. I hope we get some backlash soon.

It's very frightening and I understand your concern. Some of the rhetoric I've heard, such as the call for mass remigration programmes and for a Remigration Commissioner at the EU, are quite shocking. We should all take heed.

Add disengaged 20/30 aged males. Living in bedsits/ houseshares, unable to have their kids over. Working full-time but unable to afford decent accommodation. If they end up homeless, and then jobless there is no help or support. The council refer to charities, and charities will give them a sleeping bag if they are lucky.
Add MH into the equation and even less support. Then they see social media and news reports that single males rocking up on boats get a hotel room, support, and regardless of the accuracy of those reports you have disenfranchised potential voters. They will look for someone to meet their needs. What are the main 3 parties doing for these people...nothing..so they will look at other more extreme options.

Led by 2 rich men with posh voices who sound like they wouldnt have a clue about real life

And Farage sounds like the man of and for the people?

@Maggiethecat sadly,yes he sounds like he understands them & is going to make there worlds a little better
One of them was really shocked when i pointed out ' Nige'
Was a conservative and actually reform has similar policies to them.

I have to point out, my clients are not racist or xenophobic. Not homophobic, they couldnt care less about small boats
They just want somewhere to live & a job thats going to pay enough, they can pay there rent, eat & still have a night out.

Torys have been in charge for all their lives, they know it aint happening with them
Labour sound too similar to Torys & again completly out of touch to my client group
Lib dem?..i dont think anyone as mentioned them once.
So they are looking to reform for answers

Thats exactly it @wastingtimeonhere
I find it a really sad time for my young people at the moment.
We are in a beautiful part of the country but its rural, limited work options.
To open up your options you need to travel at least 1.5 hrs on a bus, they have just cut timetable for.

Social housing hasnt been built for over 20 yrs.
The councils LHA doesnt match the cost of private rents so makes it unaffordable.

They struggle to get a dentist for goodness sake!

I completly get thier need for change. Im a lost voter myself this year just cant bring myself to vote for who i usually would.

The one thing that does give me hope is that my young people do want change, & have gone and listened & made a choice.

I hope some of them will come to realise that he’s a charlatan, unafraid to make baseless promises and claims.

No costing of his ‘contract’ promises and when pressed in the Question Time Special on exactly how his plan of having British marines return small boats to France would actually work, the French not expected to co-operate, of course he had no idea.

Some will realise that NF is only in this for himself.

Not terrified, no. What will change? Racists have always been here and always will be. Look how much airtime Farage is being given. As much if not more than the leaders of the 2 main parties. That's no coincidence.

Black people - especially those raising children here - who want to challenge racism will actually have to get up off their chair and attend meetings, groups, rallies etc. & vote, too; I know too many people who write long think pieces about politics on FB etc yet they don't even vote so, why..? Black churches can speak up and out too, for a change.

Make the effort to be visible and vocal, write letters, where it matters.

I never made England my holy grail. Once I had children myself I worked steadily towards 'this ain't it'. At this stage now I'm semi-retired, spend 4 months of the year in UK, the rest in my heritage country. Some of my friends and family did the same. My children now grown are there regularly, I made sure to take them as often as I could when they were little, so they could see another way of life and people who looked like them everywhere. & not think you can only survive in life if you live in UK or USA.

I hate racists, they hate me. Stay and fight for what, exactly? But for those here as said - you're going to have to get up.

I'm concerned about this in the UK and the emerging results of the French Election

It's very worrying alongside what's going on in Europe.

They are nowhere near as racist as the Labour Party. Or as deeply misogynistic.

Very interesting comment - I work in a secondary school, 11 - 16 year olds, and they've just had a mock election during tutor times:

Reform 31%
Labour 26%
Con 16%
Lib dems 15%
Greens 8%
IDK/didn't vote 4%

No I'm not worried about the popularity of reform . When people feel unheard they want alternatives.

I don't know why people keep up with the racist trope , apparently a lot of ethnic minorities are supporting reform . The left want to keep screaming racist in the hope it'll put people off . Well the other parties are worse . Labour and their antisemitism, Tories and the demise of Diane abbot etc .
There is nothing wrong about wanting a discussion about the levels of immigration.

Are they aware that farage was a commodities trader before becoming a politician, and so presumably not short of a bob himself?
Have they seen the pics of him at some Murdoch garden party affair in his Oxfordshire Man’s summer blazer, glass of very good wine in hand, not a pint glass to be seen?
The sleight of hand he manages to pull off is, I have to grudgingly say, impressive.