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He can easily fold Reform and just defect to the Tories for the top job.
Won't happen. He's got 4 years of being the unofficial UK ambassador to the US. Trump will give him amazing profile. What will the UK government do if Trump does this? Withdraw our diplomats? I think not. A mealy-mouthed half protest whilst apologising for having the temerity to do so - will be the best we can manage.
The main Parties are inept, Reform say they can do better, so why not give them a chance
Hmmm not sure this is better, lots of removing peoples/workers rights and climate denial going on in their manifesto.
I suppose it’s about to not having to have fought for the rights people don’t value what they have.
Rights, Equality and Liberation
Leave the European Convention on Human Rights, reform the Human Rights Act
Replace the Equalities Act and scrap ‘Diversity, Equality and Inclusion’ rules
Change the definition of hate crime
Ban ‘transgender ideology’ in schools
Workers' Rights and Employment
Scrap employment laws that hold back businesses, including by making it easier to hire and fire workers.
Climate and Energy
Scrap goals to reach net zero carbon emissions
Stop giving money to companies that use and produce renewable energy
Fast-track licences of North Sea oil and gas
Fast-track clean nuclear energy
I think the Torys would chose political oblivion rather than shack up with Nige.
I think you fundamentally misunderstand what motivates most Tories - wealth acquisition, wealth protection. No seat at the table means less time at the trough.
Hmmm not sure this is better, lots of removing peoples/workers rights and climate denial going on in their manifesto.
The ill informed will think those things are good. Stupid climate change, DEI and transgender nonsense and so on. They have been told that all this is stuff we need to stop and they will believe it.
How do you get the ill informed to be informed and who is even trying?
Imagine what might have been achieved if the PLP had all rallied behind him. Instead of calling him an anti-semitic racist terrorist friendly extreme left-wing mate of Putin, and Peter Mandelson hadn’t undermined every single day.
Imagine what might have achieved if he hadn't been an anti-semitic, terrorist-friendly, fellow traveller of Putin.
He’s got 4 years of being the unofficial UK ambassador to the US. Trump will give him amazing profile.
This stuff about Farage being superinfluential in the US and a great mate of Trump's etc is nonsense. Farage says this, but no-one wants to hear him speak at CPAC, Trump didn't meet with him privately after the shooting etc. He's a wonky-toothed foghorn with a weird accent and poor public speaking skills - American righties don't want to hear from him. They have their own prettier, more persuasive, and more provocative people.
Anyway I’m still not sure about a Tory / Reform merge, Nige won’t want the hassle or infighting and I think the Torys would chose political oblivion rather than shack up with Nige.
I'm inclined to think this is right BUT in the old days the "machinery" of the Tory party (the HQ staff, the constituency volunteers etc) would have been a much bigger institutional brake on a party merger - rightly or wrongly. Now that that machinery doesn't exist, the constituency parties are all 102 years old, and rhe lesson from the US presidential election is that "the ground game doesn't matter", maybe that brake has gone.
And Farage wouldn't mind the long term destabilising effect that a merger would have on the Tory Party - he knows you can just set up a new party easily when you get bored or run out of money. How many parties have he (and George Galloway) been through so far?
The ill informed will think those things are good. Stupid climate change, DEI and transgender nonsense and so on. They have been told that all this is stuff we need to stop and they will believe it.
Spot on.
How do you get the ill informed to be informed and who is even trying?
Experts. And look how easily they are derided, discredited and dismissed as 'elitists'.
Blimey! This has escalated!
I think Corbyns main problem wasn’t that he was a terrorist sympathising, Putin-loving Marxist, it’s the fact that most people are fundamentally suspicious of beardy blokes on allotments, especially if they’ve vegetarians
What do they do in those sheds? Are they trying to manufacture ricin out of butter beans? Or are they smoking roll ups and drinking home brew, while perusing the readers wives section in their alarmingly large collection of vintage Razzle magazines?
Makes you think…
Makes you think…
Makes RW journalists think, for sure.
Corbyn was simply too easy to deride. The derision didn't even need to be consistent. It was unfair. It was UK politics. It was certainly UK politics post-2016.
Anyhow. Corbyn was never going to be PM. And he never will.
What odds on a Reform-Tory merger/alliance/coalition for GE 2029?
This country is now so completely mental, just about anything could have happened by 2029. We could be at war with France
What odds on a Reform-Tory merger/alliance/coalition for GE 2029?
Anything better than 1/1 and worth putting money on as sadly I can see this happening. Labour have already blown it so even if they improve things a bit it won't be enough to stop reverting to the right. People will also have forgotten the shit the tories got up to for 14 years and Badenoch won't be around either.
Imagine what might have achieved if he hadn’t been an anti-semitic, terrorist-friendly, fellow traveller of Putin.
And imagine if you didn't talk shite regurgitated from the Daily Mail, eh?
You must have been well chuffed that he never became PM.
Rights, Equality and Liberation
Leave the European Convention on Human Rights, reform the Human Rights Act
Replace the Equalities Act and scrap ‘Diversity, Equality and Inclusion’ rules
Change the definition of hate crime
Ban ‘transgender ideology’ in schools
I think many of those are popular policies with people. The usual examples are convicts released from prison who cannot be returned to their own country because of human rights. Popular opinion is send them back anyway.
Workers’ Rights and Employment
Scrap employment laws that hold back businesses, including by making it easier to hire and fire workers.
Employers sack people now anyway without much comeback to them when it is appealed. It isnt going to change much, the low paid worker always has a bad deal, so it wont affect them.
Climate and Energy
Scrap goals to reach net zero carbon emissions
Stop giving money to companies that use and produce renewable energy
Fast-track licences of North Sea oil and gas
Fast-track clean nuclear energy
All uncontroversial policies for many. When China are building coal fired stations still, why should we bother, when it costs us more to not use coal, and our contribution to emissions is tiny by global standards. We will still be using oil for at least the next 50 years, why shackle our own resources, which we will still need to import from the Middle East, when we could have it locally sourced?
Why not have local nuclear stations? RR are ready for it, but the Government are not encouraging them by providing land or areas to test it.
This is what the other Parties cannot compete with. They wont say anything even slightly controversial, so they are defending themselves against Reform, when it would be quite easy to say . “Yes, Reforms ideas on this could be the basis of a better solution for the Country”. But they wont, they’ll plod on, and deny that Reform, or other Parties, are a threat, and more people will lose interest in their policies, and Reform will get more publicity.
How do you get the ill informed to be informed and who is even trying?
Nige is doing his bit,being on Tik-tok 🙂
IMHO it’s an impossible task, people don’t care about truth now, you need another charismatic leader on the Labour side to come up with better Unicorns.
They need to sell their dream harder than Nige and talk up the country rather than Fiscal black holes and granny freezing.
Actually build the 40 Hospitals.
What are the odds of Reform still existing in 2026 and Farage being its head? Has he ever invested a solid 4 years in any project? Can he hold down a relationship with anyone inside the part for that long?
most people are fundamentally suspicious of beardy blokes on allotments, especially if they’ve vegetarians
Has the allegation that Corbyn has an allotment ever been proven?
What are the odds of Reform still existing in 2026 and Farage being its head? Has he ever invested a solid 4 years in any project? Can he hold down a relationship with anyone inside the part for that long?
TBH he did spend 20 years as an MEP 🙂
What are the odds of Reform still existing in 2026 and Farage being its head?
Very good I would have thought. And not least because the political leaders of opposing parties seem to have no idea how to deal with the growing support that Reform is gathering.
The favourite strategy appears to be to ignore them and hope that they will go away.
Rights, Equality and Liberation<br style="box-sizing: border-box; --tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246/0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; color: #555555; font-family: Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, 'Noto Sans', sans-serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji'; font-style: italic;" />Leave the European Convention on Human Rights, reform the Human Rights Act<br style="box-sizing: border-box; --tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246/0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; color: #555555; font-family: Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, 'Noto Sans', sans-serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji'; font-style: italic;" />Replace the Equalities Act and scrap ‘Diversity, Equality and Inclusion’ rules ete
I don't support these policies whatsoever, but if gullible idiots do elect a Party with this in their Manifesto as an upper middle class asset-owning white bloke I won't be impacted.
Women, minorities, disabled, foreigners, ethnics, poor etc etc - different story.
hmmm until they do something that affects you and then you find that your human rights aren’t quite what you expect 🙂
If Farage ever gets a role in Government it will supercharge the drive for Scots independence. A recent poll had it at 60+ % for independence if this happens. So while I would feel sorrow for those down south i9t would ultimately be good for Scotland
Edit:
Why the huge difference between Scotland and England on this? I am sure a part of it is that we have politicians and newspapers up here that call out his bullshine
Why the huge difference between Scotland and England on this? I am sure a part of it is that we have politicians and newspapers up here that call out his bullshine
Exactly that.
The favourite strategy appears to be to ignore them and hope that they will go away.
Nigel Farage was at his most vulnerable during the far-right riots of last August. The riots were deeply unpopular with voters who subsequently supported the harsh sentence handed out by the courts.
It would have been relatively easy to publicly hammer Farage for his obvious encouragement of the riots due to both his misinformation and his rhetoric.
But Starmer chose not to, presumably fearing that attacking a racist bigot would backfire on Labour. A similar opportunity is highly unlikely to occur between now and the next general election.
Labour sources say the view is that it is counterproductive to give Farage and his crew the oxygen of too much direct criticism, when the focus should be on the policing and tackling the rioters.
However, others within the party are worried that Labour failing to challenge Farage more comprehensively head-on allows his anti-migrant insinuations to become part of mainstream political rhetoric, especially when he now has five MPs and received 4m votes at the election.
In the lead up to the far-right riots Reform UK were polling mostly below 20% now they are polling mostly above 20%. And voters probably mostly don't hold Farage responsible in any way for fueling the riots. Starmer's (Morgan McSweeney's) strategy does not appear to be working.
Nigel Farage is an intellectual pygmy, I have seen Leanne Wood of Plaid Cymru demolish him on national TV. But Starmer who is happy to take on the left of his own party is unwilling to take on a hard- right racist. Go figure.
So while I would feel sorrow for those down south i9t would ultimately be good for Scotland
An independent Scotland that is not in the EU, that is physically separated from the EU by rUK, that needs to decide whether it's going to be in a single market with the EU or with England & Wales, and where the English nationalist Farage has a significant role in government - that's not a situation I'd describe as good for Scotland in any way!
This doesn't look good.
https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/blogs/ec_reform_20241231.html
Not sure how respected those people are?
that is physically separated from the EU by rUK
North sea ferries? Irish sea ferries? Eire seems to have managed fine with no longer transiting goods via england
Rejoin the EU of course. Set an example to rUK when we prosper as independent inside the EU
Electoral calculus are fairly reliable IIRC
~Edit - however this assumption is a huge one and IMO highly unlikely. I believe Reform have taken pretty much all the votes they can get from labour
assuming that Labour and Conservative voters are equally likely to defect to Reform.
Why the huge difference between Scotland and England on this? I am sure a part of it is that we have politicians and newspapers up here that call out his bullshine
Demographics. Scotlands population is 96% white and immigration hasn't really had any negative effects. The average for England is 82% and in some places it's much lower. We've definitely had negative effects from immigration along with the positives. Northern mill towns saw workers imported with a very different culture to push down wages and blamed the incoming people rather than the mill owners. Once the mills shut they were again blamed for the decline of the towns. The loss of working class employment in Scotland tends to be blamed on the English instead.
I've "done my own research" and we need to make it clear that Nij Al Farage is the head of a sleeper cell trying to turn the uk into muslamic state. The rayguns didn't work but he has managed to ethnically cleanse white Christian Europeans from our shores.
If you have a George cross tattooed on your body you need to stand up and fight this traytower.He needs arsetesting and sent to the towie of lundun bruv.
Gribs - do you live in Scotland? Glasgow in particular and Edinburgh as well have lots of immigration.
In England the areas with the least immigrants are the ones with the highest votes for the racists by and large.
This doesn’t look good.
> https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/blogs/ec_reform_20241231.html
The final paragraph says all that really matters. :
While these projections could be achievable, given their opponents' weaknesses, there is no guarantee that Reform can get there. But there is a unique opportunity for Reform, as the main two parties have not been so vulnerable since the Labour party displaced the old Liberal party in 1922.
With the critical words being "could be achievable given their opponents' weaknesses".
If you are worried about ConForm ,join a party that matches your views and get out there with the leaflets.
I like to think I played a small part in giving Epsom and Ewell its first non Tory mp.
Don’t just whinge on here DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
I care not a toss where you come from but we are bloody well full to the point of deterioration
Our “deterioration” has been mitigated by immigration, especially from EU countries. Without them, we’d be worse off in every way. And we are not full, we have huge areas of land owned by people who do little with it other than shoot game and put up keep out signs.
If you are worried about ConForm ,join a party that matches your views and get out there with the leaflets.
This. Personally I’d suggest you consider your area as well, when choosing who to help. I’d happily leaflet drop and donate to a local candidate who didn’t most closely match my views if they stood the best chance of keeping Badenoch (or more likely her successor) or Farage from gaining another MP to sit with them.
It is crazy how the narative can shift opinion...
I mean the lib dems absolutley smashed it last election, up to 72 MP's from what, 12 or something? in 3rd place...Reform on 5 MP's in 8th place.
https://members.parliament.uk/parties/commons
Apparently the lib dems still don't exist in the popular media, or on here... but they have over 10% of MP's, vs reforms less than 1%, although you'd never believe so if you just listen to opinions without looking at the facts.
I like to think I played a small part in giving Epsom and Ewell its first non Tory mp. Don’t just whinge on here DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
Indeed. I may have possibly had a tiny minuscule part in it, but we had a Tory MP and now we don’t, which made all the tromping the streets with leaflets in the pissing rain seem worthwhile
Starmer's policy of denying Farage 'oxygen' was stupid before Trump was elected. Now that Farage will have 4 years of publicity as Trump's handpicked, de facto, UK ambassador to the US - it is totally out of the window. Trump can choose to deal with whomever he likes from the UK body politic and, realistically, Starmer can do sweet FA about it. Mandelson will be kicking his heels in the diplomatic district whilst Trump ignores him. It is so depressingly predictable.
Gribs – do you live in Scotland? Glasgow in particular and Edinburgh as well have lots of immigration.
I don't, but have friends/relatives in Aberdeen and near Edinburgh, some of whom are native and some are immigrants. The immigration tends to be culturally the same, white and often just English. Even so I've had friends that have experienced direct "racism" (Anti English so not really) in Kinross and Aberdeenshire villages. I'd guess you've thankfully not experienced that in Edinburgh. The anti English SNP voters are the same as our racist UKIP/reform voters down here, they don't like outsiders or change, and pick an easy target that their peers will accept.
In England the areas with the least immigrants are the ones with the highest votes for the racists by and large.
Some of it is down to seeing how other places have changed, or at least how the media portrays them, and not wanting their areas to be the same. For 10+ years England has on average voted for parties that promised to reduce immigration but didn't. It's hardly surprising that some are now looking to Reforms lies as an alternative.
The anti English SNP voters are the same as our racist UKIP/reform voters down here, they don’t like outsiders or change, and pick an easy target that their peers will accept.
Simply not true. anti english sentiment is not a part of the SNP mainstream in any way. Plenty of folk of english descent in the SNP. Plenty of immigrants of all sorts. Best summed uip by:
"When Bashir launched Scots Asians for Independence at the SNP conference in 1995, he gave a speech saying "it isn't important where you come from, what matters is where we are going together as a nation".
"The immigration tends to be culturally the same, white and often just English.
Again simply not true
I have lived in Scotland since the 70s. I have a very obvious english name and accent. anti english sentiment is far less now than it was then. Why? Because the SNP and the wider independence movement have called out anti enlish racism consistently
Dear god, can we not hide such graphic images
Simply not true. anti english sentiment is not a part of the SNP mainstream in any way. Plenty of folk of english descent in the SNP. Plenty of immigrants of all sorts.
I'm not saying it's a mainstream position but before Alba existed if you were anti English you'd tend to support the SNP rather than a unionist party. Certainly from the outside it appears that "anti-Tory" is often just used as a more acceptable version of anti-English. Just because Reform has a South Asian heritage chairman doesn't stop many of their supporters being racist.
Who knew that the Tory Party under Kemi Badenoch is now drifting evermore to the left?
It is something which I have only just discovered. :
“The Conservative Party I once identified with – the party of Churchill and Thatcher – has transformed into something unrecognisable, captured by a left-wing influence that masquerades as conservatism at election time while prioritising the wishes of an elite few when in power".
He said he would not be part of what he described as a “uniparty drift” towards an ever more left-wing agenda.
She's at it again - if you actually listen to what he said you'll discover she's being disingenuous (at best) and note that while in Govt her Party commissioned a £186m inquiry; reported in 2022 with many findings, no action has been taken...
It looks like she’s doubling down on absolutely lunatic far right nonsense and in the company of lions like Jordan Peterson has gone for the subtle and considered understatement that has become her trademark
Kemi Badenoch says ‘western civilisation will be lost’ if Tory party fails
Madder than a bucket of spiders!
I am wondering what Western civilization will be lost to if the Tory Party fails, what will replaced it?Badenoch fails to elaborate in that report.
she’s doubling down on absolutely lunatic far right nonsense and in the company of lions like Jordan Peterson
And according to your link also in the company of a prominent and influential member of the Labour Party. :
Also appearing on a panel was the Labour peer and proponent of the socially conservative Blue Labour movement, Maurice Glasman.
Maurice Glasman is actually on the advisory board on of the hard-right Alliance for Responsible Citizenship which organised the event.
Now we all know that it is fairly easy to get expelled from the Labour Party for being left-wing but exactly how right-wing do you have to be to be expelled.....is there actually any limit?
No wonder the current Labour government is coming out with far-right pointless policies such as permanently denying British citizenship to asylum seekers who make "dangerous journeys"
Yup, madder than a bucket of spiders, I couldn't agree more.