And so it begins, Reform’s Britain

As I said on another thread, there is an interesting video biography of Farage, produced by Led by Donkeys. Spotted it on Facebook this morning, and my goodness, but he has been a racist from his earliest years.

Yes, it was mentioned other thread I think - it appears to be an inner party "split" issue going back to the split when Rupert Lowe MP was sacked from the Reform party, as she had favoured him

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c230je4dmklo

"In a statement posted on Sunday, Edmunds wrote: "Yesterday I woke up feeling very proud to be one of Reform's 677 new councilors.
"This morning I woke up to an email from [Reform] head office advising me that I have been suspended from the party 'pending an investigation'."
"Why? Because I urged people here on X to lend Reform their support for the short term - for Thursday's elections - even if they felt they couldn't for the long term.
"According to head office, 'this has brought the party into disrepute and damaged the interests of the party.'"

She went on to say the party was brought into disrepute when leadership "unceremoniously ditched" Rupert Lowe.

She said his suspension "provoked a wave of resignations" where whole branches resigned as one in protest.

"I called my branch chair to resign my membership, he asked me to stay on as we were struggling to find candidates."

OOOOps! That's one gone already.

It depends how many of them there are fancythat. It certainly matters when their party has an outright majority.

I think some people, including some Gnetters think, it doesnt matter which party council members belong to.
Oh yes it does!

westendgirl

I see that Reform's advert for a south central director offers home working with some occasional travel in the area. Home Working after what Farage said !!!!!

You have too be joking!

But you are not - and its more than one job

"Reform accused of hypocrisy after advertising home working jobs
Several paid roles at party are not in office despite Nigel Farage’s comments promising ‘no more work from home"

"It has since emerged that several paid roles with the party, such as “regional director”, are offering “home working with occasional travel”, prompting accusations of hypocrisy on social media.

Posting on X, the Labour MP Stella Creasy said the hypocrisy was “glorious”."

www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/may/06/reform-accused-of-hypocrisy-after-advertising-home-working-jobs-nigel-farage

I see that Reform's advert for a south central director offers home working with some occasional travel in the area. Home Working after what Farage said !!!!!

lafergar

I think taking pride in crushing diversity is a sad state of affairs.

Well done Allira for spotting my error.Have a nice day.

You're welcome

You too 🌞

As regards diversity it feels to me like an import from the USA and Reform think it will make quick savings.

It is very ill thought out however. Quite a lot of a Diversity Officers time is spent supporting those with disabilities to get into work and stay in work. Reform are very two faced about disabilities. Just read this

"The right-wing populist party Reform UK has given a rare glimpse of its disability policies, after its leader Nigel Farage suggested he was strongly in favour of cuts to disabled people’s benefits.

The party’s supporters have attempted to make political capital in recent months by feeding off anger aimed at the Labour government’s planned cuts of billions of pounds to disability benefits.

But comments made by Farage (pictured) at a press conference late last week suggest he is himself strongly in favour of sweeping cuts to disability benefits, and that he has been poorly briefed about how the benefits and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) systems work.

He described young disabled people who received out-of-work benefits as “victims” and claimed there was “massive” overdiagnosis of mental health conditions and “other general behavioural disabilities”.

Farage said: “I have to say, for my own money, when you get to 18 and you put somebody on a disability register, unemployed, with a high level of benefits, you’re telling people aged 18 that they’re victims.

“And if you are told you are a victim, and you think you’re a victim, you are very likely to stay as a victim.”

But then they cut chances to get into work by cutting Diversity Officers whose job is to help get back into work

quotes are from Disability News Service.

I think taking pride in crushing diversity is a sad state of affairs.

Well done Allira for spotting my error.Have a nice day.

Casdon

A carer or a refuse collector are though, for example.

Well, I know! 😃
Just pointing out that those three examples are not employed by the LA.

MaizieD

growstuff

Maizie I think part of the problem is that there has been so much emphasis on identity politics. The Conservatives and Reform don't care about improving public services or supporting the poor, so they've appealed to social conservatives (with a small 'c'), of whom there are many.

I don't think that 'social conservatives' are necessarily left or right wing. They just want a government to make things better for them. So they will go with the party that promises to do that. A triumph of hope over experience, I think.

😁😖
Your last sentence resonates with me.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Good job it’s Bank Holiday Monday then.

😁

A carer or a refuse collector are though, for example.

lafergar

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Good job it’s Bank Holiday Monday then.

unlesss you are a nurse, a traindriver, or a shop worker.

They are not employed by the Councils. 🤔

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Good job it’s Bank Holiday Monday then.

unlesss you are a nurse, a traindriver, or a shop worker.

Did you watch Richard Murphy’s video after Rupert Lowe presented his bill to prohibit quantitative easing?

I don't like videos, but he puts the transcripts on his blog. Which I read daily. 😄

The question I keep asking myself is why were so many very wealthy people so keen to donate to Reform? (After all, the local election campaign and work on all these FOI requests won't have come cheaply.) I can't see it being for purely ideological or moral reasons. I suspect a belief that they expect to gain financially from Reform actions.

Who knows? Investments in fossil fuels and other vested interests. Gold? Crypto? Buying low when the stock market crashes as result of Reform fiscal policy?

Did you watch Richard Murphy’s video after Rupert Lowe presented his bill to prohibit quantitative easing?

A lot of people will be dreading work tomorrow I imagine.

I think Unison will be flexing its muscles.

Good job it’s Bank Holiday Monday then.

Galaxy

Because its my council, has been run by a coalition recently, quite a lot of local unease about various projects.

I see, I think they will all be pretty interesting in their own way, for the people who live and work in them. A lot of people will be dreading work tomorrow I imagine.

growstuff

Maizie I think part of the problem is that there has been so much emphasis on identity politics. The Conservatives and Reform don't care about improving public services or supporting the poor, so they've appealed to social conservatives (with a small 'c'), of whom there are many.

I don't think that 'social conservatives' are necessarily left or right wing. They just want a government to make things better for them. So they will go with the party that promises to do that. A triumph of hope over experience, I think.

Galaxy

Yes that isn't a stupid thing to do. That will be fascinating in Durham.

What will be fascinating about the FOI requests in Durham? (I assume that's what your somewhat cryptic post is about)

I imagine that many of the 3,000 FOI requests (which, from the Politico report appear to have been sent to other authorities, not just Durham) are time wasters and that the ones that aren't will throw up all sorts of things in LAs which Reform will be critical of. But if whatever they are critical of turns out to be part of the LA's statutory duties they won't be able to do a thing about it.

The question I keep asking myself is why were so many very wealthy people so keen to donate to Reform? (After all, the local election campaign and work on all these FOI requests won't have come cheaply.) I can't see it being for purely ideological or moral reasons. I suspect a belief that they expect to gain financially from Reform actions.

Because its my council, has been run by a coalition recently, quite a lot of local unease about various projects.

I'd hazard a guess and say Darren Grimes.

Durham council is in debt but already has proposals to address this.

The total savings needed at this stage for 2025/26 to balance our budget is now estimated to be £25.6 million.

www.durham.gov.uk/article/32233/Consultation-on-updated-proposals-to-balance-the-Council-budget