Reform Ltd's contract would cost twice Liz Truss' cost to our mortagages.

[Thingscanonlygetsunk]

AIBU to wonder why anyone would vote for a massive extension of the Brexit/Truss created CoL crisis?

If only.

This. It doesn’t matter what their policies are, not even they think that anyone is voting for them as they’d like them to govern or think they’re the slightest bit capable of doing so. They exist to make money for Farage-who-got-his-kids-European-passports, through the vehicle of offering right wingers a British Bulldog Protest Vote option.

So they can say whatever they like without consequence, but the really clever bit is that, in doing so, they can put pressure on the Tories (and perhaps others) to move further and further to the right. They are a very effective - and dangerous - pressure group.

Exactly this.

And cut down on 'non essential' immigration

That bit made me laugh. Want to bet that current levels of immigration will turn out to be "essential"?

The chances of Reform actually being able to cut legal or illegal immigration are minimal. Exit the ECHR and "send them all back to France". Fine - that would presumably involve reneging on the deals we have with France and the EU giving them no incentive to try and stop people crossing the Channel - and there won't be many border officials to check and stop them at our end given that Reform are planning to bankrupt the public sector.

It's a recipe for having a mass of people who disappear into the black economy.

People disappearing into the black economy is fine, that means it is easier for the rich and unscrupulous, like Farage and his funders to exploit them.

Oh yes, I just don't think that's what his supporters have in mind!

Unfortunately the people who are likely to vote for Reform either don't know or don't care that their 'contract' is both undeliverable and hugely damaging.

Many of their supporters are responding primarily to Reform's dog whistle nativism and want to disrupt the status quo and 'stick it to the man'.

This in itself is quite reasonable because the status quo sucks for so many, but they sadly seem to lack the critical analysis skills needed to actually scrutinise and assess Reform's policies.

Anyone who votes for Reform must have been a Leaver, and so many of that cohort seem to remain wilfully ignorant about the Brexit con that Farage played such a pivotal part in.

I agree that Reform are insidiously dangerous and despair that so many people are willing to give them a voice and power.

I suppose reform LTD does perhaps allow us to guesestimate how many Leave voters did so because foreigners bad.

I think a large part of it has to do with political disenfranchisement and a feeling of hopelessness after a decade of austerity and lack of investment. Farage's dog whistle politics certainly have their appeal to some but in my opinion, it's sheer desperation.