What can an individual do to keep Reform out?

[Thepoliticsofchaos]

I have a young friend (a university student) who is getting depressed about the prospect of Reform getting in next election. He thinks that the UK is fucked, basically. He's left-leaning, I assume a Labour voter. I've advised him to get politically engaged (so that in the future he'll at least be able to feel that he did what he could). He's not the most outgoing of people, though is interested in politics. Can anyone suggest how he could become usefully politically engaged to try to reduce the Reform vote? Not just joining a party and turning up to meetings, but actually doing something?

"Many of their policies will directly attack working people" 🤮🤮.

Who do you mean when you use the horrendous Labour soundbite of "working people"? Anyone who works ie has a job? So that includes people on 500K.....or do you mean Labour's definition ie very narrow group of public sector workers?

Stop using meaningless soundbites. Labour have already shrunk the job market and due to AI plus cost of employing people thanks to NI increase, the number of entry level jobs for young people continues to fall.

You seem to be suggesting that my "friend" is fictional. He's not. He's the best friend of one of my DC, so I've seen a lot of him over the years. I've passed on some of these suggestions and he likes the idea of joining Labour shortly before the next election so he can get involved in leafleting etc. I actually got involved in leafleting against Brexit in the days before the EU referendum. It involved a lot of walking the streets and being abused by people, but I'm glad I did it. Brexit has had and continues to have a big negative effect not just on the UK generally but on me and my children. It has a big negative impact on my job and on their career opportunities. I remember all the leafleting I did, and the talking to colleagues before the vote, and think that at least I did something.

Someone upthread recommended this book by Alistair Campbell. I'm not a big Alistair Campbell fan, but the book does look worth a read. I think I'll get it for myself, and get another copy for my 20-year-old friend for Christmas.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/But-What-Can-Do-Politics/dp/1804943134

Poor boy. To be given a book written by a liar who was complicit in the Iraq war. Hardly a great start to his political journey.

He's not a boy, and he's familiar with Alistair Campbell. The book apparently gives good practical advice on how to engage in UK politics, from someone with plenty of political experience. I'll suggest that he skips the chapter on how to start wars 🙄

Alistair Campbell a lying con man who is dodgier than Blair’s dodgy dossier..

Next level gaslight! ANTIFA literally means “Anti-Fascist.” There is no organised group. It’s an anti-fascist, anti-racist political movement. I am ANTIFA, just like my grandfathers were who bravely fought against fascism and Nazi’s in WWII.

Think you might have missed the difference between the violent left wing Antifa movement and everyone who fought in WW2 against the (real) Nazis.

I think your friend (and all of us who care about our country) should campaign to have an investigation into Reform’s links with Russia. Farage and Gill have both repeated the same pro Kremlin talking points. Like Gill, who has pleaded guilty to accepting Russian money to push Russian agendas, Farage blames the West for Russia’s Ukraine invasion. Given Russia’s desire to destroy the UK, it’s vital that these links should be examined. Farage has appeared multiple times on Russia Today (and was paid, and was even offered a show there).He said the world leader he most admired was Putin. This is also the man who wants to tear up human rights legislation just like Putin.
Vladimir Solovyov who’s a state TV host has said
"If the (Uk) is wiped out, I think the whole of humanity will applaud... God, it's good how they will say it. That's the truth. It's good, they will say."
He added: "That's where we need to strike with Oreshnik”. (Russia's nuclear-capable missile system)
He was recently ranting against the UK's appointment of its first female Archbishop of Canterbury, calling for strikes on Europe and specifically the Uk
"To Europe, it seems like everything is permitted... that's why (we) need to strike Europe, especially since now we have an excellent reason to burn down Britain... Down with the Satanic island."
Andrei Gurulyov who’s a pro-Putin lawmaker and retired general, talked about “a good reason for Britain to cease to exist."

Russian interference with regards to Brexit should also be investigated. Farage and his murky private limited company Reform should be thoroughly investigated. He’s no patriot, he’s a corrupt, dirty money, traitor who’d sell the UK down the river for personal profit. All true patriots would surely want this investigation.

Also links with Labour and China should be a focus of this young lad's investigations.

Err /they have ‘achieved’ precisely what?
Ironic that he sees the UK is in dire straits and is too thick to work out the reason why…

The UK didn’t get into “dire straits” in July 2024. It takes a very long time for that to happen.

again deflection, but with just words

do you mean this court case https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-government-says-it-was-not-blame-collapse-china-spy-trial-2025-10-06/ which could just be a tory smear? There isn't any evidence

all the investigation needs to be on farage, but right wing don't want that they'd rather smear and point the finger elsewhere regardless of whether there is evidence or not

I don't think I was deflecting? Starmer will try deflecting of course. Just like the fact he didn't declare donations (again) for his leadership campaign. He is actually in government (unlike Farage) so I rather think this should be a greater focus of this young political investigator. Don't you?

I don't think I was deflecting?

you do it all the time without noticing

look at labour, look at the left - I have nothing of substance for you to look at but if I say it enough it will deflect from the right wing

ElizaMulvil

Posts

you quote and put look at the left

Circularmadness

post and you quote the post and say "look at the left"

He is actually in government (unlike Farage)

perhaps you're not aware that farage is an MP and that means he has a place in Government, he is supposed to be representing Clacton - but we all know he never goes to Clacton and said he purchased a house in Clacton but turns out his girlfriend got a shed load of money from somewhere and purchased a house in Clacton

I think this is coming through in my conversations with my eldest. Fucked environmentally, hard to argue with. Fucked for money, aging population means increased pension bills forecast to carry on rising over the next few years. NHS is fucked see also elderly population . Job market is fucked theirs will be a generation that competes with AI for jobs.

Geopolitical issues looming. What will happen in Ukraine and ZNATO countries on the border will Americans stick with us? The next crisis is probsbly Taiwan. I don’t think the future looks terribly bright either tbh.

Those are all geopolitical issues. It would be unrealistic to expect the UK to be exempt from global trends.

I think your child's friend sounds a bit naive. The question he needs to ask is what is the left doing for young people like him? Most people are left leaning when they're young, driven by political ideals and in the subconscious knowledge that they ultimately won't be funding any of the money hungry, left wing policies for a while. You feel like you have everything to gain and nothing really to lose.

Give him a few years and see how he gets on in the graduate market decimated by AI but also tax rises imposed on businesses. If he wants to start a business then he can enjoy all the tax grabs and extra regulation that Labour have imposed. If he buys a house, he can do so in the knowledge that Labour at any point can think it's totally fine to impose a random annual property tax that you will pay for the entire time you live in that property. When he comes to inherit, expect to get taxed. If you become a higher tax rate payer, expect to get taxed for the privilege. Also he shouldn't make the assumption that he becomes a higher rate tax payer when he's earning the big bucks. It is now easier than ever to fall into this category and this will make it harder than ever for a young person to build any kind of wealth or nest egg.

What will all this tax be funding? Well it certainly won't be anything for young, working people earning a reasonable wage.

I’m not voting for Reform but I’m not losing sleep over them getting in either, despite the fact their policies would probably have quite a profound effect on my life.

There are a series of ugly measures which are at this point completely and utterly necessary. All else is managed decline.

Net immigration zero.
Drastic cuts to welfare.
Some form of insurance system for some NHS treatments as a minimum.
A proper police force that investigates robberies rather than tweets.

We’ve become lazy, entitled and unrealistic. We can no longer be a society with very high % unemployed and on sickness benefits, propped up by a shrinking pool of billionaires.

The longer we leave all this the worse and more extreme the correction will be.

Why aren't you voting Reform then out of interest? The changes you list are more likely to happen under Reform. I think very few people can totally align themselves with every single policy of any particular party but surely we should vote for the party that is most likely to bring about the changes we think are most important.

Because I have private suspicions about the leadership. I will be voting for Kemi Badenoch.

That requires a full investigation urgently. Extremely concerning.

I don't know the detail of my friend's political views, but he has said that he's frustrated at how people complain about Labour without explaining what they've done wrong (more just bashing Labour for the sake of it) when he feels that Labour are doing some good things (which he can go into the detail of, but the conversations don't get that far). And he feels very bitter about Brexit and the people who voted for it, especially when they persist in saying that they were right to vote that way.

Happy to provide a list of what they've fucked up. I feel bitter about the people who voted for Labour so maybe he can empathise?