Reform party

[TalkToTheHand123]

Will Reform win any votes at the local elections?

As long it is not Labour, you don't really care?

Do you agree with Reform's policies?

You don’t need to rephrase my posts I can write my own.

I am not rephrasing, just trying to understand.

Posters on here have said they will vote Reform to keep immigrants out, others have said they would like to see a Tory/Reform coalition. You come across as if you will vote Reform to keep Labour out, but maybe I am reading your posts wrong.

As I have said, I won't be voting Reform and their increasing support worries me.

I think it would have made a huge difference if Labour had been in power for the last 14 years.
Austerity wouldn't have lasted as long, we'd have invested more in public services, no Brexit...that alone has cost billions.... & has helped lead to the huge numbers of workers and dependents from SE Asia and Africa, added to pop. growth, no Johnson so a more measured response to Covid, no Sunak and his very wasteful policies.

But of course there is no parallel universe, we'll never know!!

Perhaps Reform will win the next GE.... its more than possible, the Tories are dead in the water, Labour may follow them...

Tories who are happy to see Reform do well at Labour's expense, should be careful what they wish for, though perhaps they can move overseas v easily, so don't really care what happens to the UK?

I’m posting what I feel rn, I can’t make any commitments. I mean I can’t stand Labour that is true but beyond that there’s a few more years to go and I’ll have to see.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2de79gx672o.amp

Challenge as to whether the Reform candidate on the Greater Lincolnshire mayoral election meets the criteria to be a candidate there.

from the poll that @TopPocketFind posted earlier looks likely Reform will win there next week. But dependent on the outcome of the challenge the election result itself could then be subsequent challenged (if the Reform candidate did indeed get elected).

Fair enough.

You are not ruling out voting Reform so I take it some of their policies appeal to you.

As you say, there 's a few more years to go, GE election polls are not very useful at this point.

I haven’t spent time on policies. I just am not giving headspace to them for now. There’s ages to go.

Trouble at t’mill…

www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/apr/25/tories-urged-not-to-panic-into-uniting-with-reform-or-removing-badenoch

I don't know what people think will happen if Reform become councillors. Will council tax rates drop or something?

Some people believe that the council will be better run.... which tbh honest, seeing the waste & incompetence in councils around me, is not an unreasonable expectation.... whether anything will actually change is another matter.

Farage is only as useful as his candidates and most of them have a chip on their shoulder and don't have any real qualities that will make them useful in getting government. So the idea that these people will somehow be useful in government is farcical.

What you'll end up is ideological cuts and knee jerk policy. It will harm local services and policy and end up costing you millions.

Stop being disruptive and do some work yourself for your local community. Bring some positivity to the world rather than all this hate and negativity. Have you ever taken the time to understand the problems or involved yourself in the hard work involved in the community you live in.

I'm a Christian and proud to say it and today we mourn the loss of a saint. In his words...build bridges is a quality that is shared by Christians and those that build only walls are not Christians. By definition Reform are blatantly non Christian and by default not representative of British values. So I'm calling you out and you are as far from British as the people coming over on these boats....it's not just about a birth right but about the values you hold.

I'm not usually one to mix politics with religion as an agnostic person, but I honestly get what you mean. These people harp on about Christian values (see trump) and yet can't even follow the basic 10 commandments.

They'd reject Jesus in 2025 for being an "illegal immigrant". Tells me all I need to know.

People have their own lives to lead, money to earn, families to support... they cannot all be involved in local politics and good causes, the rely on people who do have this time to act in the communities best interests....

But the power councils have is very limited, central govt pulls the main levers.

Tories do ideological cuts and "Small State" local services? do we have any left?

British values? Yours or mine.... no such thing.

People will vote Reform because the main parties, in their opinion, have been useless.

Labour have been in power for less than a year, on the other hand tories had over a decade. People voting reform seems to think Labour are responsible for the mess we are in rather charged with the task of going somewhere way to resolve it. Reform are disrupters who's only aim is to stop this Labour government and remove even more freedom from the British people. History has shown us that Farage is only interested in his vested interests and his last disruptive political adventure has removed the rights of British people being able to work in Europe, removed reciprocal healthcare schemes, left people poorer, denied life saving cancer care and created more red tape.

These are all facts that can not be denied and yet you think Reform will somehow make your life better. I'm stating actual FACTs you are stating an opinion.

For our village, the Reform candidate is the only "local" and is already active on the Parish Council. Current and previous county councillors (Lab and Con) have basically done bugger all - no sight nor sound of them in and around the village which isn't surprising because they don't even live in the constituency. So, yes, we have quite a realistic expectation that he'll be an active councillor, on the same grounds that he's been an active Parish Councillor for 20 years, well known in the village, etc.

Indeed @dubsie I share your viewpoint and have been making a similar point in relation to MAGA in the US on other threads. Considering those two (Farage & Trump) share an ideology (and $$$) I think looking at the politics of cruelty across the pond tells us all we need to know about Reform's potential governing style.
And yes, sad to lose a Christian who reminded us all what love thy neighbour and help the stranger means. Love how he put Vance back in his place.

Which party (parties) was he a councillor for? Our Reform councillor used to be a Tory one, switched before the GE.

Our Reform candidate is promising to prioritise affordable housing, so are all the others....
Whats different though is the previous Tory and Labour councillors, over the last 25 years have not built a single affordable to buy or rent, house BUT they have approved a succession of luxury build detached homes and many airbnb builds too including an estate of 34 houses where the cheapest house is 480k...

People are fed up with the same old promises delivered by corrupt self serving MPs and councillors.

Look at what Starmer et al were claiming in expenses, all above board but what an grabby and stupid attitude!!!

Local small district Tory led council nr to me, West Devon, pays its leader £161k.... thats on par with the bloody PM of the entire UK... unjustifiable!

btw i don't approve of a single Reform policy, can't stand them but i do understand why they'll get votes and unless Labour up their game, they could well be in or part of the next Govt.

@Alexandra2001
btw i don't approve of a single Reform policy, can't stand them but i do understand why they'll get votes

I take it you have no idea of Farage's money scandals and extra circular activities, talking about grabby.

@Alexandra2001

People are fed up with the same old promises delivered by corrupt self serving MPs and councillors.

Nail on the head for me. Whether local or national, the two main parties have done bugger all for "normal" working people. Whilst looking after their rich backers. You expect it from the Tories, but Labour have been just as bad for the past 20/25 years. Farage absolutely nailed it with "two cheeks of the same arse". I just want to vote for someone different. For us, that means the Reform candidate because he's local, well known and genuine. I'd still vote for him if he stood as an independent, in fact I'd vote for him as a person, whichever party he stood for. At least he's actually visible and actually interested and active locally. I'm utterly fed up of the candidates parachuted in by head office/local office who don't live locally and havn't a clue about the area they expect people to vote them to represent. One of our last Labour county councillors literally never appeared at all, no visibility, not obvious activity, at all for our constituency - lived in a different county! Then she stood at the GE and became the county's MP - still doesn't live in the county and barely makes an appearance in the county. It's the "professional" politicians who are the blight in democracy, only wanting to climb their career ladder and do the barest minimum possible for their constituents.

I know all about Farage and his corruption BUT that doesn't make Labour politicians taking freebies, none of us would ever get, all ok.

I really did expect better from Labour, more fool me!

Its morally wrong and sends entirely the wrong message, how can a Chancellor say "cash in hand payments are wrong" etc, when the rules say its all ok for her to take freebies, tax free.....

imho what they should have done, when getting a free ticket for x or y is to raffle it for their constituents. ... free clothing? refuse it.

These people are already incredibly rich but grab all they can.

I don't understand your post. I thought you were talking about Reform as an alternative to the main parties because they were grabby. Yet what you seem to be saying is that they're all grabby and there's no alternative.

Right, what i'm saying is the main parties have been running local and national services for decades, the grasping of wealth etc is and has been widely publicised.

Reform do not have such baggage, yes Farage et al is a charlatan and just as grabby and corrupt but for many people, thats ignored or down played as "Fake News"

So he has his supporters and they are growing in number.

It's because his supporters are delusional. They're leave voters who still take everything Farage says as gospel despite his Brexit lies.

They think he'll do a good job of running the country despite his uncosted manifesto and pig's ear he's made of being an MP.

They think he's different to grabby politicians despite being investigated several times and having made a lot of money whilst being an MP.

They think he'll "stop the boats" despite having no feasible way of doing it.

Facts mean little to Reform supporters.