Reform UK - A symptom of all that is wrong?

Reform UK - A symptom of all that is wrong?

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Discussion

Kermit power

Original Poster:

28,993 posts

216 months

Sunday 14th January
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I'd never really given much thought to Reform UK before seeing a surprising number of people on the "Voting Intentions" thread saying that they were actually considering voting for them. What's more, it seems from opinion polls that around 10% of the country are actually considering voting for them, so I went to have a look at their policies and found this...



We live in a country which has had declining birth rates and increasing life expectancy for decades. Basically every year for the past half century has seen more people retiring than children reaching adulthood to replace them, and this dial will shift by a further million over the next 15 years. Every year - without net immigration - the ratio of workers to pensioners will continue to fall and the tax burden per worker to support those pensioners will continue to rise.

You might support the policy of net zero immigration or you might not. That is your own personal opinion, and there are surely more than enough other threads on here debating that.

You may also support the idea of zero waiting lists. Nobody likes waiting for medical care, of course, even if it would be very costly to deliver.

Lastly, you might also favour the idea of lower taxation. Who doesn't?

Regardless of your views on those three individual topics, however, surely nobody can truly look at all three together and believe they are any more deliverable than a kosher vegetarian bacon sarnie???

I find it honestly scary that the state of mainstream British politics has reached a point where 10% of the British electorate can actually look at Reform UK's three short, clear, easy to understand yet completely mutually exclusive policies and think "yes, that would be an improvement"!?! You could have all three, of course, but only if you're willing to pursue a ruthless euthanasia policy to cull the sick, elderly or otherwise unproductive in society, and I'd hope not too many people actually want that?

How on earth have we come to this??? Surely something has to change?

Scolmore

2,733 posts

195 months

Sunday 14th January
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Perhaps the change should be not having power bounce between the same two parties. Parties who have become so similar, that it is impossible to spot the difference.

E63eeeeee...

4,144 posts

52 months

Sunday 14th January
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They're also mutually contradictory, because cutting immigration means fewer workers supporting more non-workers, so higher taxes, and cutting immigration and zero waiting lists are pulling in opposite directions, as are lower taxes and zero waiting lists.

Basically this is transparent and cynical cakeism, based on the fact they know they're never going to have to actually deliver on any of it.

Gecko1978

10,016 posts

160 months

Sunday 14th January
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I have seen some of their adverts on social media and honestly it's like 1939 Germany quite scary.

1) net zero migration (appealing)
2) no waiting lists (a dream)
3) lower taxes (frankly a must)


But what appears to be quite far right ideology.....nah thanks

Timothy Bucktu

15,400 posts

203 months

Sunday 14th January
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Gecko1978 said:
But what appears to be quite far right ideology.....nah thanks
It's probably what's needed to pull the Conservatives back to centre right where they should be.

valiant

10,722 posts

163 months

Sunday 14th January
quotequote all
It’s all pie in the sky and no doubt lapped up without question by the same people who demand fully costed plans for other parties.

Still, they are taking votes away from the Tories without much chance of winning a single seat which can only be a good thing.

Membership mechanism is a bit odd. You can become a member but you don’t seem to have any party voting rights? Is that correct? I’ve only quickly peeked at their website and can’t see what ‘rights’ you have by becoming a member.

BigMon

4,410 posts

132 months

Sunday 14th January
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Populist rabble rousers. I have precisely zero interest in wasting a vote on them.

OutInTheShed

8,185 posts

29 months

Sunday 14th January
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Kermit power said:
...
We live in a country which has had declining birth rates and increasing life expectancy for decades. Basically every year for the past half century has seen more people retiring than children reaching adulthood to replace them, and this dial will shift by a further million over the next 15 years. Every year - without net immigration - the ratio of workers to pensioners will continue to fall and the tax burden per worker to support those pensioners will continue to rise.
...
Foir those people in mortal fear of the 'aging population problem', how does it play out at the end of this century when the 'experts' tell us that world population will stabilise? (or are they lying?)

Will the UK keep importing more and more young people in a ponzi scheme, while the rest of the world ages more?
Will the UK be in denial of aging world population for a decade or two, then have a real crisis as it's forced to catch up?

Are you just wanting to stay in your comfort zone for 20 years or so, or is there a long term plan?

The real reason we have so many pensioners is actually, there's not many jobs. Not much work to be done.
Post the information revolution and all that, we don't need that many drones.
We're not doing much for the wider world, not exporting much, mostly been living off past wealth for a while.

Most of the tax might actually come from 'investors' rather than 'workers'. Who pays the tax now? Is it the young chavs on min wage, or is it the old gits with capital?

I don'treally follow Reform, but it's maybe a symptom that people are seeing through the cosy consensus of Blair-Cameron-Remain orthodoxy and realising that there are real issues we're not dealing with.

Seasonal Hero

7,954 posts

55 months

Sunday 14th January
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It’s a vehicle for Farage.

hidetheelephants

26,020 posts

196 months

Sunday 14th January
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valiant said:
It’s all pie in the sky and no doubt lapped up without question by the same people who demand fully costed plans for other parties.

Still, they are taking votes away from the Tories without much chance of winning a single seat which can only be a good thing.

Membership mechanism is a bit odd. You can become a member but you don’t seem to have any party voting rights? Is that correct? I’ve only quickly peeked at their website and can’t see what ‘rights’ you have by becoming a member.
Not a party, more of a Nigel Farage fan club.

Dingu

3,977 posts

33 months

Sunday 14th January
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OutInTheShed said:
is it the old gits with capital?

.
What capital of yours actually gets taxed?

Killboy

7,810 posts

205 months

Sunday 14th January
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Kermit power said:
Lol, and how are they going to do any of these?

Kermit power

Original Poster:

28,993 posts

216 months

Sunday 14th January
quotequote all
OutInTheShed said:
Foir those people in mortal fear of the 'aging population problem', how does it play out at the end of this century when the 'experts' tell us that world population will stabilise? (or are they lying?)

Will the UK keep importing more and more young people in a ponzi scheme, while the rest of the world ages more?
Will the UK be in denial of aging world population for a decade or two, then have a real crisis as it's forced to catch up?

Are you just wanting to stay in your comfort zone for 20 years or so, or is there a long term plan?

The real reason we have so many pensioners is actually, there's not many jobs. Not much work to be done.
Post the information revolution and all that, we don't need that many drones.
We're not doing much for the wider world, not exporting much, mostly been living off past wealth for a while.

Most of the tax might actually come from 'investors' rather than 'workers'. Who pays the tax now? Is it the young chavs on min wage, or is it the old gits with capital?

I don'treally follow Reform, but it's maybe a symptom that people are seeing through the cosy consensus of Blair-Cameron-Remain orthodoxy and realising that there are real issues we're not dealing with.
I've got 3 sprogs, so I've done my bit! hehe

The reason we've got so many pensioners, however, is not because we don't need workers. The sheer number of them we've imported over the past 25 years shows that.

It's more that life expectancy has massively outstripped state pension age for the past 75 years, making it easier for more people to retire earlier.

Kermit power

Original Poster:

28,993 posts

216 months

Sunday 14th January
quotequote all
E63eeeeee... said:
They're also mutually contradictory, because cutting immigration means fewer workers supporting more non-workers, so higher taxes, and cutting immigration and zero waiting lists are pulling in opposite directions, as are lower taxes and zero waiting lists.

Basically this is transparent and cynical cakeism, based on the fact they know they're never going to have to actually deliver on any of it.
I rather thought that what what I said? hehe

Kermit power

Original Poster:

28,993 posts

216 months

Sunday 14th January
quotequote all
Killboy said:
Kermit power said:
Lol, and how are they going to do any of these?
Well quite, yet 10% of people say they're going to vote for them!

There are plenty of people on here making that claim who come across as intelligent, rational people in other respects, so I can only assume they're so disillusioned with the mainstream that they're deliberately suspending their disbelief? Why else would you vote for something so patently impossible?

Ridgemont

6,717 posts

134 months

Sunday 14th January
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It exists for one reason only, and it’s not daft: every reform vote probably sinks the tories into the mire. This has been done previously and will probably be quite effective.

As to the idea they are ‘far right’. Lol.

Seasonal Hero

7,954 posts

55 months

Sunday 14th January
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Farage wants the Tories gone. Reform don’t need workable policies because they’re not going to have to try and implement a single thing listed above. They know that. This is about Farage and his desire for electoral reform on his terms.

Sadly some people just see Farage and will vote for that regardless.

86

2,856 posts

119 months

Sunday 14th January
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If we move to PR parties like this will have a decent voice

Seasonal Hero

7,954 posts

55 months

Sunday 14th January
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A case in point.

valiant

10,722 posts

163 months

Sunday 14th January
quotequote all
Seasonal Hero said:
Farage wants the Tories gone to shoehorn himself into the Tory party once it’s finished tearing itself apart and the loony membership will spunk themselves silly when he does so and probably eventually make him leader..

Sadly some people just see Farage and will vote for that regardless.
I may have slightly wandered into conspiracy theory territory here