Solid Trump rejection. So what happened in the U.K.?

Yes, some certainly are and they are very vocal on social media.

For what it’s worth I think it was a protest vote against the mainstream parties.

Whether it is their actions or their communications Labour.and the Conservatives (and their current leaders) are failing miserably in all opinion polls.

Hopefully when the next tranche of local elections come round there will be a more positive outcome for the main parties.

I suspect, too, that turnout here was low. I’m afraid apathy is our biggest problem. It annoys me when people moan about outcomes but it transpires many of them didn’t bother voting. Their reason? “What’s the point?” 🤬🤬

Yes they are stupid. Couldn't possibly be anything wrong with the approach of the other parties, has to be the voters fault.

I think some of our voters are so fed up and feel “alienated” by two party system they truly believe Reform, who, imo, closely align their policies with that of Trump, and they also believe both Farage and Trump are acting in favour of the “natives” of their countries and wish to make them “great again”, whatever that might mean.

Galaxy

Yes they are stupid. Couldn't possibly be anything wrong with the approach of the other parties, has to be the voters fault.

I am fed up with both main parties, but there is no way that I would put an x next to a xenophobic, racist and Trump supporting political party.

There are alternatives!

So, yes it IS the voters fault.

That strategy of being the voters isnt going to work but as people have been doing it for over a decade I don't suppose they will stop now.

Blaming the voters!

Galaxy

Blaming the voters!

There's none so blind as those who will not see. Blue Labour can see all too well, but they're not being listened to, so lets continue with the stupid voters narrative.

Well I don't know about Australia, but for Canadian voters they faced Trump saying he wants Canada as a 51st State, ie taking over their whole nation, and we don't have anything like that here. The UK right are pretty keen on Sovereignty.

We are more in line with other European countries where far right parties are stronger than before. But those parties have been established for a long time and are not "overnight" phenomena and those they elect have political experience
Ideologically Reform are attractive because they appear to have "the answers" but now lets see it "in practice".

I agree about apathy. Wake up people...

Wyllow3

Well I don't know about Australia, but for Canadian voters they faced Trump saying he wants Canada as a 51st State, ie taking over their whole nation, and we don't have anything like that here. The UK right are pretty keen on Sovereignty.

We are more in line with other European countries where far right parties are stronger than before. But those parties have been established for a long time and are not "overnight" phenomena and those they elect have political experience
Ideologically Reform are attractive because they appear to have "the answers" but now lets see it "in practice".

I agree about apathy. Wake up people...

👍👏👏

I think Blue Labour are making some progress Terribull, they give me some vague hope.

Yet again, this is not a UK problem but an England problem. Reform does not figure much in Scotland at all. Trump is disliked by many in Scotland for his high handed treatment over his golf course plans. Regardless of where his mother was born, he is looked at with scorn and distaste, the same way we look at Farage.

I won't call Reform voters stupid. Desperate yes. They are hoping for a better way but unfortunately they are backing the wrong horse.
Their ideas won't work.

Another goady comment in your OP from you Whitewave.
If being called ‘stupid’ fits my mindset and viewpoint then so be it.
Water off a duck’s back comes to mind.

Anyway I’m still hoping Starmer succeeds at something but the runes aren’t promising.

No wonder the majority of voters are disillusioned.

Just looked them up = it seems very vague as regards actual policy?
www.bluelabour.org/about-us

(was following a comment on Blue Labour from Galaxy)

I think it is rather arrogant to call voters idiots because of where they put their X

I am more interested to find out why so many here in the UK (England this time) cannot be bothered to vote…

GrannyGravy13

I think it is rather arrogant to call voters idiots because of where they put their X

I am more interested to find out why so many here in the UK (England this time) cannot be bothered to vote…

Perhaps the same reason why so many younger people failed to vote in the referendum and have complained ever since?

I think it's rather arrogant not to look at why people voted as they did in these few local elections.

I'm sure Starmer is not so arrogant as to call those who voted for Reform stupid - he will be looking at why so many are disillusioned at present; that is disillusionment with both main parties. The Liberal Democrats did well too - are those who voted for them considered stupid as well?
🤔

The long term MAGA crew? Not stupid or daft but dangerous to a democracy, as we are seeing day after day in the USA.

There is a lot of rule by fear going on over there atm, ie you are either with us or against us, and if you slip up and say anything anti-Trump you are criminal or nasty and will be sacked or silenced. No ta for anything like that in the UK.

AGAA4

I won't call Reform voters stupid. Desperate yes. They are hoping for a better way but unfortunately they are backing the wrong horse.
Their ideas won't work.

I too don’t think Reform voters are stupid, niave and gullible maybe, having said that Farage is a great orator, and he says what his supporters want to hear, many of whom don’t dig deeper because they so want to believe Farage and what he says. They want his “vision” to be true and cannot accept the past has gone, you cannot re-create it and certainly some of Farage’s ideas are not particularly favourable to parts of our society, women and “Jonny Foreigner”!

It is not a UK problem as you say Grandmabatty. England is the testing ground for Reform's Doge cuts and the results of that should be felt quite soon so, when it comes to voting, the rest of the UK will be better informed on how Reform is doing in English councils.

Allira I agree with your post.

Calling a swathe of the electorate stupid due to them voting for a party which you do not support I have never been able to understand 🤷‍♀️

Politicians spend too much of their air time blaming, othering and denigrating the opposition parties when they should be addressing the electorate as a whole and setting out their shop and hopefully carrying out their election promises as opposed to ditching them the minute they get their hands on the keys to No.10 (all the while blaming their predecessors)

I am disillusioned and politically homeless, we didn’t have local elections this time, but all our councillors are independent, and I would have voted for the incumbent man.

On a county level it gets difficult as two of our longstanding friends are councillors, one is doing well the other is rather self serving…

Good grief it is like Chinese whispers on this thread.

So my daft comment (a mild criticism). Has gone from daft to stupid to idiots.

But how would anyone explain why people are willing to vote for a Trump supporting political party, rather than an alternative, like the greens, Liberals etc.

What is Farage offering that you are so sure will benefit you?

Voters in other countries are clear about what a trump supporting political party will offer and soundly rejected it, even though they looked as if they would be a shoe-in at one time, but they had the intelligence to swiftly reject this future and returned to vote for a liberal democratic political party.

So protest vote all you need - but please don’t vote for a xenophobic racist political party whose leader admires Trump and Putin, and who led the country down the dead end of Brexit.

How can you trust his judgement?