The Reform Thread

[hypochondriac]

6 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

It's amazing that not agreeing with innocent people being killed is now an extremist view.

Sign of the times I suppose.

Incorrect. Supporting BDS is the extremist bit.

[sadoldgit]

Latest campaign poster.

[iansums]

2 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

Incorrect. Supporting BDS is the extremist bit.

There’s a good clip from Question Time on YouTube where Andrew Neil explains the reality of Gaza to her.

[sadoldgit]

Badenoch has made it clear that there is no room for centrists in her Tory party.

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/conservatives/2026/01/kemi-badenoch-needs-centrists-to-win

So we now have two parties vying for the same votes. Not the smartest move by her given that a) she needs the votes of the centrists to win and b) Farage is much better at appealing to the populist voters than Badenoch is.

Where does that leave the normal Tories? Do they defect to the LibDems?
 

[Farmer Saint]

15 minutes ago, sadoldgit said:

Badenoch has made it clear that there is no room for centrists in her Tory party.

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/conservatives/2026/01/kemi-badenoch-needs-centrists-to-win

So we now have two parties vying for the same votes. Not the smartest move by her given that a) she needs the votes of the centrists to win and b) Farage is much better at appealing to the populist voters than Badenoch is.

Where does that leave the normal Tories? Do they defect to the LibDems?
 

What the fuck is she playing at?

[sadoldgit]

42 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

What the fuck is she playing at?

Who knows?  I think she would be more at home in the Reform party though.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

51 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

What the fuck is she playing at?

Foolishly focusing only on portraying herself as the True Conservative.

I heard her say, in regard to Prosper, that what that meant was only her vision of it.

Done to try and distinguish her party as the right leaning party. But oops, just pushed the left part of it, and still loosing more to the right.

As the article said, it's the broadest church that has the best chance of winning. So, not the brightest there.

[sadoldgit]

Apparently Farage is saying that Reform have the most vigorous vetting process of all of the parties. Shame no one bothered to look at his X account.

https://leftfootforward.org/2026/01/reform-forced-to-drop-another-candidate-over-abhorrent-and-sickening-social-media-posts/
 

He has admitted that a few “wrong ‘uns” slip through the net. A few??? 😂

[badgerx16]

1 hour ago, sadoldgit said:

Apparently Farage is saying that Reform have the most vigorous vetting process of all of the parties. Shame no one bothered to look at his X account.

https://leftfootforward.org/2026/01/reform-forced-to-drop-another-candidate-over-abhorrent-and-sickening-social-media-posts/
 

He has admitted that a few “wrong ‘uns” slip through the net. A few??? 😂

A vetting process only exists to check that candidates meet requirements. I would suggest that Reform's system has shown itself to be extremely effective in the quality of people who pass.

[benjii]

Not my words, but something I just read that sums up Reform (and MAGA) perfectly.

- - -

Polls say Reform voters are the least educated. 

Polling consistently shows that Reform UK draws its strongest support from voters with lower levels of formal educational attainment. That fact matters. Not as a slur, but because it helps explain a pattern that keeps repeating.

Reform supporters are being told, clearly and repeatedly, what the party’s policies would mean in practice. They are being told that Reform supports weaker worker protections, a rollback of human rights safeguards, cuts to public spending, and a shift away from universal healthcare toward systems where individuals pay more themselves. They are being told that council taxes are rising under Reform-run councils despite explicit promises that they would not. They are being told that the party is dominated by former Conservative figures whose last period in power left the country poorer and public services weaker.

And yet many supporters refuse to engage with these facts.

Instead, warnings are dismissed as “establishment lies” while the same political figures are trusted again, even when the consequences are spelled out in advance. This is not confidence. It is avoidance.

There is a psychological pattern at work. When people are under sustained economic pressure, anxious about the future, and angry at a system that has failed them, simple narratives become comforting. Blame is redirected outward. Immigrants. Protesters. Cultural enemies. The promise offered is emotional relief rather than material improvement.

This is why Reform’s messaging prioritises grievance over detail. The party does not need supporters to understand policy. It needs them to remain angry long enough not to look too closely.

The uncomfortable reality is that Reform’s policies would hit its own voter base hardest. People on lower incomes rely most on public healthcare. They are least able to absorb higher costs when services are privatised or withdrawn. They are most exposed to cuts in legal protections, benefit changes, council tax rises, and the erosion of local services.

Reform’s politics depends on keeping that contradiction unresolved.

As long as supporters stay locked in outrage, they are spared the moment of reckoning where they have to confront what is actually being offered to them: less security, fewer protections, higher costs, and a thinner safety net, all repackaged as freedom.

That is not empowerment. It is control.

Anger is being used as a distraction from policies that would leave people poorer, sicker, and more exposed. And the more uncomfortable that truth becomes, the louder the shouting gets.

This is not about intelligence. It is about manipulation.

And the people being manipulated will be the first to pay the price.

Reform’s model depends on confusion. Fear is the glue. Outrage is the shield. Because once voters understand what Reform actually proposes, the support does not harden. It collapses.

[sadoldgit]

They see what has happened in the US under Trump but still can’t see what will happen to them here if they vote Farage in. 

[Lord Duckhunter]

31 minutes ago, sadoldgit said:

They see what has happened in the US under Trump but still can’t see what will happen to them here if they vote Farage in. 

You couldn’t see what would happen here if Corbyn got in, so you’re not really in a position to lecture anyone….

[badgerx16]

34 minutes ago, sadoldgit said:

They see what has happened in the US under Trump but still can’t see what will happen to them here if they vote Farage in. 

Unless that is what they want.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

I thought we were safe in SOGWorld as he'd decided who shouldn't be allowed to have the vote. 

[iansums]

I do love the sneering arrogance of the middle class left. If only I’d gone to university I might have some of it too.

[tdmickey3]

1 hour ago, iansums said:

I do love the sneering arrogance of the middle class left. If only I’d gone to university I might have some of it too.

You do all your sneering on here

[badgerx16]

1 hour ago, iansums said:

I do love the sneering arrogance of the middle class left. If only I’d gone to university I might have some of it too.

All I got from Uni was a degree and a wife.

[iansums]

3 minutes ago, tdmickey3 said:

You do all your sneering on here

Do I, really? I express my opinion, I don’t think I sneer at anyone else’s opinions.

[iansums]

4 minutes ago, badgerx16 said:

All I got from Uni was a degree and a wife.

Which one do you find more useful?

[tdmickey3]

Just now, iansums said:

Do I, really? I express my opinion, I don’t think I sneer at anyone else’s opinions.

Ok then🙄

[badgerx16]

Just now, iansums said:

Which one do you find more useful?

The degree is in Microbiology and I spent my whole career in IT, finishing in IT security, so probably my wife of 45 years ( and counting ).

[iansums]

3 minutes ago, badgerx16 said:

The degree is in Microbiology and I spent my whole career in IT, finishing in IT security, so probably my wife of 45 years ( and counting ).

I look at my daughter and can see the massive benefit going to university had for her, not just academically.

[sadoldgit]

5 hours ago, iansums said:

I do love the sneering arrogance of the middle class left. If only I’d gone to university I might have some of it too.

I didn’t go to university and I only went to a secondary modern school. I can, however, look at Farage, Reform and their policies and see that they would be a disaster for this country. You don’t have to have a degree to see that they sew division and hatred and are pitching themselves to the racists and xenophobes. If you are ok with that, fine, but you will have to accept the kickback from those who see things very differently and want to live in a better society.

[egg]

6 hours ago, iansums said:

I look at my daughter and can see the massive benefit going to university had for her, not just academically.

Ditto. My daughter grew up while away at uni. She graduated with a lesser degree than her ability, which she hasn't used, plus a shit load of debt, but she had 3 wonderful years that will serve her well. 

That said, I know lots of people have done incredibly well by taking alternative routes to a decent job or profession, and offer at least as much as graduates. A degree is far from necessary to succeed. 

[sadoldgit]

Out of a group of my old school friends who failed their 11 plus, one became a presenter on Blue Peter, had his own TV series and appeared in several well known films. Another became a news reader for ITN. Another is a senior director in an accountancy firm. Another held a senior position here working against drug smuggling and ended up as a senior consultant in an S. American anti drug agency. Many of us ended up with decent middle management positions.

In our first year in school in  1965 it was made clear to us most of us would likely end up working in the production lines in Twinlocks or Muirheads - light local industrial factories.

All three of my daughters achieved 1sts at uni. Approaching their 30’s none of them are seeing the benefits yet in career procession or salary scales.

On the plus side all three want us to rejoin the EU and none of them would ever vote Reform/Tory.

 

Edited 1 hour ago by sadoldgit
Added text

[Turkish]

In a typical smug, boasting saintsweb style post I never went to university but I’ve managed to have a career where I’ve seen the a lot of the world paid for by my employers, done some fucking cool stuff, earned decent money, met some great people and now have a job where my work life balance means I manage my own schedule so I do what I want during the week and I can take my kid to most of his football and sport clubs during the week and coach a kids team on the weekend. I have very little job related stress because ultimately every issue is fixable so don’t take it or myself too seriously unlike some people.

Not bad for a narcissist, right wing Hopkins supporting arse who should spend less time on a football forum and more time working and with his family 😀

Edited 1 hour ago by Turkish

[Turkish]

31 minutes ago, sadoldgit said:

Out of a group of my old school friends who failed their 11 plus, one became a presenter on Blue Peter, had his own TV series and appeared in several well known films. Another became a news reader for ITN. Another is a senior director in an accountancy firm. Another held a senior position here working against drug smuggling and ended up as a senior consultant in an S. American anti drug agency. Many of us ended up with decent middle management positions.

In our first year in school in  1965 it was made clear to us most of us would likely end up working in the production lines in Twinlocks or Muirheads - light local industrial factories.

All three of my daughters achieved 1sts at uni. Approaching their 30’s none of them are seeing the benefits yet in career procession or salary scales.

On the plus side all three want us to rejoin the EU and none of them would ever vote Reform/Tory.

 

Fuck me SOGs best pals with Peter Duncan 😂😂😂😂

[iansums]

I’ve managed to do ok for myself without going to Uni, a middle management position in an Electronics company, I just wish I was allowed to vote.

[Gloucester Saint]

Universities exist for innovation and research as well - discovery of 🧬 by Alec Jeffries at Leicester, Covid vaccines, the first ever hip replacements, cataracts treatments, flatscreen TVs, top film series and productions, autonomous vehicles etc.

My old man’s life was saved 22 years ago by a clinical trial by scientists at Southampton and Cardiff universities and teaching hospitals pioneering new ways of tackling skin cancer - still alive as a Saints fan and well today against the odds. 

[ecuk268]

10 minutes ago, iansums said:

I’ve managed to do ok for myself without going to Uni, a middle management position in an Electronics company, I just wish I was allowed to vote.

Don't worry.

As Ken Livingston said "If voting changed anything, they'd abolish it".

[iansums]

4 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Universities exist for innovation and research as well - discovery of 🧬 by Alec Jeffries at Leicester, Covid vaccines, the first ever hip replacements, cataracts treatments, flatscreen TVs, top film series and productions, autonomous vehicles etc.

My old man’s life was saved 22 years ago by a clinical trial by scientists at Southampton and Cardiff universities and teaching hospitals pioneering new ways of tackling skin cancer - still alive as a Saints fan and well today against the odds. 

I thought you were talking about the discovery of swimming goggles until I zoomed in.

[sadoldgit]

33 minutes ago, iansums said:

I’ve managed to do ok for myself without going to Uni, a middle management position in an Electronics company, I just wish I was allowed to vote.

Don’t worry, isn’t the age coming down to 16? You’ll be ok from this year 😉

I should have added to my post that back in the dark ages when I was in school only the really bright people went to university (and there were no student fees!).

[The Kraken]

Family dinners must be an absolute flipping hoot around the oldgit household, with the children only being fed once they verbally renounce any potential future affiliation with designated political parties.

Yes dad we promise, now can you just pass us the parsnips please, you monumentally weird man?