Reform

[Floorflood]

I don’t want to vote Reform and I am certain their economic policies don’t stack up but some of their policies sound great. I keep seeing SNP warning that Reform want to slash spending to restore income tax rates and bands to that of England, and I think GREAT! When millions are going to stonewall, Hamas, LGBT Youth Scotland and spent on legal fees defending their whacko policies, overseas aid when it’s not devolved, and so on, surely slashing is very much needed?

Apparemtly Reform would do away with wasteful environmental polices. Again, is that a bad thing? The environment is very important but it seems like we’re the only nation making ourselves far poorer to protect the environment. It’s pointless doing it alone.

Apparently Reform will renege on the closure of oil and gas in the North Sea.

They even might do away with Holyrood apparently! Bloody hell, sounds AMAZING! Where do I sign up?

This is the SNP bad mouthing Reform by advertising their policies, and I can’t help but feel that they all sound like sensible things. But Farage is a genuine racist and they won’t get my vote.

Why aren’t other parties appealing to the electorate in the same way?

Yeah me too. Why abolish devolution? I loathe the SNP for what they have and continue to do to our brilliant country.
We need the poisonous, corrupt liars gone.
I would rather vote Tory than reform any day and that's a desperate vote for me, who is politically homeless.

Can you point us to where Reforms NHS policy is described ?

It not on their manifesto that I posted above.

If you want what is happening in the US to happen here then go ahead - even the Nazis had some ‘good sounding’ policies.

Amazed at how often people bemoaning the state of the NHS have already opted out via private healthcare. I see more than I would like of it, and while far from perfect it is also far from a ‘third world service’ (which is also a meaningless comparison).

I'm in Scotland too and completely agree. I really thought we were better than this.

I’m American and immigrated to Scotland 20 years ago. Any inching towards American anything fills me with dread - I am well aware this is no utopia, but it it miles and miles better than the states. I’m terrified of reform’s growing power. Literally anything is better.

The problem is you need money to fix these issues so cutting taxes is making it worse! As we have seen with the conservatives.

all I can definitely say is that if you look at the way they are running councils in England they are cutting essential services and still putting council tax up when they promised to freeze it. Unfortunately everyone wants a quick fix but that is not how things work!

Reform are awful but you have to have your head in the sand to think they are not going to win seats in May. We had a council by-election round this way recently. https://www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk/services/a-z-of-services/elections-voting/election-results/by-election-ward-3-bearsden-south-january-2026-results/

Lib Dem win - not surprising. Then SNP, then Reform, then Labour. Yes it's just the Council and yes it's just a by-election but this is leafy Bearsden which has always swung between SNP and Lib Dem.

This attitude also really grinds my gears. It plays into this myth that people in Scotland are a different species to those in England/Wales/N Ireland. We are all just the same. Just as there are people in other parts of the UK who vote Reform, we have those people in Scotland too.

I’m English, married to a Scotsman, moved here 25 years ago. At the first election after the move I voted for my old,party, but when I saw how much better Scotland was being run under the SNP (then now now), I voted SNP. The taxes were marginally more, but not excessive. There were free prescriptions, free personal care, the NHS service was good, I felt Holyrood was truly trying to make Scotland a better place for it,s people.
Them Nicola sturgeon got in, and she has ruined the SNP, got rid of many of the decent people, changed the influence of the branches so it's no longer bottom up, and gerrymandered Holyrood so it's full of tick boxed sixth form ideologues. Not to mention what she did to Alex Salmond.
she was incompetent and corrupt, and she encouraged all the nonsense that the party has now embraced. It's almost like she was a Westminster asset!
I believe that Scotland should be independent- it's rich enough (Westminster is asset stripping this country - think McCrone report! And think why in a country that can power itself with green energy we have the highest electricity bills in Europe).
But I doubt if I'll vote for them at the moment, they are not now capable of good government, I'm politically homeless. If we gain independence there would be new parties and hopefully we would have better people in power.
Reform are going to destroy the UK if they get in. I can understand why people are so pissed off with all the useless politicians we have at the moment, but Farage has already wreaked havoc on this country, and his cohorts will continue to do so.
This is the first time I've ever commented on the political situation on Mumsnet, normally I steer clear, but d9 etimes you just have to speak up.

I think it’s all relative. If you look at the poverty levels in some English cities it’s absolutely Dickensian.

the Scottish system seems to be a little less inhumane.

neither are perfect but I know which id choose.

Privatising healthcare is not the answer to the NHS issues, I don’t see how you could possibly think that it could be.
We are in many ways better off for having devolution - whatever your politics may be. Our family pay higher rate tax but it’s worth it to have free university, no prescription fees, less child poverty and generally a better standard of living due to lower house prices etc compared with london.

I lived in England until 2022. I live in Scotland now. Anyone who thinks England's public services are better than Scotland's needs their head examined.