What is it that attracts racists, Islamaphobes, homophobes and general bigots to Nigel Farage?

Nicenanny3

5,000 supporters at Birmingham rally for Reform Party

5 000 people, who (potentially) all hate anyone with a different accent or coloured skin, 5,000 people who genuinely believe Farage gives a monkeys toss, 5,000 taken in by a complete fiscal nightmare!

I live in the constituency next to where Regorm Candidate Lillie (who didn’t bother turning up to the recent hustings nor has been seen in person canvassing). He was “expelled” from Reform a couple of days ago, along with two others in other parts of the country, for his awful racist comments. He, and his ilk, have brought out the very worst in some of the electorate. The comments about immigrants on our local neighbourhood site are utterly appalling and shocking and their “excuse”? “We are only saying what everyone else is thing”

No, they most certainly are not!

Those GNs on here who are still steadfastly supporting Farage, please just tell me why? Not direct me to a video or a link, just a couple of well constructed sentences as to why you support Reform UK? (Aka the Brexit party aka UKIP)

What attracts you to people like Ann Widecombe?

Oreo

MayBee70

Yet again I don’t understand why so many second generation immigrants are so opposed to immigration. .And seem to get involved politically to achieve it.

That will be cos they didn’t come here on a dinghy.There are plenty of immigrants happily settled here who came through legal immigration, second and third generation who are British citizens along with all the rights that entails.They see the same problems as anyone else does and worry about the same things.

But if they didn’t come here on a dinghy they must have either been economic migrants or were immigrants that had a safe route. Which many of the current ones don’t have.

Primrose53

MayBee70

Yet again I don’t understand why so many second generation immigrants are so opposed to immigration. .And seem to get involved politically to achieve it.

Mainly because times were very different then. There were plenty of jobs, council housing lists were much, much shorter, schools were not over subscribed etc.

Second generation immigrants have seen and heard their families talking about how hard they worked to make a living in a new country, often coming with one suitcase and about £20. They have the sense to see that times are now very different and there is just not enough of everything to go round.

There is more than enough to go around. People who own multiple homes could open them up to newcomers. Interesting an innovative schemes could be launched. People could be quickly and efficiently assesed and moved on.

Or you could hang on to your wealth and save your hatred for brown people.

Go figure.

Chocolatelovinggran

Nicenanny, Britain has always been Great. The name is, I understand, to differentiate it from Brittany.
No political party can, or ever has, made us less/ more "Great" .There is no need for GB to be made " Great again".

Yes, it's a geographical term.

I had an older friend who used to thump the table and declare "Make Britain Great again"! during the referendum campaign.

Yes I expect they were economic migrants that our government allowed to come here or encouraged them to come here, either with visas or offering some other deal.Your question was why should they not want uncontrolled immigration which I’ve answered already.

oreo what is it about Labour that attracts your vote?

I’m afraid that they’re a plenty here still.

We do need a workable policy though for immigration which includes allowing a safe legal route asylum seekers, a quick efficient turn around in processing claims, stronger and more effective border control (it’s not just humans who are trafficked), a “points” system for economic migrants, not based on salary but on professional! Better, more open sponsorship within these professions.

A sensible building and infrastructure approach to replacing social housing stock, along with affordable homes to purchase, with all the roads and schools, services, shops and GPs.

My Mother came from Czechoslovakia, she and her Jewish Mother just managed to escape from the Nazis. I remember her telling me what life was like under the Nazi regime, neighbours turning against neighbours , every man for himself etc. It seems to me that this is what some of the folk in Reform are aiming for.

Whitewavemark2

oreo what is it about Labour that attracts your vote?

Why so aggressive?
I’ve already answered this question from you when I sure didn’t have to.

My vote goes to Cossy

Oreo

Whitewavemark2

oreo what is it about Labour that attracts your vote?

Why so aggressive?
I’ve already answered this question from you when I sure didn’t have to.

Can you direct me to your answer please I don’t remember seeing it.

What was aggressive about my question?

Cossy

I’m afraid that they’re a plenty here still.

We do need a workable policy though for immigration which includes allowing a safe legal route asylum seekers, a quick efficient turn around in processing claims, stronger and more effective border control (it’s not just humans who are trafficked), a “points” system for economic migrants, not based on salary but on professional! Better, more open sponsorship within these professions.

A sensible building and infrastructure approach to replacing social housing stock, along with affordable homes to purchase, with all the roads and schools, services, shops and GPs.

I agree with most of that list, the main one being much faster processing claims, am hoping that this next year will see that happen.If other countries can do it then so can we.

Cossy

I’m afraid that they’re a plenty here still.

We do need a workable policy though for immigration which includes allowing a safe legal route asylum seekers, a quick efficient turn around in processing claims, stronger and more effective border control (it’s not just humans who are trafficked), a “points” system for economic migrants, not based on salary but on professional! Better, more open sponsorship within these professions.

A sensible building and infrastructure approach to replacing social housing stock, along with affordable homes to purchase, with all the roads and schools, services, shops and GPs.

Yes

garnet25

My Mother came from Czechoslovakia, she and her Jewish Mother just managed to escape from the Nazis. I remember her telling me what life was like under the Nazi regime, neighbours turning against neighbours , every man for himself etc. It seems to me that this is what some of the folk in Reform are aiming for.

I’m afraid I agree! Not on the same scale but my husband was moved here at 4 with his family, from Southern Ireland, early sixties, notices in the B&B’s and some other establishments?

“No Dogs”
“No Blacks”
“No Irish”

He chose never to be a British citizen despite working his entire life here, paying his taxes here and raising his children here.

Whitewavemark2

Oreo

Whitewavemark2

oreo what is it about Labour that attracts your vote?

Why so aggressive?
I’ve already answered this question from you when I sure didn’t have to.

Can you direct me to your answer please I don’t remember seeing it.

What was aggressive about my question?

It was aggressive to ask twice when I had already answered, almost straight away on the page before this one.
Unless you had already forgotten that question had been asked just ten minutes ago?

I'm sick of the same old Labour and Conservative show and the undemocratic electoral system that gives parties with well under half the vote landslide victories where they act like they're invincible. I might vote Lib Dem purely to give someone else a chance as I had considered Reform until Farage's stupid comments about Ukraine and the revelations about some of his activists.

I understand, to some extent anyway, the lure of a political platform like Reform.

People - from all walks of life - feel disenfranchised and disillusioned with the 2-party state - disenfranchised in the sense that their voice(s) are not listened to whilst the (supposed) Left and Right are slugging it out with each other.

And there is a 'narrative' I think, on both Left and Right, which means that anyone who strays outside it and asks questions or gives opinions that are not part of the perspective of that particular party, often gets short-shrift.

I've stuck my toe in the water and would like to go in a bit deeper, but even I'm nervous about going off-piste, politically.

I do though - with friends and acquaintances, because they know me and are less likely to misconstrue what I say, even if what I say surprises them. And vice versa.

But on GN, and just about any other SM site, we just look at the words, take them at face value, or process them through our own political / ideological mental machinery and spit them out if they don't fit or sit-well within it. And then castigate the poster.

And when you also take into account that we all have different ways of expressing ourselves which, on 'paper' doesn't always work as well as it might work in physical company, it's easy to understand why insults are hurled.

Basically, what I'm suggesting is that Reform appears to give a voice to those who believe they are not being listened to, and that's quite a lot of people whose views don't slot neatly into the confined ideology of Right or Left. Then exasperation sets in and insults fly around, from all political directions.

The crux of the matter is, as far as I see it anyway, that even those who we might think are not 'politically correct' cannot be ignored and / or insulted ad nauseum - because they are expressing their reality, their experience, which we might have no notion about because it doesn't align with our experience.

So up pops Reform, just at the right juncture. Giving those who believe they are the silent majority (which is definitely a debatable matter), the voice they feel they've been denied.

... I still don't approve of the misogynistic elements Reform seems to attract though...

Brilliant post Dickens.

I think that’s a well thoughtful post Dickens. If voters feel that nobody is listening from the main parties they will look at what else is on offer.

Another Reform Candidate has pulled out - and left the Reform Party

"Liam Booth-Isherwood, the Reform UK candidate for Erewash, said there is a “significant moral issue” in parts of the party following what he called “reports of widespread racism and sexism”.
He added the failure of the party’s leadership to address the issue means he no longer wants to be associated with it.

"In a statement, Booth-Isherwood said that "over the past few weeks" he has become "increasingly disillusioned with the behaviour and conduct of Reform".

“Whilst I have campaigned alongside many decent, honest and hardworking people during the course of the General Election campaign in Erewash,

the reports of widespread racism and sexism in Reform have made clear that there is a significant moral issue within certain elements of the party, and the failure of the Party’s leadership to not only take this matter seriously, but also to fundamentally address it, has made clear to me that this is no longer a party I want to be associated with he added."

He has endorsed the conservative Candidate.

(quotes from I player live feed, I expect will be in MSM soon.)

They could look to Green or Independent? They don't need to look to a Nazi.

And that was a perfect example of what Dickens was talking about.

The last time large numbers of people regularly turned out for political rallies was for Jeremy Corbyn. It didn’t guarantee success, but it demonstrated that people were swept up in the moment. I watched the speeches at the Reform rally this afternoon, and was unimpressed at how little detail there was on policy, and how much time was devoted to defending the position of Reform on migration and to apologising for the bad candidates- weeding out the bad apples is now apparently complete and they will never return, according to Nigel Farage.

Subsequently, Reform UK candidate for Erewash, Liam Booth-Isherwood has disowned the party, following what he called “reports of widespread racism and sexism”.

I know who I believe, but whatever happens between now and the election, there will be further revelations about what’s going on behind the scenes and some Reform supporters won’t believe anybody except Farage’s version of events.

Never mind, it will soon be over. The hate crime, people being kicked and spat at and abused will sadly continue. Kids covered in flea bites will still be turning up at foodbanks. People seeking asylum will still be treated like cattle.