Reform UK discussion

[SuspectUsual]

Ask the penguins of Heard Island to invade Pitcairn Island so that we can rouse the nation by sending HMS Tesco and ten members of the Royal Armoured Sanitary Corps to liberate the island?

The penguins are still reeling from the impact of Trump's tariffs so any talk of invasion is sadly misplaced

 

[Andover]

I guess one crumb of comfort is that in 1980 and 1981 Thatcher and the Tories were massively unpopular. By 1983 they won the election with a large majority (not a good thing IMO, but I'm using it to make a point). This does suggest that just because a party is massively unpopular early in its term, it may still win. Events might (hopefully) conspire to support the established parties and hurt Reform.

Even leaving penguins aside, a foreign policy crisis which the government is able to exploit - opportunistically or not, depending on your point of view - arising doesn't seem like a unlikely scenario for this. Could be Trump as with Canada recently, could be Eastern Europe, could be something else.

 

[brad465]

I wouldn't call six-member D'Hondt full PR by any means, though it should be a fair bit better (from that point of view) than the previous setup, which consistently delivered Welsh Labour near-majorities on vote percentages somewhere in the 30s - rather less, in fact, than the winning party at many Westminster elections.

As of right now, Reform look likely to do quite well from the new system (not my link).

View attachment 181084

Looking at that projection, just shy of one third of seats isn't enough for them; even if the Tories did agree to be part of an alliance, or a junior coalition partner, they won't have a majority, and there is no way Labour or Plaid will work with them (likewise Reform UK won't want to work with them either). While projections will change in the next 11 months, if that projection materialised, it's far more likely Plaid would govern with Labour as a junior partner.

Ironically Reform UK would probably like to be opposition, as they can claim victim status from being left out of government, despite having the most seats, while they could also claim to have all the answers without having to put them to the test. These in turn could increase their vote share in a future election.

 

[vikingsmb]

This is the same country that shot itself in the foot by voting for Brexit, and have voted for the same people yet again (Reform is of course the continuation of the Brexit Party). It’s also a country that is heavily influenced by tabloid media, and their dog-whistle rhetoric on hating minorities and anything they consider ‘woke’. So, it’s unlikely they will wake up.

Voting for brexit was a choice alot of us made, myself included. And before you start by calling me thick and uneducated. I'am educated and certainly not thick. I made my own choice as I looked at both sides.

 

[GusB]

I can see reform making big inroads here in wales, bear in mind we have had labour since 1999 ish, and the country is worse for it. to be fair it wasn't too bad till 2015 ish, but soon as covid hit. it has got worse with very strict lockdowns (we were stopped from buying stuff in shops as he thought it was non essential but he has no right to dictate) , obsession with climate change, and massive war on motorists. plus other things as well.

Obsession with climate change, war on motorists, lockdown... Three boxes ticked so far. *yawn*

Lockdown was a few years ago and, while I'll happily admit that it wasn't the best of times, we've since moved on.

Plaid are just obsessed with independence which will not happen.

If independence won't happen, why are you getting so upset about it.

The tourist tax is plaid as they don't want people in their little villages and anti english sentiment in certain parts of wales (namely mid and north west wales)

"Anti-English"? Another box ticked on the Reform Bingo Card.

Tourism is definitely a good thing but it puts additional pressure on already cash-strapped local authorities that struggle to provide services for their residents. A quid or two over and above the cost of a hotel room isn't really going to break the bank, is it?

Voting for brexit was a choice alot of us made, myself included. And before you start by calling me thick and uneducated. I'am educated and certainly not thick. I made my own choice as I looked at both sides.

No comment!

 

[The Ham]

I can see reform making big inroads here in wales, bear in mind we have had labour since 1999 ish, and the country is worse for it. to be fair it wasn't too bad till 2015 ish

Reform is likely to attract people to vote for them, however by my maths of the last 26 years 15 if then weren't too bad, it's only the last 10 which have been when things appear to have got worse.

Personally I think that's the same wherever you live and it's potentially more to do with austerity set by the national government than what had been set by regional or local governments (although they often get the blame for having to cut services due to their budgets being cut).

, but soon as covid hit. it has got worse with very strict lockdowns (we were stopped from buying stuff in shops as he thought it was non essential but he has no right to dictate)

A fair point, but then there were criticisms of the UK government being too lax (easy out to help out), it wasn't an easy call to make either way.

, obsession with climate change,

Can I ask you a question, would you rather that we did nothing and then find out that it was a problem too late or do something and find out that it wasn't a thing?

Bearing in mind that a lot of the changes have secondary benefits. For example when we no longer gave ICE cars air quality in towns and cities will have improved, when we are less reliant on gas we no longer have to bankroll countries who may not align with our ideals (for example Russia), and that by having solar panels individuals don't have to buy as much of the electricity that they use.

and massive war on motorists.

Hardly, and anyway anyone who likes driving should actually want as few other people as possible driving.

As if car use fell by 10% the roads would be far less congested (typically like the scum holidays but in term time)

plus other things as well. Plaid are just obsessed with independence which will not happen.

The thing with political parties is there's always going to be some areas where people disagree with them - Plaid are at least up front about their main reason for existing.

The tourist tax is plaid as they don't want people in their little villages and anti english sentiment in certain parts of wales (namely mid and north west wales)

Would you rather:
1) tourists paid a few pounds each night they stayed somewhere
2) there were more cuts to services
3) you paid extra taxes
4) another valid option, however the above the are likely the main ones

I have voted conservative myself previously but willing to give reform a chance. Reform are uniting both labour and conservative voters. I work up the valleys and alot of my work mates who were staunch labour supporters are now voting reform. Wales needs change.

If you look at the English local election results as a whole the losses by the Tories broadly equals the gains by Reform, whilst the gains by other parties (Greens and Lib Dems) broadly equals the losses from Labour and independent councillors.

Whilst that's not denying that were certainly shifts from Labour to Reform and from Conservatives to Lib Dems, the overall picture isn't necessarily one of a massive swing from left to right. It appears to be a shift within the normal voting patterns.

Greens and Lib Dems did well because the Tories have shifted further to the right than they were and have left some of their voters behind in trying to chase Reform voters.

Reform did well because:
- people are still upset with the Tories for the last 14 years they were in power
- the previous time these seats came up was during the "vaccine bounce" where the fact the UK got a lot of vaccine early helped the Tories
- the amount of focus the press are giving them and issues they are interested in is perhaps higher than it should be*

*For example the Lib Dems got more than 50% of the number of seats as Reform, however if you do a Google news search for the party names counting the number of news stories:
12 for the Lib Dems in the last 7 days across 4 search pages (10 results per page, so the likelihood of finding more was starting to reduce significantly)
24 for Reform in the last 2 days across 3 search pages
45 for Reform in the last 7 days across 10 search pages (if I kept going I'd have found more but that's enough to prove my point)

It'll be interesting to see just how much change Reform can bring about in the councils they control (I suspect not a lot), whilst they will likely blame the national government (which may gain them some votes) that's going to be an issue and the bottom line is they would only be able to improve things with more money - given they want to cut taxes in not sure how that's going to work out.

Likewise without maintaining a reasonable working population size, I'm not sure how they plan to fund the fact we have an aging population with the percentage of total population being those over 65 continuing to rise (which typically means a greater amount of the tax take being needed for pensions, health, social care, etc.).

There's 4 options:
- Increase taxes
- have immigration
- Cut pensions
- Grow the economy

Given they definitely want to cut the first two, that leaves the last two needing to do even more than if the first two were left as they are.

They want people to have more children, however they won't help for at least 20 years, if that was the plan that needed to happen under Gordon Brown if not earlier. Not when the number of children is already falling in primary schools (up until now it was slightly hidden by the fact that the number of children was rising, just much, much slower than the increase in the population).

When you look at two factors on the e need for more housing one accounts for 60% whilst the other accounts for 40%. One is the total population increase and one is the size of households.

Given the tone of the rest of this post, you may be unsurprised to read that faking household sizes since 1980 is the 60% factor (even if there perception of many is that it "should" be due to increased population size).

A lot of the falls in household size is liked to the fact that not many people over 65 have families living at home and given that those over 65 now make up a larger percentage of the total population then that's a factor.

To put this in perspective in 1981 the census data says that the number of the population over 65 was 8.3 million that's now risen to 12.7 million (plus 53%, which compares with the total population increasing by 22% in the same timeframe).

Of course many voters (and not just Reform voters) won't look at the bigger picture when it comes to things like immigration (even if their thought process is more nuanced than I like people like me and I don't like people not like me) and even if they were to see information like the above will ignore it because it doesn't fit their worldview.

 

[nw1]

Voting for brexit was a choice alot of us made, myself included. And before you start by calling me thick and uneducated. I'am educated and certainly not thick. I made my own choice as I looked at both sides.

Nobody called you thick or uneducated, your words only!

 

[SuspectUsual]

Another thought and something that worries me. Today’s 14 to 17 year olds will (have the opportunity to) vote in the next election. Where do they get their “news” and information? Often from different places to us. Twitter is a thing of the past for them, it’s TikTok etc now. Who engages best on there? I fear it’s Farage and Reform

 

[nw1]

Another thought and something that worries me. Today’s 14 to 17 year olds will (have the opportunity to) vote in the next election. Where do they get their “news” and information? Often from different places to us. Twitter is a thing of the past for them, it’s TikTok etc now. Who engages best on there? I fear it’s Farage and Reform

I wonder about the politics of younger people, right up to around 30.

A few years ago the narrative was that younger voters were relatively left-wing compared to the rest of us... they didn't support Brexit, they didn't vote Tory in 2019, and their biggest concerns included climate change and preserving the rights of minorities.
This seemed to be the case as recently as two years ago, indeed the country as a whole seemed to be moving leftwards in 2023, perhaps as a reaction to Truss.

However the narrative appears to have changed in just the last 12 months or so. The pivotal moment seemed to be the performance of the far-right in the EU elections a year ago, then the relatively good performance of Reform in our own election and later, the Trump win in the USA. The western world seems to have shifted markedly rightwards since around mid-2024 for whatever reason, and the narrative has been that part of this shift has come from younger voters. In the past year, the narrative has suggested that young people under around 30 have moved markedly rightwards in the past year or so due, seemingly, to online right-wing influencers.

I'm wondering however what the stats actually say? Have younger voters shifted markedly rightwards of late or has that right-wing element always been present? Are younger voters still significantly to the left of, and more liberal than, the general population of the UK? I don't actually know the answer but I do know some young people and their attitudes, in general, seem to be liberal.

One thing's for sure, Farage definitely doesn't have the typical image of your average teen idol.

 

[styles]

Just been looking at the Scottish parliament elections opinion polling for next year. There's a running list on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_Scottish_Parliament_election

It very much looks as though, while SNP/Conservatives are down since last election in 2021, Labour have had the most significant peak-to-trough drop, especially over the past year.

Going to be very interesting watching this one unfold given it's only 11 months away. I feel that's not quite long enough for Reform to be shown up as incompetent, so they may fare very well..

 

[nw1]

Just been looking at the Scottish parliament elections opinion polling for next year. There's a running list on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_Scottish_Parliament_election

It very much looks as though, while SNP/Conservatives are down since last election in 2021, Labour have had the most significant peak-to-trough drop, especially over the past year.

Going to be very interesting watching this one unfold given it's only 11 months away. I feel that's not quite long enough for Reform to be shown up as incompetent, so they may fare very well..

On the other hand I would expect Scotland to have little time for Reform. Reform are very much a little-Englander party, and Scotland presumably wants to be seen as more independent and do its own thing, even if they don't go for full independence. Reform are militantly pro-Brexit and anti-immigrant, while Scotland as a whole does not appear to subscribe to these ideologies.

The opinion polls seem to indicate the likely outcome is a clear SNP win.

 

[styles]

On the other hand I would expect Scotland to have little time for Reform. Reform are very much a little-Englander party, and Scotland presumably wants to be seen as more independent and do its own thing, even if they don't go for full independence. Reform are militantly pro-Brexit and anti-immigrant, while Scotland as a whole does not appear to subscribe to these ideologies.

The opinion polls seem to indicate the likely outcome is a clear SNP win.

On the contrary. I worked at a polling station for the general election and a by-election in Fife, and a sizeable number of people came in asking how to vote for Farage (they couldn't, as there wasn't a Reform candidate in the by election).

I think it's this complacency which gets Trump and Reform and Brexit elected in all honesty.

 

[JamesT]

On the other hand I would expect Scotland to have little time for Reform. Reform are very much a little-Englander party, and Scotland presumably wants to be seen as more independent and do its own thing, even if they don't go for full independence. Reform are militantly pro-Brexit and anti-immigrant, while Scotland as a whole does not appear to subscribe to these ideologies.

The opinion polls seem to indicate the likely outcome is a clear SNP win.

You do like to paint with a broad brush. There is a much wider variety of opinions than this post suggests. For example 38% of Scots voted for Brexit, not that you’d know from the SNP’s narrative about Scotland being dragged out.

Reform appeal to those fed up with the establishment parties, that’s no different in Scotland. The SNP have been in government for a very long time which encourages people to look for a change. There’s a by-election in Hamilton on Thursday, even if Reform don’t take the seat (they’re second favourite with the bookies), it may be illuminating to see how much of the vote they get.

 

[AlterEgo]

On the other hand I would expect Scotland to have little time for Reform. Reform are very much a little-Englander party, and Scotland presumably wants to be seen as more independent and do its own thing, even if they don't go for full independence. Reform are militantly pro-Brexit and anti-immigrant, while Scotland as a whole does not appear to subscribe to these ideologies.

Scotland is very racially homogeneous compared to England; only about 7% of Scotland is not white. Scotland is not necessarily pro-immigrant, especially if those immigrants are not white.

About a third of people from ethnic minorities in Scotland have experienced racist harassment or discrimination; that is exactly the same amount as in England.

It’s a myth that Scotland is less racist or xenophobic than England.

Reform is also not a little Englander party, it is a reactionary party which captures mostly mediocre voters with insecurities which have been exacerbated by the current economic situation. That’s why you find people who vote Reform telling you simultaneously that they aren’t stupid or uneducated.

 

[Purple Train]

I wonder about the politics of younger people, right up to around 30.

A few years ago the narrative was that younger voters were relatively left-wing compared to the rest of us... they didn't support Brexit, they didn't vote Tory in 2019, and their biggest concerns included climate change and preserving the rights of minorities.
This seemed to be the case as recently as two years ago, indeed the country as a whole seemed to be moving leftwards in 2023, perhaps as a reaction to Truss.

However the narrative appears to have changed in just the last 12 months or so. The pivotal moment seemed to be the performance of the far-right in the EU elections a year ago, then the relatively good performance of Reform in our own election and later, the Trump win in the USA. The western world seems to have shifted markedly rightwards since around mid-2024 for whatever reason, and the narrative has been that part of this shift has come from younger voters. In the past year, the narrative has suggested that young people under around 30 have moved markedly rightwards in the past year or so due, seemingly, to online right-wing influencers.

I'm wondering however what the stats actually say? Have younger voters shifted markedly rightwards of late or has that right-wing element always been present? Are younger voters still significantly to the left of, and more liberal than, the general population of the UK? I don't actually know the answer but I do know some young people and their attitudes, in general, seem to be liberal.

One thing's for sure, Farage definitely doesn't have the typical image of your average teen idol.

I think it's more that the idea of "young people" as a whole having a set voting pattern is a myth. There's a huge class divide but also quite a marked geographical one - so Reform will pile up young votes in "forgotten" areas of the country to coin a phrase, but will find them harder to come by in the commuter belt, irrespective of class. (London may be an outlier because of the storm of anti-Khan dog-whistling unleashed in the last Mayoral election - I have heard him referred to as "our tyrannical Mayor" on multiple occasions and my tongue has never been bitten so hard...)

 

[nw1]

Reform is also not a little Englander party, it is a reactionary party which captures mostly mediocre voters with insecurities which have been exacerbated by the current economic situation. That’s why you find people who vote Reform telling you simultaneously that they aren’t stupid or uneducated.

They might not be "stupid" or "uneducated", but they're certainly naive or even ignorant if they think Reform will help their lot.

I've yet to see anything positive which will come from a Reform government. If anything, the possible economic consequences worry me as much as the possible restrictions on civil rights.
Essentially, I'm thinking UK Trump - but without the influence the USA has, we will probably suffer more than America will under Trump.

Reform appeal to those fed up with the establishment parties, that’s no different in Scotland. The SNP have been in government for a very long time which encourages people to look for a change. There’s a by-election in Hamilton on Thursday, even if Reform don’t take the seat (they’re second favourite with the bookies), it may be illuminating to see how much of the vote they get.

Again, I don't understand why people think Reform will improve their lot.

People might not like Labour or the Conservatives or the SNP, but at least they are what you might call mature, grown-up parties, not reactionaries with policies that (to my mind) will not produce anything more than trouble for this country on multiple levels.

I think it's more that the idea of "young people" as a whole having a set voting pattern is a myth. There's a huge class divide but also quite a marked geographical one - so Reform will pile up young votes in "forgotten" areas of the country to coin a phrase, but will find them harder to come by in the commuter belt, irrespective of class. (London may be an outlier because of the storm of anti-Khan dog-whistling unleashed in the last Mayoral election - I have heard him referred to as "our tyrannical Mayor" on multiple occasions and my tongue has never been bitten so hard...)

I agree that you won't get 100% of young people voting a certain way, but it's undeniable that, in recent times, the younger generation trends a certain way compared to adults as a whole, and I was wondering whether that was still true.

2019 is a very good example. Look at https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/26925-how-britain-voted-2019-general-election for example. Labour far ahead of the Conservatives across the under-30s (56 vs 21 for under-25s; 54 vs 23 for 25-29 year olds). That is starkly and dramatically different to the overall result.

Having said that, though, young people were, surprisingly, less Labour-trending in 1992 which surprised me: https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/how-britain-voted-1992
Labour only just ahead of the Tories amongst 18-24 year olds, at 38% vs 35%, and the Tories actually ahead for 25-34 year olds. And I thought those of us who were young in 1992 (including myself) were left-wing!

You do like to paint with a broad brush. There is a much wider variety of opinions than this post suggests. For example 38% of Scots voted for Brexit, not that you’d know from the SNP’s narrative about Scotland being dragged out.

Maybe but I was talking in generalisations, and generalisations can be valid for making suggestions that one party will not do well in a particular area. For example do you expect any right-wing party to take any of the Brighton and Hove constituencies any time soon? I suspect not, but there is undeniably a significant right-leaning population in the conurbation - just not enough to win.

 

[brad465]

Again, I don't understand why people think Reform will improve their lot.

People might not like Labour or the Conservatives or the SNP, but at least they are what you might call mature, grown-up parties, not reactionaries with policies that (to my mind) will not produce anything more than trouble for this country on multiple levels.

The ultimate issue is that by and large we are lazy when it comes to making what's necessary happen. A critical mass of the population just sit around and hope a party with the answers turns up, then when they inevitably don't deliver, go back to apathetic moaning and hoping something else turns up, rinse and repeat.

The answer is to go above the lazy approach and be part of the solution: grassroots campaign for the specific policies/reforms that lead to the solving of our problems. This is why I do grassroots campaign support for PR, as I believe this is the facilitator for several other meaningful solutions for the rest of our problems.

 

[Sorcerer]

I'm wondering however what the stats actually say? Have younger voters shifted markedly rightwards of late or has that right-wing element always been present? Are younger voters still significantly to the left of, and more liberal than, the general population of the UK? I don't actually know the answer but I do know some young people and their attitudes, in general, seem to be liberal.

Gen Z hasn't grown up in the same world as early Millennials and have now seen that working hard, getting good grades and saving isn't the key to success. They have seen growing inflation, stagnant wages, and lived through austerity, Brexit and lockdowns. The political system has offered little stability and opportunity for proper social mobility, and thus far Labour seem to be falling short of offering proper meaningful change and economic growth that can actually be felt in people's pockets. So naturally populism, be in it's left or right-leaning form will be a natural draw for youngsters. I'm not drawn to it much but I have had times where I believe that the UK is not worth my long-term future.

It's worth remembering that lots of Reform voters are merely protest votes simply because people are tired of the two-party system, and Labour's landslide was simply a product of first-past-the-post voting. Yet despite this lack of major opposition Starmer has still made unpopular decisions such as means-testing winter fuel payments and cutting back on benefits payments instead of more radical ones such as land taxes which can help solve the housing crisis, and with legalisation of cannabis to provide a new windfall of tax revenue for further investments. Labour and Conservatives seem to think you can somehow cut your way to prosperity despite history demonstrably showing otherwise.

 

[AlterEgo]

They might not be "stupid" or "uneducated", but they're certainly naive or even ignorant if they think Reform will help their lot.

You misunderstand; Reform voters lead with this because Reform is an anti-intellectual party. Those voters are often in more precarious economic circumstances as a result of economic downturn and austerity, they feel insecure about their own ability to change their position because they are often less educated and feel overwhelmed by the complexity of the world in 2025.

Reform likes to pretend solutions are simple and that society should be simpler, by being less accepting of difference and unconsciously says that its voters should not try to understand the world, as their voters tend to occupy the demographic majority.

 

[Harpo]

I've yet to see anything positive which will come from a Reform government. If anything, the possible economic consequences worry me as much as the possible restrictions on civil rights.

Farage is proposing continuing and extending the right wing’s decades of free money. From the 80s, free money came from selling off the family silver and ‘the party of low taxation’ had to eventually implement austerity measures to sustain it, giving us our struggling services today.

Truss tried to go a step further with borrowed money and crashed the economy. Farage will need billions to fund the giveaways he promised this week and, given his preference for private health insurance, the NHS had better watch out.

 

[nw1]

Truss tried to go a step further with borrowed money and crashed the economy. Farage will need billions to fund the giveaways he promised this week and, given his preference for private health insurance, the NHS had better watch out.

I suspect attempting to defund or wind down the NHS is the one thing that might kill Reform's electoral chances.

 

[317 forever]

No, "the public" wouldn't have any real right to be outraged. If the Lib Dems didn't agree with the Conservative Party they would have had every right to refuse to join the coalition.

In that case a Tory minority government would have been the fairest outcome.

"The public" are not all some homogeneous block.

In New Zealand in 2017, the smaller parties backed the 2nd largest party, led to Jacinta Adhern to run the government.

People were so impressed by her performance then that she won a majority at the following General Election, in 2020.

Admittedly, if for example Reform come 1st and Labour come 2nd but retain office with the blessing of the LibDems, SNP, Plaid Cymru, Greens and maybe some Northern Irish MPs, but the Tories stay out of the fray, this could create outrage in the eyes of the Daily Mail and Sun.

I think it's more that the idea of "young people" as a whole having a set voting pattern is a myth. There's a huge class divide but also quite a marked geographical one - so Reform will pile up young votes in "forgotten" areas of the country to coin a phrase, but will find them harder to come by in the commuter belt, irrespective of class. (London may be an outlier because of the storm of anti-Khan dog-whistling unleashed in the last Mayoral election - I have heard him referred to as "our tyrannical Mayor" on multiple occasions and my tongue has never been bitten so hard...)

It was similar with the Brexit vote. It was mainly country areas and towns that voted Leave. All the large cities apart from Birmingham and Sheffield voted Remain. The next largest Leave votes were IIRC from Nottingham and Swansea.

 

[vikingsmb]

You misunderstand; Reform voters lead with this because Reform is an anti-intellectual party. Those voters are often in more precarious economic circumstances as a result of economic downturn and austerity, they feel insecure about their own ability to change their position because they are often less educated and feel overwhelmed by the complexity of the world in 2025.

Reform likes to pretend solutions are simple and that society should be simpler, by being less accepting of difference and unconsciously says that its voters should not try to understand the world, as their voters tend to occupy the demographic majority.

I think you should rephrase your comment. Calling us who vote reform less educated is a slur. I for one take offence to that.

 

[AlterEgo]

I think you should rephrase your comment. Calling us who vote reform less educated is a slur. I for one take offence to that.

In the aggregate it’s correct as the polling shows; it appeals to people with lower levels of completed education who will feel more vulnerable to the changes happening in society. It does not mean every single person who votes for them is uneducated.

 

[Purple Train]

I think you should rephrase your comment. Calling us who vote reform less educated is a slur. I for one take offence to that.

I think tarring all Reform voters with the same brush is unwise. However, the average Reform voter is much less likely to be a university graduate than voters of different persuasions, and are in general far more likely to come from areas with poorer educational facilities. That is not to say that all Reform voters are stupid - I know a Reform councillor and he is certainly not a stupid man, much as I disagree with him on many levels! On the other hand, quite a few Reform supporters that I've spoken to do display a certain philistinism, which I'm not going to argue is typical either, as you get it to an extent with supporters of all parties.

Brexit was built on that Romantic base - "people in this country have had enough of experts" - so it's not unreasonable to speculate that there may be a similar undercurrent in support for Reform. But that's not to say that all Reform voters are stupid/uneducated.

 

[alex397]

Voting for brexit was a choice alot of us made, myself included. And before you start by calling me thick and uneducated. I'am educated and certainly not thick. I made my own choice as I looked at both sides.

It would be interesting to know if you think there are any positives whatsoever about Brexit.

 

[nw1]

It would be interesting to know if you think there are any positives whatsoever about Brexit.

I guess it's best to move to the Brexit thread before going down that rabbit hole!

 

[alex397]

I guess it's best to move to the Brexit thread before going down that rabbit hole!

Maybe so, though I’d unlikely get a coherent reply.

 

[nw1]

Maybe so, though I’d unlikely get a coherent reply.

I find Brexit discussions always get nowhere because many antis and pros have entrenched beliefs, including myself (as an anti-Brexiter) I will freely admit. But probably worth trying on that thread.

 

[telstarbox]

Picking up on a couple of the claims above:

Labour won the most votes of the age 18-24 group (and everyone else up to the age of 59), although men in this group were more likely to vote Reform and women more likely to vote Green;

Reform gained a higher proportion of votes in the 'low education' group (defined as GCSE but no higher)

Source - Yougov https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/49978-how-britain-voted-in-the-2024-general-election