Sarah Ponchin / reform / extreme fear for my kids future…

[Blinginggg]

Sarah Ponchin / reform / extreme fear for my kids future…

How’s everyone feeling about Sarah Ponchin’s latest remarks about black people being over represented ?!

I am absolutely horrified. I honestly feel this kind of speech is only motivating, normalizing and allowing more racists to rear their ugly heads.

I fear we are headed towards very dark times.

I know racism has always been here but there was an expectation to keep your mouth shut.

All I want for my biracial kids is to feel safe and worthy.

Am I being unreasonable to think this is too much to ask?

Of course not but tbh no one feels safe at the moment in UK.

I understand that but -
I feel particularly vulnerable as my family are part of the demographic that is being targeted and held responsible and receiving of all the hate and anger:

In some part of UK you are vulnerable being white and Christian. Or Jewish...
I am happy to relocate with my family at Christmas. UK doesn't feel like home anymore.

I'm with you @Blinginggg . My daughter is mixed English/WI and one of my grandchildren has already been questioned as to 'where he really comes from'.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/oct/31/government-anti-islamophobia-refused-service-shop-muslim

I thought those days had long gone.

I’m disabled.

six months ago/a year ago it was all about how disabled people are scroungers off the state.

there’s always a panic going on about something. People feel that life has changed for the worse (it has) and they are searching for explanations.

in terms of disability, there are more disabled people claiming benefits than before. This is for fairly obvious reasons. However people need to be allowed to explore why and have conversations about why.

in the same way, I live in a very rural small town in east Anglia. It’s about 99% white and has been for the last 2000 years. Many people who
live here have lived here all their lives and are used to a 99% white social environment. It is very noticeable to these people (and to me to be honest) that TV ads almost always these days feature a non white person.

my son lives in Bethnal Green. You go out there and it’s actually quite hard to spot a white person in the ethnic mix.

his lived experience and my lived experience are very different and people should be allowed to say that.

it doesn’t mean that we are all headed for 1930s Germany or even the 1980s.

I am white, live in a neighbourhood where I am a minority and have never, in over 20 years ever felt vulnerable or had any issues, nor have my white children. Nor has my Jewish friends here (they have online).
Yet my Asian and black friends have had many incidents over the years.
The absolutely shite in the media and Facebook now is relentless and horrible. It is literally brainwashing the brainwashable.

Good for you....

Honestly, I am disabled and find it quite scary some of the comments of Reform councillors, and what they are doing, or talking about doing to disabled services in Reform led councils.

We aren't mixed race but we are also worried about the far right/Reform. The flags in the dodgy areas make them no go areas for a lot of people, because they are being emboldened to attack even people who they think look like "lefties" in their areas. It's crazy how violence is just the only answer to these people. I think it is creating towns with zones, as we won't go to some shops in those areas now - DC are alternative dressers which seems to trigger a lot of them into rude comments.

Where will you go ?

Scandinavian.

We are in a Reform led one and as I said the flags are a sign of the bad attitude. They never have anything good to say, always negative. They don't help the local area with charity work or volunteering but they will protest outside children's centres to bully and intimidate them. That's what the flag now symbolises.

We've also now got a 5% rise in council tax coming which we are going to really struggle with. No one wants to say what they will do when the flags start looking ratty in a few months and create litter and rags on these run down streets.

Why would they want you?

We have a flat, we have jobs 1.2.26, our daughter is assigned an school 5.1.26.
Things are sorted.

@EveryMeandEveryYou We've also now got a 5% rise in council tax coming which we are going to really struggle with.

There's an article in today's Guardian that talks about how much local councils are collectively spending on SEND private transport a year. It's £2.3bn a year.

There does need to be a serious and grown up discussion about disability reform. Because that figure is just mind blowing.

Because both Tory and Labour governments have kicked cans down the road for so long, that Reform are now able to say the things they do and gain traction. What Pochin said is unforgiveable and is, despite what Farage says, racist. But, that said, diversity targets mean that most adverts now disproportionately feature minority groups so there's a good chance in an ad break that you won't see a white person anymore. She's an odious arsehole and made the point in a horrible way but diversity has gone nuts. For example, when did you ever see a woman putting on a HRT patch on a TV advert? Never. Just never. Until it was a trans woman. FFS.

Yes the taxi's here charge through the roof for school runs because they get paid at least 5x the going rate by the council. That's something they need to address with the taxi drivers.

Well the Reformers equivalent in Scandinavian are going to be really pleased with having another foreigner on their soil. Have to say I don't think we re going to miss you.

Sorry? Why should we engage with the reformers equivalent in Scandinavian? Weird thought.

Btw having dual citizenship we aren't seen as foreigners. No worries. Happy to pay the high taxes in Scandinavian.

Well we are happy and sorted. It sounds like you are too. Cape diem!

I find it incredible that they use taxis - and not just for SEND transport but for regular school transport outside the 2 mile limit if there is no public transport.

Even the US, the most car-oriented country in the world, uses school buses, owned and operated by the local school district to provide transport for pupils. Why LEAs don’t operate a school bus network, but instead pay private taxi firms at ridiculous cost, is beyond me.

I tried to organise one for our primary as we missed our walkable one by 0.1mile and were told by the Head not to bother appealing because the new builds were all slightly closer and all on the waiting list already. A lot of parents were in our position with the school 7 miles away along a motorway to the next village. Insurance was the issue as I found out, largely because you can't control if the kids' parents will turn up and no one wants to leave a 5-10yo on the side of a road alone. They do taxis for SEN because they have often got needs around space, smells, noise etc and may be school refusers so delivering them directly to school in a calm manner is important. The taxi drivers just take the piss, clearly. We have an SEN school near us and no other parents can get close to it because there are over 10 taxi's on the roads locally for over 2 hours before end of the school day. They don't have to work because they get so much for the 1 drop off but compete with each other to get a kid.