Call the likes of Reform racist as much as you want, but, like Trump’s two victories, I see the rise of Reform and populist movements like Trump’s as a failure on the part of Labour, the Conservatives and the Democrats to come up with a credible plan for dealing with immigration.
I also think it’s unfair to label every single person who votes for Reform or Trump as a racist. I have family members who have switched between Labour and the Conservatives throughout their lives, and they’ve simply had enough. They’ve told me that, if Labour don’t get their S H I T together, they’ll be voting Reform at the next general election.
You can disagree with their choice, but dismissing all of those voters as racists completely misses why some people are turning to populist parties in the first place.
A lot of people refer to them as racist as that’s what is at the core of a lot of it.
I think you’re right, I generalise and just refer to it as the racist vote and you’re quite correct it’s probably not fair on all of them. Problem for me is, they drive division and hate, they turn society against each other to hide what they’re doing. I’m sorry, but the party leader is taking 5million quid in bungs and ok, not everyone lives in Clacton, but he’s the party leader - if you vote reform, you’re still backing him. You’re still backing corruption and all sorts of flimflam he comes out with.
You’re correct, not all people that vote reform are racist, but all the racists vote reform.
Due to where I live I’ve seen so many interviews in the past few weeks in the build up to this by election, the amount of people who tell a story “oh, I can’t work anymore because of illness or injury, I’m a carer for my mum who also can’t work, and I can’t see a nurse or get a doctors appointment”… so who are you voting for? “Oh Nigel and Reform!” Yes, good, vote for the party who want to solve immigration by sending people back, privatise the NHS and cut benefits - that absolutely sounds like a way of giving your story a happy ending.
People who vote for Reform don’t always seem to know what they’re actually voting for, and in many cases I don’t think they care. I think a lot of them deep down know EXACTLY what they are and society in the last few years with the rise of reform hasn’t just let the mask slip, it’s taken it off and thrown it away.
People say immigration needs sorting, we absolutely need immigration protocols and policies, we absolutely can’t let everyone in forever without question, simply because no party can. I’m sorry though, this weak excuse of it being a protest vote is to me, gonads. They have shown absolutely zero capability to govern, they won lots of seats and then had to watch as a myriad of wrong uns slowly quit because it turns out they were a bunch of wife beating racists. People talk about how it needs sorting because in the most part they have been told by a bunch of millionaires that immigrants are to blame for them being poor, struggling to see doctors, and afford housing or get jobs. Meanwhile water companies for instance pay themselves millions of pounds as bonuses.
There are so many issues that are against everyday working people, and they’ve been convinced the blame lay with immigrants only. I think the protest vote is mostly one where Reform thank you for your vote then sit at home counting their money laughing at you for buying it. People actively voting for a one policy party who will absolutely make their lives worse, but that’s ok, at least they’ll turn immigrants away. Personally if it happens, I just wonder who they blame next once the immigrants can’t be a target anymore, and lives haven’t improved.
who knows. 
), and resultant political polarisation.
