Did anyone else spot this about Reform?

maddyone

No Chestnut I don’t, and I was actually saying that a significant number of people did vote for them.
However, I think we are stuck in the position of having two major parties in the UK that will always have the ability to win power, until and unless we have proportional representation, which seems unlikely any time soon.

Apologies if I misread that. It looked like another go at Reform which I'm getting heartily sick of even though I didn't vote for them. I'd probably be defending the Lib Dems if they were the ones being attacked!

What’s pathetic Freya5? I was stating the fact, as there is no reason to digitally enhance your picture to make you look younger and slimmer with more hair except because you’re vain is there? Celebrities do it all the time, for exactly that reason.

Casdon

BBC investigation revealed the candidate wasn’t fake, just vain.
www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckvgl9kzwzjo
It’s worth reading this article, because it reveals the good, the bad and the ugly about the election campaign.

He wanted to look good on his poster, so what, it still looks like him. Honestly, so pathetic. Perhaps Rayner and her colleague should have looked in the mirror before they set out for Dowing St.

Most folks are tolerant and kindly.

Growstuff, I have never met anyone at all who is racist!

Chestnut

growstuff

No, I wasn't surprised. The percentage was consistent with what UKIP was polling and is consistent with attitudinal surveys, which show that just under 20% of the population is racist.

Are you going to keep with the insults to Reform voters? Just because people want to control immigration does not make them racist.

These constant accusations have held back proper debate on the subject for decades, which is why we are in the current crisis.

I didn't claim that at all.

Why do you think being racist is an insult anyway? If that's how people are, they have a perfect right to be so.

MaizieD thanks for the link and the chart. Very interesting!

BBC investigation revealed the candidate wasn’t fake, just vain.
www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckvgl9kzwzjo
It’s worth reading this article, because it reveals the good, the bad and the ugly about the election campaign.

Chestnut, I agree it does not make folk racist for wanting to control illegal immigration. I find it truly worrying.one lady on a Greek island said the migrants coming onto her island are stealing fruit from her garden.

No Chestnut I don’t, and I was actually saying that a significant number of people did vote for them.
However, I think we are stuck in the position of having two major parties in the UK that will always have the ability to win power, until and unless we have proportional representation, which seems unlikely any time soon.

It’s obvious that the majority of people didn’t want Reform to be the majority party in Parliament, otherwise they’d have voted for them.

You really think it could be possible for any minority party to take the majority of votes, especially one which has only been in existence for 5 years! 🤦‍♀️😂

growstuff

No, I wasn't surprised. The percentage was consistent with what UKIP was polling and is consistent with attitudinal surveys, which show that just under 20% of the population is racist.

Are you going to keep with the insults to Reform voters? Just because people want to control immigration does not make them racist.

These constant accusations have held back proper debate on the subject for decades, which is why we are in the current crisis.

maddyone👍

It’s obvious that the majority of people didn’t want Reform to be the majority party in Parliament, otherwise they’d have voted for them.
I still maintain that 14% is quite a significant number though. Especially given that the voter turnout was quite low. Perhaps that tells us about the level of general apathy in the population. Not everyone is like our Gransnetters on here, interested and engaged.

LizzieDrip

^But fourteen million people is a large group of people in this country who do agree with him^

Not sure what you mean here maddyone. If you’re referring to the number of votes Reform got in the GE … it was four million, not fourteen. Big difference there

Yes, got my numbers muddled up. Sorry.

I’m sorry, I didn’t realise it came over as aggressive (particularly in view of some other comments we see on here at times.)
Anyway, I thought that the fourteen million votes was what had been reported. Although it only resulted in five seats, which is a good thing really. No, just looked it up. It was 14% of the vote. Apologies.

No, I wasn't surprised. The percentage was consistent with what UKIP was polling and is consistent with attitudinal surveys, which show that just under 20% of the population is racist.

But fourteen million people is a large group of people in this country who do agree with him

Not sure what you mean here maddyone. If you’re referring to the number of votes Reform got in the GE … it was four million, not fourteen. Big difference there

Incidentally, where did you get the idea that Reform polled fourteen million votes? They didn't.

More than people perhaps expected, but in the scheme of things, only 15% - in other words 85% of voters didn’t vote for them. They only came top of the poll in 5 areas out of 650, so 645 constituencies didn’t want them most. That’s pretty resounding.

maddyone

^More people voted against Farage^

Of course they did, that’s why he’s not the PM.
But fourteen million people is a large group of people in this country who do agree with him. Whether you, or I, or anybody else, likes it or not.

Why so aggressive?

I can see as well as anybody that a significant number of people voted for Reform.

However, it is not true that Reform's opinions on anything are synonymous with "public opinion". The aggregate of public opinion is against Farage.

Sloppy, inaccurate language has harmful effects.

More people voted against Farage

Of course they did, that’s why he’s not the PM.
But fourteen million people is a large group of people in this country who do agree with him. Whether you, or I, or anybody else, likes it or not.

LizzieDrip

^Public opinion isn’t particularly in agreement with Farage now^

I agree Siope.

Your opinion isn’t particularly in agreement with Farage, but don’t mistake that for many other people’s opinions. Fourteen million votes isn’t by any means a majority, but Labour only achieved 33 million votes. Fourteen million people is a lot of people. I wasn’t one of them, by the way. My vote did not go to Reform.

Germanshepherdsmum

Siope

There are two problems with that view, GSM. Public opinion isn’t particularly in agreement with Farage now, and when Labour are seen to be effectively managing the issue of asylum seeker smugglers, are processing applications in a timely fashion and are changing the narrative that all immigration is bad (even Farage has said that a net migration rate of 600.000 is necessary) then Farage and his ilk will have even less relevance.

Public opinion was very much in agreement with Farage on 4 July!

But it wasn't! More people voted against Farage and his supporters than voted for him.

MaizieD

Interesing poll results here showing a clear difference between reform and tory voters.

It really doesn't look as though there is much public feeling behind Farage.

I'm linking to the original I found on X because images don't always reproduce very well

x.com/ProfTimBale/status/1810647563898438104

The same survey found that 48% of Conservative members would support a merger between the Conservative Party and Reform.