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?

I think focusing on real achievements is the way forwards, the politics of just tearing down whoever is in charge just wastes energy without making lives better.
A mindset of “what is good in my life right now?” is better for good mental health than worrying about what’s lacking or broken, or things that don’t have simple solutions.
No government can just wave a magic wand and make the world/country nice by giving everyone what they want without raising tax.
Building communities and helping out locally will do more to make life better than any amount of fruitless complaining without action.

That's great until the actions of the current government make your life worse!

Just blindly ignoring things that are going wrong as a result of government policy is ridiculous. If you want to be an ostrich then that's your perogative.

@twistyizzy Feel free to pm me a list of what Labour has fucked / is fucking up, and I'll pass it on to him.

Vote Reform, get Tommy Robinson acolytes.

https://humanists.uk/2025/10/09/reform-councillor-and-tommy-robinson-allies-back-completely-untrue-re-claims/

Vote Reform, get foreign interference and attacks on women's rights.

https://archive.ph/vJWET

It's pretty easy to know if you follow the news

I won’t be voting labour if they cut the 2 child cap. Conservatives are out as well and sick it SNP banging on about independence. So I may be voting reform.

So, twistyizzy, a couple of posts ago you wrote this: "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?"
I then invited you to send me a list, and promised to pass it on to my friend. Instead of doing so (after all, you offered), you say that he can work it out for himself. Well, apparently not, since he supports Labour and thinks they're doing quite well. So again, I accept your offer to provide a list of what Labour have fucked up. I again promise to pass that list on to my friend. No doubt he can learn from your considered views.

What are your positive reasons for voting for Reform? Why do you think they will govern the country better than any of the other parties? What are the plus points, other than not being one of the other parties?

@twistyizzy I’m sorry you feel life is tough right now, but government policy can only go so far in affecting your outlook.
I have a generally positive outlook and choose to focus on hope alongside helping others.
Are you helping your community in some way? Working with people who need your help will really help you get perspective on the ways you are still privileged even when you feel stretched financially.
For example, today I helped sort the harvest donations at church, they are split between the local food bank and a charity helping destitute asylum seekers.
Coming home to my house with food in the cupboards, I know how lucky I am to have food, clothing and shelter.

-The economy: rising unemployment rates, spiking bond rates, highest level of debt borrowing and then the high bond rates make servicing that debt more expensive, business + consumer confidence low,
-Education: only country in the world to now tax education whilst simultaneously reducing aspiration in state schools by removing funding from certain programmes aimed at improving aspirations. Most state schools having to make budget cuts and make teachers redundant
Digital ID
-Encouraging building on the green belt and pushing through approval for housing with no thought to the lack of infrastructure to support that housing
-Farms being sold off to either developers or for solar panels rather then producing food hence impacting food security. ---Highest rate of farm closures for over 15 years
-spaffing taxpayer money on yet more PR/comms (eg 91K for new role of immigration communications manager) because they are doing so badly

• new revelations re:China
• worst polling of a new PM ever

Need me to go on?

I'm pleased you have the time to do that. Some of us work

@twistyizzy I’m pleased you have work and hope you find it rewarding, I am disabled and mostly housebound, and had a rest day yesterday so I was able to help sort today.

It's essential for me to work seeing as thanks to Reeves, DH lost his job.

@twistyizzy I hope your DH finds more work soon, in the meantime he has the time to help with volunteering etc so not sure why you made the barbed comment about not being able to volunteer due to work commitments.

Because job hunting is a full time job too and that has to be his priority. Having time to volunteer is a luxury we can't afford.
Whether you meant it or not, your comment came across as being quite trite ie oh just volunteer and you will feel better. Well no I won't feel better because that won't pay the mortgage will it?

I dont have any thoughts on his political opinions as he's obviously leaning down the socialist route (either you are a capitalist and think people own their own money or you are a socialist and think it belongs to the state...I think which path you take is instinctive. And he will learn)

However I do think one thing you could really help your friend with is learning what one person one vote means. And that's the remit of your own peraonal power. And that how someone else chooses to exercise their vote is none of his business. I think there's a real problem in politics these days with everyone judging everyone else personally and being angry with how other people have voted. He thought one way about Brexit but unfortunately not enough people agreed with him. You walk in your own shoes. I may not agree with socialism but respect people's right to chose to vote for a socialist party. My thoughts are that if you don't understand how democracy works you really shouldn't have the vote at all!

I don’t think there’s much doubt that the pendulum is about to swing. Nobody can stop it happening, it’s a law of gravity. Immigration levels and infrastructure crumbling dictates a shift.
Anyone depressed about this would be depressed about the fact that goldfish don’t live for ever and trees shed in the fall.

I’m sorry you are going through a tough time right now, have you talked to your mortgage lender about support during this time, and checked you are claiming all the financial support you’re entitled to.
My comments about volunteering were definitely not meant tritely, but most people are able to help in their communities in a small way and if we all did something our communities would be kinder, look nicer, and we’d feel connected to our local area.
So many places now feel soulless as people look out for no.1 and don’t see the beauty of this marvellous country. I want to live in a place I can call home, and I want that for the people around me too, so I help make that more possible by volunteering.

Why the passive aggressive shitty comments?

He needs to learn to discover things for himself rather than being told them. Everyone has a bias.
He needs to read as many papers as possible from all sides of the spectrum, watch all news channels etc.

Just waiting to be told things isn't engaging with politics.

You do know Reform also plans to lift the two child cap?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yx062pvlvo.amp

He’ll vote as he wants, regardless of his friend’s mother starting an mn thread about him.

Labour can’t rely on younger people’s votes as much as they used to though, perhaps this is a thread to drum up the opposite.

Oh I’d vote for you on these policies.

He seems very locked in to his views.

You could try getting him to find out why people voted for Brexit (beyond the racist BS that is always pushed)

The same goes for immigration, and looking into areas were the current immigrants are being pushed and how nobody is supporting them or the locals.

Or why instead of encouraging everyone to fly the flag and taking the wind out of the sails of the movement, they decided to push the racist agenda of some of those flying the flag and labelling all the people the same irrespective of colour, creed or religion.

Could it be that our current politicians see that its easier to run a country of divided people and much easier to hide how crap they are at running the country when everyone is fighting each other?

So you're not actually happy to provide a list then? So why offer? He's actually very well-informed on politics, follows the news, etc. And he's a bright young man. Yet somehow he hasn't come to the same conclusions you have. Again. I'm happy to share your list of what the Labour party have fucked up, if you're able to produce one. In case he's missed something important.

I've posted the list as a reply to you at 13.35 so you must have missed it 🙄 I will wait for the apology!