Police appeal to woman after Reform UK audience row

[IwantToRetire]

Police have asked a woman who had her hair and head grabbed at the Reform UK conference to come forward as they carry out an investigation.

Footage circulating on social media has shown audience members pulling the protester back as disorder broke out during the event at Birmingham's NEC.

Demonstrators were thrown out of the party's annual conference after interrupting Nigel Farage's keynote speech.

West Midlands Police said: "We're aware of a video circulating from the Reform UK Conference showing an incident with a protester. We haven't received a complaint but would ask the woman involved to come forward and contact us so we can carry out enquiries."

Article continues at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyznj31l3no

I hadn't heard about this until I saw this AIBU thread
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5575361-aibu-to-be-shocked-at-the-violence-towards-women-at-the-reform-conference?page=1

What do you mean by Economy realists?
Do you mean people in government with knowledge of C*ypto ?

People seem to have forgotten that this is exactly who Reform are. Formerly UKIP, formerly BNP etc
They've just rebranded enough times until people have forgotten where they came from . But they're the same people with the same values.

I dread the idea of them actually gaining power. Ten years ago it was unthinkable. I blame the left for opening the door to this though. Practically open borders and TWAW - no wonder ordinary people are falling for Farage's rhetoric. Change is desperately needed but Farage's fuckwits is not the answer. The "cure" will be even worse than the disease.

That most trade happens between the closest neighbours of a country would a first step in economic realism.

Oh go on! Say it! (You're correct of course)

I think - realism is you can't be isolated when the group you are dealing with is highly misogynist and trading across global international boarders.
We are lucky to have good people on the world stage, experienced people. I hope they can see this needs to be confronted. This group are taking the pxxx out of everything we hold dear. There isn't a chance they will use power well.

I think everyone here is intelligent enough to know what the obvious corollaries are: I suspect we will have to move from our current position as rule takers (no benefits) to rule takers (with benefits) before we can once again be rule shapers (with benefits) but repentance should not be rushed.

I suspect a very tiny, tiny percentage of members of Reform joined primarily about "gender politics"!

Unless somehow this is now part of "reclaiming British values"!!!!!!!!!!!

The tories were in power from 2010 to 2025. And we got brexit which I won't go into except to say int contributed to a righthand lurch and purge of moderates in the tory party during that time.

In what world are we blaming the left for 15 years of tory government? Yes they got bogged down dealing with the self inflicted policy gunshot wound that is brexit but again... that wasn't "the left" either was it.

That’s what they are. Violent ghouls.

Let alone the now accepted long term damage done to the by Thatcher selling off the countries assets so that many overseas countries are now getting rich on our gas, water, trains - and the loss of housing stock through asset stripping councils of housing estates etc..

But what is never explained is that each time a right wing decision FU the country they never get blamed - its always someone else.

And apparently so many in this country are such forelock tugging by nature, they go along with this idea - especially if you can make out it is "foreigners"!

There was a lot of very careful work put into grooming communities over social.media around Brexit. It was the advent of Facebook in local communities and may explain how people of a certain age got so hooked in. Repetitive messages about the EU, sovereignty and all that and the rest of politics just wasn't ready for how that technique mobilised people.

Free speech would allow them to get on with their party conference without interference.
This woman was free to hold whatever meeting/picket she wanted outside or in a venue she hired etc.

I expect Reform supporters/candidates are sick of not being able to breathe without lefties getting themselves in a twist, also lots of hatred towards them so tensions are pretty heightened. If she didn't want to be manhandled by Reform supporters she could choose not to disrupt their conference.

Are you very young?

Middle aged. Relevance?

"If she didn't want to be manhandled by Reform supporters she could choose not to disrupt their conference"
I think this is very naiive.

I think it is naive to think that in a world where politicians have been stabbed and shot you can cause disruption without a reaction.

A number of hecklers have been removed from the Labour Party conference by security since Jo Cox was murdered. I don’t think any of them were set upon by delegates.

Right. So you are leading the conference and you are concerned about safety and you know that amongst the audience there's a good chance there will be a hecker or two.
So you....make mocking derogatory comments designed to whip up the crowd, even using pre prepared slides to do that be cause, of course if there is a reaction from the elderly and disabled people in the crowd, or even if the heckler turns dangerous, it won't affect you on the safety of the podium. And any consequences will fall on someone else.
Poster, That's where I think you are a bit naive.

Its getting really boring all this nonsense that somehow Response are somehow treated more harshly than other Parties.

Not just on FWR but Labour, the Tories, let alone the Lib Dems and the Greens get regular scorn and ridicule.

This sort of non response response is actually just to avoid that what to many people is just out right nonsense, are apparently genuine beliefs of Reform!

And no I am not part of any political Party. But if it wasn't so serious, their utterings and behaviour are like something out of a comedy routine or even a Gilbert and Sulivan opera.

And an example that the real threat to "Britishness" is this crass aping of US nationalistic retrogressive politics.

A woman being manhandled at a public event (unless she was holding a bomb or a gun) is unacceptable. Whether at a Reform Conference of a FiLia social.

As is the mob reaction of the audience.

As they say a pictures beats a thousand words.

It’s an AI video!! It astounds me people are believing it.
look at the physics of movement with the main characters and background characters. Especially when the strike with the stick happens. Look at the phones and other cameras supposedly filming it! Yet only one or two angles shown publicly?? Plus the screen on one of the mobile phones shows blank.
it’s all part of the big plan to turn people against each other and wreak havoc with trust and votes.

Victim blaming when an assault takes place. Now where have I heard that before...

I agree @UtterMadness22 . We don’t know exactly what happened. The woman hasn’t come forward, and the original footage hasn’t been provided to police. A short clip can easily be edited or stripped of context. What we do know is that she was taken down. The question is whether she was deliberately assaulted or simply removed from the venue.

As a feminist, I would always report an assault. If someone is capable of violence in one situation, I’d rather report it and let the facts be established than ignore it and potentially see someone else harmed.

I don’t condone her behaviour, but that doesn’t mean I’d condone deliberately hurting her either, if that’s what happened. Both things can be true.

Because freedom of assembly applies to everyone, including Reform. People should be able to attend a speech in a private venue without several other enemies falsely gaining entry, disrupting it and making the event about themselves.

That’s not comparable to ordinary heckling, particularly when the heckler is actually a genuine party member.

This.

It goes without saying that Widdecombe's murder was a horrific, tragic and awful crime that should never have happened. It really upset me, and I think it shocked everyone.

I feel about the same about a woman being dragged by the fucking hair and/or manhandled.

Absolutely no fucking need. Absolutely beyond the pale.

And the response from Farage and others in Reform have placed them in the camp of violent thugs.

So: fuck them.

Footage is here, both of the woman being attacked, violently, and of several leaders within Reform's responses.

Fuck every one of them.