Is the country ready for a Farage government?

Betony

I respect very few politicians now. Most are using politics as a career, with apparently only their own aspirations important to them. That said, I understand why there's such a swing toward Reform with its angry 'solutions' to our current problems, about which the regular parties seem too feeble to solve. One thing really worries me: Farage detests the EU, and this is probably the main reason he became close to Putin, who also hates it. I fear for poor Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union if Farage is elected and sides with Putin on that one. A real unholy alliance which can do no one any good.

Good points made.
Am afraid we could be entering difficult times ahead with Russia showing no signs of scaling down its aggression and possibly harbouring expansionist desires.
Any chance of us joining with European allies to defend against these desires will not be popular with Farage, and Putin could see the UK as an ally or a soft target if this the case.

Then we might all be leaving the UK on small boats.

Which is why we need cross party consensus on how to address the poor management of the NHS.

As I said it is long overdue.

I just wish SOMEONE (anyone) would sort it out.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Casdon I think Reform will stop/scale back on Milliband’s Net Zero. That will give the UK some fiscal headroom.

And altering ECHR will stop the boats (Article 8 or similar). All these irregular migrants (over 1,000 Arrived again just at the weekend) needing clothes, feeding, housing, the ministrations of a doctor, dentist, hospital consultant. The costs added up.

Sort the rubber boats = save money (for other things).

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyx4v44438o
It doesn’t add up though. If you don’t trust the BBC, try the Financial Times, or the Independent. They all come to that conclusion.

Just adding my small voice to say how horrified I would be if Farage were to become PM.
But it only needs right-thinking people to do nothing to let in this horrible movement.
Those of us who abhor this idea need to actually DO SOMETHING, putting in time and/or money for your preferred alternative to ensure that the Reform candidate can't win your constituency.

Suelld...have you been told get out of here because you are white?..I have and it wasn't abroad ,it was in this country!

My own definition of racism is the same as Suella's definition of racial prejudice - "Racial prejudice refers to a set of discriminatory or derogatory attitudes based on assumptions derived from perceptions about race and/or skin colour." The root of racism is the same as the root of racial prejudice and xenophobia - assuming that anyone of a different race/colour/nationality/religion is certain to be inferior in intellect or morality or be somehow more dangerous than someone of the same race/colour/nationality/religion as the speaker or thinker - just because they have that feature in common.

The existence in the Southern US states of a whole large of enslaved workers with no rights, education or power meant that for many Americans this assumption equated black and brown skin with an underclass of powerless uneducated people who were assumed to be both inferior and dangerous - and led to racism being thought somehow specific to skin colour. It isn't. You can be racist about the Irish, Scots, French, Canadians, Arabs, Jews, and anyone else - including little green men from Mars, should they become a common sight in our cities in large enough numbers.

. . . a whole large demographic . . .

Jam yesterday and jam tomorrow is most of Farage's offerings. I do hope that his words are being recorded, so that should the appalling day of him being in charge, his own words would come back to bite him. He was ignored by most reasonable people and scurried off to USA, to see how his facist and meglomaniac friend would help him, then came back when even he could see that the lunatic was now in charge of the assylum.

Well Casdon reading the link you provided, cutting waste alone “The IFS said any savings would likely be below £20bn, external a year.”

That’s just one section of the article! Sums not to be sniffed at!

Betony
Most are using politics as a career. No!! Most are using politics as a stepping stone to a more lucrative career.

Agreed FGT2, it is a lot, it’s almost 10% of the NHS budget, which is projected to increase to £204.9 billion in 2024/25 (I can’t find finalised figures), and rises by an average between 2% and 3% each year just to stand still. It not anywhere near enough to do what they have said they want to do, even if it were achievable.
Look at the cost of implementing their tax policy, and the benefit to different income groups:
www.ippr.org/media-office/analysis-of-reforms-tax-plans

I’m with Doodledog…Reform scares the living daylights out of me.

I just feel as if I’m living in some sort of alternative universe.

I just don’t understand how/why some people expected everything to become brilliant just 16 months after Labour won the last election. They have to repair 14 years of Conservative rule. Keir Starmer is the most statesmanlike leader we have had for a very long time, he is respected overseas and building the very important bridges to grow our economy. The current Reform leader is not respected by world leaders. He is seen as the obnoxious, hate stirring man he is. If Reform did win the next election, I dread to think what will happen to our country, the health service, social care etc.

I can’t see a problem with lack of respect for world leaders- it certainly hasn’t stopped Trump, Putin and others from governing. No way is Starmer a statesman Freedom awaits - his L plates are still firmly attached.
You are aware of Starmer’s latest ratings?

So another smooth talking, reasonable sounding politician started his rise by knocking the immigrants, suggesting this was the cause of his country's ills; then he started on the state of the economy (it was a recession).

His name was Adolf Hitler

Cheap

Makes sense, Freedom Awaits. It took a long time for this mess to happen . Righting it can't happen overnight.

FranP

So another smooth talking, reasonable sounding politician started his rise by knocking the immigrants, suggesting this was the cause of his country's ills; then he started on the state of the economy (it was a recession).

His name was Adolf Hitler

That is an erroneous statement if you are meaning the Jewish people in Germany in the 1930s.
Jewish people had lived in Germany for over a thousand years, spoke German, were German. They were persecuted there over the centuries too.

Hitler was an immigrant - he was from Austria.

Well, I missed Starmer's speech as I was out; hope it is worth listening to as DH has recorded it for me!

After hearing Starmer's speech and Lammy's remarks., Labour have sunk to a low never before reached.

love0c

After hearing Starmer's speech and Lammy's remarks., Labour have sunk to a low never before reached.

I only half listened to it ( will listen to it properly later) but can you tell me what it was in his speech that makes you think they have sunk to a new low? What I did hear sounded pretty good.

Starmer’s speech has admirably served its purpose I think, which was to rally the Labour troops and rattle Reform. Of course people who don’t want him as PM and don’t like Labour didn’t like it - but that is a mark of its success as a speech. Ed Davey’s was equally powerful. I’m looking forward to hearing Kemi Badenoch next week, I really hope she can do similar.

Casdon any decent person woulld not like it, IMO!