The reform party has agreed to continue the triple lock

Maremia, I live in Kent which has Reform group leading it. Kent is a very large county, and was spoken of, by this group, as being a " flagship" to demonstrate their effectiveness.
I have posted before about the selling of artwork donated to the people of Kent, and the £600, 000 spent on parking for certain councillors.
The most recent full meeting seemed likely to be contentious, so a senior barrister, a KC, was employed to give advice to the Reform party . A KC costs around £250 per hour.

It is a responsibility for all citizens to vote in my opinion, think how hard our forbears fought for the right. I agree with crazygranmda, it’s better to go, and express your frustration by spoiling your ballot paper than to not vote at all, because your vote is counted.

You do realise that almost the same number don’t vote as do? It’s very troubling especially for general elections crazygranmda.
I can’t get over excited about local elections as the LibDems are reelected here every time.

crazygranmda

ronib

No not a vote for Reform WWM2. Most likely not going to vote. What is the point?

Ronib not voting isn't an option for me, as I would see it as a betrayal of what the suffragettes went through to get women the vote. My Grandfather made this very clear to me back in the 50s.

If you go to the Polling station and spoil your ballot paper, it has to be counted. It is a way of expressing your disillusionment with the current system.

Just my viewpoint. I rarely post, so hope I don't regret doing so

I’m considering spoiling my ballot paper next time around, something along the lines of ‘none of these eejits’.

LizzieDrip

Wyllow3

I think a few prods are being introduced for the purposes of their sheer amusement, not worth rising to bait?

Yes Wyllow … I think some schools might still be on holiday🤣 Sad isn’t it🤷‍♀️

I think you both really mean that you disagree with those posters😉

ronib

No not a vote for Reform WWM2. Most likely not going to vote. What is the point?

Ronib not voting isn't an option for me, as I would see it as a betrayal of what the suffragettes went through to get women the vote. My Grandfather made this very clear to me back in the 50s.

If you go to the Polling station and spoil your ballot paper, it has to be counted. It is a way of expressing your disillusionment with the current system.

Just my viewpoint. I rarely post, so hope I don't regret doing so

Cossy - you seem to be blinkered to what is happening out there - reread Rupert Lowe’s comments. I won’t go on as you are entitled to your opinion.

'Talking about issues' is so easy to do when you are not in power.
Reform made massive gains in elections recently.
How have those councils/constituencies fared with Reform in charge?
Did they manage to keep their promises?
What did Farage promise to the people of Clacton?
Has he delivered?
How many times had he been there?

Oh , so we are back to the name calling again. 'Virtue Signalling Wokes'.
Where are the self appointed Thread Prefects when you need them?

Casdon

I don’t think so, they are not new posters, so probably bona fide Gransnet members.

Oh well, that’s even more sad then isn’t it!

WithNobsOnIt

However vile and hated Reform may appear to some people. They have gained Voters because they talk about issues that a lot of ordinary everyday people are really
concerned about. Especially Immigration and.crime levels

And are.put down by Virtue Signaling Wokes or this awful government for even daring to voice their opinions

Many of their supporters really form a protest vote

Labour have deeply hated their old guard decent White Working Class
Voters since Blair took power and still do with a deep passion.

The Conservatives all look like Yesterday's Men and are almost finished as a party.

The Greens are now a National joke.Especially with that clown Polanski leading them.

Any you know what they say about Liberals. Scratch a Liberal and you get a Fascist

Our local Candidates in the Council Elections are not up too much at all. They are not well informed even about simple matters..

They do not really have a genuine community ethos and sold out years ago to. silly ideologies .

They are not well informed and no longer interested in helping local. people with housing, neighbourhood and other important problems.

They are more interested in getting cycle lanes built which nobody uses. because they still use the pavement as a cycle lane.

I wouldn't vote for any of them.

Good grief! What a lot of very exaggerated generalisations!

What Reform and the likes of Lowe actually do is disguise themselves as “normal, average, men, who like a pie and a pint and football” and then once accepted by those who believe these people are their peers, home in on things which people fear. People fear crime, people fear that those coming here on boats are going to murder them in their beds and rape their woman folk.

Reform base most of the rhetoric on people’s fear, this “saying it as it is” is utter nonsense, and Reform know this.

It’s blood awful to let people believe their fears are real.

If, for example, anyone is unlucky enough to be a victim of violent crime, it’s statistically far more likely to be a British person (of any colour) than an asylum seeker.

I’m not pretending that some awful crimes haven’t been committed by Aslyum seekers, they have and these are not people we welcome to our country.

Complete lies about immigration and other political parties views on immigration.

Not one person I’ve ever spoken to doesn’t agree immigration needs reform (with a small “r”), the whole system needs reviewing and made far more efficient and effective.

Stirring up division around religion and nationality and colour of people’s skin in order to win votes is utterly disgraceful.

I, along with many others, want the boats to stop bringing people in, it’s dangerous, people die, criminals get rich and our Homw Office needs to get their act together and process these applications more quickly and ensure that no asylum seekers disappear into our black economy.

Ironically, the majority of “illegal immigrants” are visa overstayers. Haven’t heard one single speech from Farage & Co about making our visa department more efficient.

The bottom line is, many of us believe Farage is a grifting snake oil salesman. He was an inept MEP, he’s an absent MP and I dread to think how very out of his depth he’d be if he, by some terrible act of god, ever became MP!

I’d like to see those who support him so deeply, go back and look at his history.

I don’t think so, they are not new posters, so probably bona fide Gransnet members.

I would not trust that ragtag bag of failed Tories and ex British Front members if they told me it was raining. Not that they will ever become the Government. I know that the integrity of the UK electorate will never elect such a racist party of poor quality candidates.

Wyllow3

I think a few prods are being introduced for the purposes of their sheer amusement, not worth rising to bait?

Yes Wyllow … I think some schools might still be on holiday🤣 Sad isn’t it🤷‍♀️

Allira

^Any you know what they say about Liberals. Scratch a Liberal and you get a Fascist^

Well, that's one I've never heard of!!
Sounds like a Reform soundbite rather than true.

🤣🤣🤣 Never heard such a nonsense expression in my life!

Especially given the widely used expressions “woke liberals” and “lefty liberals”

I think people in the UK are so used to getting their treatment without having to worry about the cost.

Yes good point. Free medical care gets taken for granted a bit. If we paid via insurance, presumably the price would be based on medical history, not circumstances, so lottery winners & billionaires would pay the same as people from low-income families, who would really struggle to afford it. But because the NHS has always been there, possibly potential Reform voters don't realise how they would struggle without it.

Also young people are putting off or deciding not to have children because they can't afford it & keep a decent lifestyle, if there was no NHS raising a family would be even more expensive.A Triple lock's no good if there aren't enough working age people to keep the economy going, and to provide social care.

Any you know what they say about Liberals. Scratch a Liberal and you get a Fascist

Well, that's one I've never heard of!!
Sounds like a Reform soundbite rather than true.

Mind you, in many respects, for both local and general elections parties and individuals can promise whatever they choose, but we, in our Parliament, have due process to follow for most legislation, other parties and our HoL have to ratify most things.

Thank goodness, we don’t have the appalling system as in America of “executive orders”.

It’s not just about councils either, in May the Welsh and Scottish parliamentary elections are being held too, and it is quite possible that the Greens or Lib Dem’s will feature in new coalition governments. I don’t think Reform will, because none of the other parties are likely to go into a coalition with them.

However vile and hated Reform may appear to some people. They have gained Voters because they talk about issues that a lot of ordinary everyday people are really
concerned about. Especially Immigration and.crime levels

And are.put down by Virtue Signaling Wokes or this awful government for even daring to voice their opinions

Many of their supporters really form a protest vote

Labour have deeply hated their old guard decent White Working Class
Voters since Blair took power and still do with a deep passion.

The Conservatives all look like Yesterday's Men and are almost finished as a party.

The Greens are now a National joke.Especially with that clown Polanski leading them.

Any you know what they say about Liberals. Scratch a Liberal and you get a Fascist

Our local Candidates in the Council Elections are not up too much at all. They are not well informed even about simple matters..

They do not really have a genuine community ethos and sold out years ago to. silly ideologies .

They are not well informed and no longer interested in helping local. people with housing, neighbourhood and other important problems.

They are more interested in getting cycle lanes built which nobody uses. because they still use the pavement as a cycle lane.

I wouldn't vote for any of them.

GG54

I'm voting Reform. Taking into account that some of you will certainly have voted Lib Dem and fewer voted Green, some of both choices to divert votes from the conservatives who you couldn't wait to get rid of for the face of 'new' Labour, I wonder just what your plans are now you've turned away from the 4 best known parties. Libs and Greens haven't got a chance and you know it. So...is it the same one you tossed aside at the last election or the one currently residing in number 10?
I'm not dissing anyone's choice but Reform is getting my vote.

The elections which are shortly taking place are local elections and LibDems and Greens actually do stand a chance. In some counties, the LDs hold the balance of power and are influential. It's highly unlikely that the Greens will be the biggest party in any county, but their vote share is on the increase in some places and they will be looking to hold more power in a few counties.

Maybe people should look at the responsibilities of local councils. It's irrelevant whether any party promises to maintain the pension triple lock because local councils have no say in deciding pensions. Nevertheless, the lion's share of local council funding goes to social care, including adult social care. If any party promises to reduce council tax, try asking where the savings will be made - it could very well be in adult social care. If not social care, it's likely that savings will be made to services such as libraries, public transport and community events, which are used by elderly people. If they want to carry on using the services, they're going to have to use their triple-locked pensions to pay for them.

I shall briefly pop my head above the parapet. We now have the list of the candidates for the local elections. One of them is a man who was previously a member of the Liberals but is now standing for Reform. The Liberals and Reform seem like exact opposites, so why would he change his stance so dramatically? If he should knock on my door, I shall ask him.
I shall be voting for him because he was a great help to me when I had a problem with construction workers, so I know he will be a good councillor. He cares about local problems, and this is what local elections are about.

I would never vote for reform , but I think the triple lock is important, there are a lot of pensioners who are living way below the the national living wage, and we must never forget this is not a benefit , we paid in to it just like your private pension , we had a contract with the government . It shocks me that young people generally believe that all oap’s are well off and dont believe they should live a decent life .

I think people in the UK are so used to getting their treatment without having to worry about the cost.
I was told my radiotherapy treatment would cost £9000 that's apart from two operations and 5 years of tablets.

Those voting Reform need to make sure they have enough money to pay out huge amounts in insurance in case they become ill. Even then people are sometimes left high and dry as insurance won't carry on paying every time as some people in the US have found.

They can say what they like before they are in power, but like them all change their mind as soon as they get in.
Saying that I would never vote for them anyway. All Farage needs to do is grow a little moustache on his upper lip to take us back 90 years , when a certain person made everyone think other religions were the enemy.