Reform MP: Do we need a mayor of London?
Reform MP talking about 'sound money principles' whilst also proclaiming that 'the country is bankrupt'.
Westminster Politics 2024-2029
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Reform MP talking about 'sound money principles' whilst also proclaiming that 'the country is bankrupt'.
Brought to you by the party that wants to bring back the Gold Standard.
fecking lunatics.
Anybody but the Green Party.
Another great contribution you bring to the thread. Thanks for your thorough post.
I’m starting to wonder if there’s any actual limit to how far right the British (ok, English and Welsh) electorate will go. It doesn’t seem to matter how many times voters get shafted by the right, with Brexit, Johnson’s omnishambles, the lettuce woman, and Reform making a mess of the councils they took over last year, people just seem to want more. Most countries will eventually swing back the other way, but I see no sign of that in the UK.
Yeah, especially after repeatedly voting in the Tories when everyone could see the escalating decline in front of them. Somehow everyone else got the blame but not the policies.
I think it's the story of the whole world now, elections won by parties who make the majority feel that they are under threat from the minorities. It's especially crazy in this country that reform are winning because the country is a mess which is something they created when they were in power under a different name.
Can't believe what im witnessing, the tories are awful but they are attempting least competent in their role as councillors but with reform you literally have Dave down the road who says it how it is, I've read up on some of the backgrounds of the now elections councillors and aside from them Hitler lovers, professionally and experiencewise they have no job being in such a important public role.
I've been saving like crazy for over a year now on top and investing it and fully expect to get out of this racist country one way or another by 2030 when i expect reform to take over and tear this country apart for their rich mates, what's the point of being in a country that has rubbish weather, depleting nature areas to enjoy, will likely have no nhs, no human rights, no employee rights and a hate filled and intolerant society with low living standards.
I've been saving like crazy for over a year now on top and investing it and fully expect to get out of this racist country one way or another by 2030 when i expect reform to take over and tear this country apart for their rich mates, what's the point of being in a country that has rubbish weather, depleting nature areas to enjoy, will likely have no nhs, no human rights, no employee rights and a hate filled and intolerant society with low living standards.
Well last year Reform at 41% of the vote this year its 33% (overnight figures). Based on these results and polls its clear Reform peaked last year, lets hope the downwards trend continues. A lot of the predictions had Reform winning well over 1600 seats and Labour losing 1500 plus, neither happened. Still terrible but still trying to find any bit of hope.
Anger mobilises people unfortunately and it’s steadily being driven across the western world. The system needs to be heavily regulated and bad faith actors punished, but it’s a fine line. Either way, it won’t happen.
Not to piss on that parade but this year's elections include the whole of London. It may be that Reform's vote is being maintained, but they are not making headway in London (which is what was expected).
Why isn’t that message being put out by the media? It’s all reform gains and farage boasting
Of course you don't realise the elctions were yesterday.The media have been boosting Farage all of the time, that’s the fecking issue. It’s a disgrace.
Last year was 30% Reform wasn't it?
Of course I do
Of course you’re here to defend them
Shame on everyone who voted for this thundercnut. He should be in prison for the things he said.
That’s upsetting.
It certainly seems like that. When Reform inevitably fecks up, they’ll vote in Restore.
Has the political environment in Britain shifted so extremely that the only issues that truly sway voters are stances on immigration and foreign policy?
Sorry misspoke saw it in the news on Sky. Got a link below. It’s not a % on total votes.
https://kellnerp.substack.com/p/yesterdays-elections-the-story-so
Maybe in England but from the looks of things there's going to be less wankerish parties in charge of Scotland, Northern Ireland and quite possibly Wales starting from today.
So you'd vote for Reform? If you had to choose between those two? Give me Green Party over the Tories or Labour any day.
Yep, we are at the mercy of our algorithms now. And our algorithms just drive conflict and division. That such issues come to the fore during council elections is just so dumb.
It’s politicians like Farage who cause division, social media makes out migration as the biggest danger, false news, social media unregulated and out of control and a Government who haven’t got the balls to fight back.
Most will say yes but I don't think it's only those issues. It's the general state of things getting worse and a distrust of traditional politics. People are done with the Tories, done with Starmer and they're feeling the cost of living crisis.
It'll be interesting to see the voting data but the majority don't want Reform so it's about getting those people to vote for an alternative.
This is the local issue polling from yougov and immigration isn't particularly high amongst general population. Potholes seem to be a key issue so maybe Labour can just directly fund and sort out potholes
https://yougov.com/en-gb/articles/5...-of-2026-local-mayoral-and-devolved-elections
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Got to wait until votes are done surely though, this morning Reform were on like 300, now they are over 500.
A few things to consider. 1) Not all councils are voting. 2) Areas that are voting (majority of London for instance have skewed Left.)
Hence, the 41% wasn't achievable for them in this election cycle. If they reached that number with the areas voting this time, the other parties may as well just give up.
Overall if you're looking at how this trends for a GE where the whole of the country votes, their vote is holding steady, if not having a slight uptick.
The biggest real takeaway for me from this cycle is that the Tories are toast. They've lost around 40% of their sitting councillors so far and that is as a opposition party. That tells us their base is crumbling after already losing floating voters. As for the Greens, it looks like they're going to struggle with the 2PTP system as for them to make more headway they're going to need to eat into Labour's base which is more difficult to do due to the historical relationship Labour has with the Unions.
I respectfully disagree. It might be true in some sense of maybe thats what some in Reform's inner circle want, or what some of their big donors want, but its not what the party as a whole wants or stands for, which includes its candidates and the membership. Its certainly not what most of the people who vote for it believe. The people who are voting Reform, and even members and candidates, do not share those beliefs. They dont have any consistent beliefs between them about pretty much anything other than immigration.
I have seen Farage's success coming. I think its been on the cards since pre-Brexit. I think a large % of the population are not happy with immigration levels and they feel strongly enough that they will vote for what is little more than a single issue party. My main belief, which I've been banging on about since the Brexit vote, is that the major parties (and media) have not dealt with the topic effectively.
Now, I get that what you actually mean is that I haven't seen the rise of an extreme white nationalist, extreme libertarian, fascist-style party that seeks to serve the interests of the wealthiest people in society. I get that you mean Reform actually stands for those things, regardless of whether or not its what Reform voters believe. But I'd argue that a political party is its members/core voter base and the shared ideas. There may be some senior figures in Reform who are white nationalist, libertarian, fascist extremists, but if that's the case then they are just using Reform as a vehicle, and they will switch vehicles when and if required or when the current vehicle no longer suits their needs. I dont think they will be able to transform Reform from what it currently is - a single issue anti-immigration party - into a party that is anything broader, because the membership would just split into different groups (like Rupert Low). The Conservative Party in contrast survives throughout decades/centuries despite different factions within it, because it fundamentally has a core ideology that remains present.
I think the only way to stop Reform in the near future is for the left (heck, even the center or Tories) to communicate better to the public about the single issue that is currently causing Reform to win votes. The current way it is approached (and has been for 10+ years) isn't working and will never work.
Long term, Reform will stop itself. It will exhaust it's current source of fuel and at some point it will no longer be relevant. It exists only in the here and now. It wont survive through the centuries like the Tories because its empty at its core. Long term I'm more worried about what will come after Reform, because it could be something even worse.
You're right, they only really care about getting one term in office. That's plenty long enough to sell off anything left of value to their backers.
It won't help those that have been tricked into voting for them, of course. But that was always going to be the case.
There's nothing to defend for them, as they haven't ruined the economy and services like the Tories did, haven't refused to do anything different like this iteration of Labour are doing and weren't the biggest influence to take 10s of percent off our GDP via Brexit unlike the leader of Reform.Of course I do
Of course you’re here to defend them
The mad thing is population decline is a bigger issue. By the end of the 2030s we'll be talking about what we need to do to stop the imminent decline.
I wonder how many reform voters even understand that the population will only grow another 2% then we're declining.
STOP THE COUNT
I was reflecting this morning. In my view, we are seeing a fundamental shift in the foundations of political battle lines.
Importantly, this isn’t a shift in what defines right and left wing politics. Not at all. But it’s how people see themselves in that context. Ultimately, the significant majority of voters vote with their pockets. Wealth and prosperity is, on average, always going to win votes. It’s always been that way and always will be that way.
What the right wing have seemingly managed to do is reshape how one perceives their wealth will increase, and therefore managed to turn their cultural message into one about wealth and prosperity.
Labour, historically seen as supporting the working class and increasing taxes to theoretically benefit the poorest, is no longer seen as the way the working class perceive they’ll gain wealth. Instead, they’re drawn by the perceived benefits of reduced immigration and politicians who waste time on D&I but instead focus on bringing back the “good old days”.
We get bogged down in the culture wars, and of course some voters vote on this basis, but such a vast number of people didn’t suddenly become racist or sexist or homophobic. Rather, they’ve been led to believe these problems are what’ll make their lives better.
It’s eye opening really. We spend all this time explaining why all these things like helping asylum seekers are good and the right thing to do - and they absolutely are. But that won’t win voters. It’s reminding them of why those things are good FOR THEM, which is what left wing / mainstream parties have failed at.
Importantly, this isn’t a shift in what defines right and left wing politics. Not at all. But it’s how people see themselves in that context. Ultimately, the significant majority of voters vote with their pockets. Wealth and prosperity is, on average, always going to win votes. It’s always been that way and always will be that way.
What the right wing have seemingly managed to do is reshape how one perceives their wealth will increase, and therefore managed to turn their cultural message into one about wealth and prosperity.
Labour, historically seen as supporting the working class and increasing taxes to theoretically benefit the poorest, is no longer seen as the way the working class perceive they’ll gain wealth. Instead, they’re drawn by the perceived benefits of reduced immigration and politicians who waste time on D&I but instead focus on bringing back the “good old days”.
We get bogged down in the culture wars, and of course some voters vote on this basis, but such a vast number of people didn’t suddenly become racist or sexist or homophobic. Rather, they’ve been led to believe these problems are what’ll make their lives better.
It’s eye opening really. We spend all this time explaining why all these things like helping asylum seekers are good and the right thing to do - and they absolutely are. But that won’t win voters. It’s reminding them of why those things are good FOR THEM, which is what left wing / mainstream parties have failed at.
I'm in Sheffield right now. Looking at the results as they come in, we're just over halfway through the count and not a single Labour seat so far.
Current count is;
Greens 10
Reform 9
Lib Dem 4
Labour 0
Current count is;
Greens 10
Reform 9
Lib Dem 4
Labour 0
Reform have made big gains at Labour's expense in Merseyside, and Labour are losing (literally) left, right and centre in Brum.
Reform now in charge of Suffolk County Council. Fml
Not to defend Reform at all, but from working for a council previously, it's not like the standard of person you'd get running to be councillor was exactly high before.
It was generally always Dave up the road types who would then not turn up to meetings, not understand basic principles of the committees they attend, and generally only be interested in claiming their expenses outside of trying to use their position to bully council workers into unwarranted action because their mate doesn't get on with their neighbour, etc.
Their was a noticeably big increase in idiocy when UKIP had their little surge, but if it's anything like that they all fall out with each other within 6 months anyway and end up needing to be removed.
I’ve worked in local government for over 20 years. With every cohort you get a small decent amount of Councillors from the ruling group who can form the Cabinet or main Comittee. The rest are a mixed bunch. Where Reform is concerned going by the current Councils they run, you are not even getting a small group of people elected who can run the Council efficiently, you are getting morons throughout and it is the Council services and the idiots who voted for this that will suffer.
SNP up to 11 seats, with Lib Dem on 1.
Hopefully the Greens get a couple of seats as well and Reform don't get nearly as many as they hoped for.
Hopefully the Greens get a couple of seats as well and Reform don't get nearly as many as they hoped for.
Really hope we vote reform into oblivion. Pretty solid start too, they’ve just lost in their main target for a gain in a constituency.
Newcastle upon Tyne Council
33 of 78 wards announced so far.
Labour are on zero councillors.
Brutal.
33 of 78 wards announced so far.
Labour are on zero councillors.
Brutal.