The Guardian brands Elon Musk "Worlds Richest Pub Bore"

Allsorts

Musk is weird, clever and controlling, one day he will have a massive fall from grace, meanwhile keep his nose in his own country. Ours is in a bigger mess now, but we don't need him.

...one day he will have a massive fall from grace...

You might well be right there.

He's almost eclipsed JD Vance and appears to be Trump's right-hand man - but I wonder if Trump will be willing to share so much of the spotlight with him ultimately?

Our country might be in a "mess" but I think it's debatable whether it's greater than America's.

Whatever mess we are in, it's not one that happened overnight. Fourteen years of Tory rule, and the legacy of Blair's Iraq war which saw the rise of al-Qaeda into the Islamic State have all contributed to where we are today.

Musk is no political guru - he's an unsubtle populist, and his wealth has given him a voice, and he can manipulate 'X' to make sure it's heard.

Kamala Harris didn’t hope to win because she’s a woman. She hoped her country would prefer a democrat to the awful Trump.
Allsorts - they’re higher USA is definitely in more of a mess than the uk

FlitterMouse I live in the NW Essex constituency. There is no way in the world that Reform will be successful here in the next few years. I think the venue was chosen because it's there. Badenoch is not popular (because she's never here and is a dreadful constituency MP), but in the last election her votes went to Labour. The LDs gave up and concentrated its resources in neighbouring South Cambridgeshire and Chelmsford. There's a strange situation in NW Essex because our corresponding local district council (it's not quite the same boundaries) has been independent for years after being Conservative for as long as people can remember.

nanna8

I not sure about women not voting for Reform. I don’t think most are too keen on the Labour leaders, either. Just fed up with the lot of them I’d think.

But if you look at the graphic Flittermouses posted you will see that wiith all parties, except Reform, a similar proportion of men ans women voted for them.

Disatisfaction with the current Labour government is not limited to women.

Musk is weird, clever and controlling, one day he will have a massive fall from grace, meanwhile keep his nose in his own country. Ours is in a bigger mess now, but we don't need him.

nanna8

I not sure about women not voting for Reform. I don’t think most are too keen on the Labour leaders, either. Just fed up with the lot of them I’d think.

Or they don't read or watch the gutter press, they find out what is quietly being put in place, and look forward to the outcomes of government over the next few years.

The government may acheive what they want or the may not but the women (and men) doing this understand the virtue of patience and letting elected government "just get on with the job".

I not sure about women not voting for Reform. I don’t think most are too keen on the Labour leaders, either. Just fed up with the lot of them I’d think.

David49 You completely misunderstood the point I ws making.

Kamala Harris was a completely different situation she was expecting women to prefer her because she was a woman. never a reasonable expectation. What we are talking here is a party that attracts mainly men. Women will be voting for a variety of parties for a variety of reasons, but not many will be voting Reform and since women form half the electorate, more or less, it makes it difficult for a party that is not attracting women voters - and the evidence is already there in the graphic Flittermouse posted.

Dickens

Oh - well, there's a blow...

Musk has now declared that Farage doesn't have what it takes to lead the party and that Reform needs a new leader.

Farage has distanced himself from Tommy Robinson and does not believe he's right for the Reform party, and has refused to back down, which has obviously upset Musk who is clamouring for Robinson's release.

Farage is not stupid, Tommy Robinson would most definitely put off mainstream voters who might otherwise vote for Reform - although he might of course attract a lot more angry young men, but I doubt that's quite what Farage has in mind for Reform.

Clearly, Musk does not understand this, as well as IMO quite a lot else about British politics, so maybe he should just butt out and focus on the very many issues in the USA - he has Trump's ear for the moment, so I wish he'd just flutter off and concentrate on clearing up his own backyard.

As I said Dickens... all a bit of a wind up.

It’s unclear why Reform targeted the area unless it’s Badenoch’s unpopularity but that doesn’t meet support for Reform is strong or likely to be.

The consitituency is bordered by Cambridgeshire to the North (Lib Dem and Labour), parts of Herts and Essex to the West (Labour) Tory to the East (Cleverley and Priti Patel) and Chelmsford to the South (Lib Dem).

Badenoch’s 2024 majority over the Labour candidate was less that 3,000 which is slim for a (now) party leader. Her Labour opponent was a 21-year old student activist, Labour's youngest parliamentary candidate. An impressive fight against the then Secretary of State for Business and Trade and Minister for Women and Equalities.

The numbers are notional due to boundary changes but Badenoch lost 15,000 votes compared to 2019.

The 2024 Reform candidate for NW Essex had actually resigned from the party before the election but his name remained on the ballot so those who did vote Reform were voting to have no representation.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw880334dgyo

Reform UK’s parliamentary candidate in the same constituency as Kemi Badenoch has resigned from the party after it emerged he previously urged people to vote for the BNP.

Grant St Clair-Armstrong … used a blog to post jokes using racial slurs and made a joke about “female hormones”, according to the Times. (so yet another Reform candidate endearing himself to female voters).

The Times reported that, in 2010, the candidate had written: “I could weep now, every time I pick up a British newspaper and read the latest about the state of the UK. No doubt, Enoch Powell would be doing the same if he was alive. My solution … vote BNP!”

Over the border, the Reform candidate for Chelmsford used X to make racist remarks and to abuse people who are neurodiverse.

Farage can make as many excuses as he likes about vetting but this is indicative of the calibre of people who chose to stand for Reform.

Oh - well, there's a blow...

Musk has now declared that Farage doesn't have what it takes to lead the party and that Reform needs a new leader.

Farage has distanced himself from Tommy Robinson and does not believe he's right for the Reform party, and has refused to back down, which has obviously upset Musk who is clamouring for Robinson's release.

Farage is not stupid, Tommy Robinson would most definitely put off mainstream voters who might otherwise vote for Reform - although he might of course attract a lot more angry young men, but I doubt that's quite what Farage has in mind for Reform.

Clearly, Musk does not understand this, as well as IMO quite a lot else about British politics, so maybe he should just butt out and focus on the very many issues in the USA - he has Trump's ear for the moment, so I wish he'd just flutter off and concentrate on clearing up his own backyard.

FlitterMouse

Yes. Reform were in Badenoch’s wealthy North West Essex consituency yesterday, Farage et al talking to an audience of only 1,000 mostly older males.

It might be difficult to recruit more "mature" women voters if members like Maria (see below) use insults as a tactic to attract the electorate...

Maria, 65, acknowledges that the “demographic here is very mature”. She fears that Reform supporters in her generation may revert to the main parties or vote tactically at the next general election.

“They are sheep, they’re not independent thinkers,” she adds. “It’s time for change, but we need to attract a much wider range of people.”

She continued to refer to the electorate generally as "sheeple".

... presumably she classes herself then as an 'independent thinker', in which case it might eventually dawn on her that people reject Reform because they simply don't like or agree with what's on offer?!

Thanks, Casdon. Here's the graphic which shows the age breakdown too. Reform appeals to few young people, women even less than men and that's very encouraging.

David49

M0nica

I read today that the majority of Reform members are men. Relatively few women are enthusiastic enough to want to join the party.

I hve tried to verify this information without success. If true. this could undermine the party's chances of winning a lot of seats because, with women forming at least 50% of the voting population, if we do not vote for him, he is a busted flush

GN is not representative of all women, plenty are right wing, the couples I know have pretty much the same opinions, I don’t discuss politics with friends but general comments are clear.
If you’re expecting women to win any kind of election forget it that’s what Harris was relying on, she was disappointed!.

It does appear to be somewhat true M0nica, at least according to the post election YouGov survey.the other parties were pretty even male/female voters, but not Reform.
yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/49978-how-britain-voted-in-the-2024-general-election

M0nica

I read today that the majority of Reform members are men. Relatively few women are enthusiastic enough to want to join the party.

I hve tried to verify this information without success. If true. this could undermine the party's chances of winning a lot of seats because, with women forming at least 50% of the voting population, if we do not vote for him, he is a busted flush

GN is not representative of all women, plenty are right wing, the couples I know have pretty much the same opinions, I don’t discuss politics with friends but general comments are clear.
If you’re expecting women to win any kind of election forget it that’s what Harris was relying on, she was disappointed!.

If the LP has any sense , it will keep a dignified silence.

All a bit of a wind up really.. and now Farage is trying to maintain some form of dignity.. it'll be interesting to see how the LP deal with Musk when he takes his political position.. I wonder whether Musk has any true motivation or whether he is just trying to cause trouble because he feels he can..

I doubt Reform will now get money from Musk. In Musk's world, he who pays the piper calls the tune and Farage isn't dancing enough to keep Musk happy. So much for free speech, it appears the only way to keep EM on side is to parrot what he says!

Badenoch must be relieved.

Yes. Reform were in Badenoch’s wealthy North West Essex consituency yesterday, Farage et al talking to an audience of only 1,000 mostly older males. See the photo here:

www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jan/04/picture-nigel-farage-as-pm-jubilant-reform-uk-dares-to-dream-at-east-of-england-conference

and an extract from the text.

... Reform members fear the party’s membership is currently too narrow to compete against the main parties’ broad supporter bases. The vast majority of attendees are male and over 50, and almost all are white.

Last year, Reform polled only 14,400 across the two neighbouring constituences of NW Essex and Chelmsford (which the Lib Dems won last year). I mention Chelmsford as NWEssex is a fragmented consituency which has had frequent boundary changes. The venue where this meeting was held is to the borders of the two.

In 2024, registered voters in the two total over 156.000. Only 14,000 voted Reform.

Outside of Clacton, support for Reform is small and as Farage appears to be ignoring his constituents, who knows what will happen next time? Even in Basildon & Thurrock, James MacMurdock only scraped in with 98 votes ahead of the Labour candidate. His political career will forever be tainted by his criminal conviction. Kicking a young woman and writing it off as an indiscretion isn’t going to endear female voters.

M0nica

I read today that the majority of Reform members are men. Relatively few women are enthusiastic enough to want to join the party.

I hve tried to verify this information without success. If true. this could undermine the party's chances of winning a lot of seats because, with women forming at least 50% of the voting population, if we do not vote for him, he is a busted flush

I read today that the majority of Reform members are men. Relatively few women are enthusiastic enough to want to join the party.

Interesting.

Though it doesn't really surprise me.

Lee Anderson (Chief Whip of Reform) once told a female district councillor to "stay out of big boy politics".

If what you say is true, it looks like women have decided to take his advice...

I read today that the majority of Reform members are men. Relatively few women are enthusiastic enough to want to join the party.

I hve tried to verify this information without success. If true. this could undermine the party's chances of winning a lot of seats because, with women forming at least 50% of the voting population, if we do not vote for him, he is a busted flush

David49

Allira

Lots of extreme comments here
but there has been nothing malicious in his agenda

You're a Musk fan then, David49?
What do you think of his rather extreme views?

Not a fan, I am in fact resistant to his business's but I do respect his success, he’s got enough money so I dont buy anything Musk.

Me neither. Not that I'm likely to although faster internet might be appealing.

Allira

^Lots of extreme comments here^
but there has been nothing malicious in his agenda

You're a Musk fan then, David49?
What do you think of his rather extreme views?

Not a fan, I am in fact resistant to his business's but I do respect his success, he’s got enough money so I dont buy anything Musk.

HPQ. In September, ahead of Reform's conference, NF was making a lot of noise about "surrendering" his shares:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd6q0j8pdj4o

There is no evidence yet in Companies House records that he has done so.

Last year, the company was technically insolvent owing Tice over a million pounds. We know that in summer he was repaid £200,000 after NF had parachuted back in to stand in the GE. Sources say the £200,000 was a sweetener for Tice to step aside as leader. Where did the money come from? Coincidentally, Zia Yusuf had donated £200,000 so maybe that was the source. But he's still owed over £800,000.

I can't see anything in the new constitution that gives "members" much in the way of rights other than if 50% were to vote no confidence in the leader.

I see the membership drive more akin to crowdfunding possibly to raise the money to repay the debt to Tice because that debt must give him a good amount of leverage.