Makerfield: Reform candidate sexist?

Wyllow3

You see, it didnt't bother me a bit he was not a successful career man, but it bothered him and he couldn't get over it.

If being a successful career man becomes your raison d'être, nothing will placate the perceived failure and I'd imagine that sense of losing control over his 'destiny' put you in the firing line.

As for Kenyon - I wonder what his mother and sister feel about his comments? He's admitted he's sexist - "sorry, but I am" said he.

I think Reform's Quality Control needs a shake-up.

I don't think Reform has any quality control unfortunately they have lots of money, courtesy of foreign donors of one sort or another. This means they can spend lots of money on advertising, different sorts of social media that goes to their target markets and, of course, funds GB news. Fox news in the US helped to create Trump and get him into power and Reform is using similar tactics to try to get Reform/Farage into power. Reform's use of social media is far better than any of the other political parties and it does influence those people who generally wouldn't watch BBC, ITV etc or read any newspapers, which are subject to OfCom or the laws of libel.

Kandinsky

Honestly. you’d think sexist men were only invented the year Reform UK was born ( just 7 years ago )
Who were these men voting for before Reform?
Mostly Labour I’d say.

They were probably voting for Reform's predecessor, UKIP, where Farage dwelt for a few years.

I think sexist men historically existed in both main parties - but they didn't have the option of enhancing their views on social media back then.

But in any boardroom, club, or pub, where men gathered, you could always count on hearing some views on "wimmin".

foxie48

I don't think Reform has any quality control unfortunately they have lots of money, courtesy of foreign donors of one sort or another. This means they can spend lots of money on advertising, different sorts of social media that goes to their target markets and, of course, funds GB news. Fox news in the US helped to create Trump and get him into power and Reform is using similar tactics to try to get Reform/Farage into power. Reform's use of social media is far better than any of the other political parties and it does influence those people who generally wouldn't watch BBC, ITV etc or read any newspapers, which are subject to OfCom or the laws of libel.

I recall an era when councillors, MPs, and other politicos had a little more gravitas - could articulate and, in some instances, came to the job having had some experience in the field. I don't mean individuals like Ted Heath who always spoke as if he was chewing a plum at the same time, but men (mostly) and women who - regardless of party affiliation - when they held forth, didn't leave you with that same sensation you get when someone scrapes their fingernails on a blackboard.

They weren't flawless, and there was sleaze, but they did appear to be a little more mature. And you didn't wake up wondering, before you switched on the morning news, what fresh-hell had been unleashed over the last 24 hours...

IYSWIM

“And you didn’t wake up in the morning wondering what fresh hell had been unleashed over the past 24 hours”

Well put Dickens. My routine is go downstairs, kettle on, dogs out in the garden, switch on radio four as I make that first cup of tea. These days I hear the 7am headlines with some trepidation

Yes we’ve always had sexist men in politics. I bet many of us recall the men expecting women at political meetings to look after the children and brew up. But the arrival of the orange monster across the sea has changed things for the worst

In the past more MPs had experience away from politics. They were businessmen, trade union officials etc etc, who came into Parliament in their 40s.

Nowadays, so many politicians are career politicians. Andy Burnham is a classic example. he went to Cambridge University then worked for several leading MPs as a special advisor and had other union jobs close to parliament.

I think this has led to a deterioration in the uality of MPs and also their connections with their constituency.

Andy Burnham is a classic carpetbagger, an MP is offered incentives to retire, when he does the Labour party bring in their man, with no connections in the area, knowing nothing about it, just because he needs to be an MP to further his career.

If I lived in this constituency, I would probably vote Reform, despite holding the party in contempt. There are few Reform MPs, one more will not be significant, There will be another electionin a few years, The Labour party will have a different candidate and win the seat back.

Last time Labour tried to railroad a carpetbagger into a constituency, he lost massively (anyone remember Patrick Gordon Walker). I hope it happens again.

Andy has life long connections to the area.

MOnica, Andy Burnham does have connections with the area. He used to be the MP for Leigh, part of which is in the current Makerfield constituency. He went to school in Newton-le-Willows, which is just south of the constituency. I suspect he knows quite a bit about the area.

The Reform candidate hasn't been entirely truthful about his own background. Apparently he was brought up in St Helens, which is a neighbouring constituency.

I don’t remember Patrick Gordon Walker, but I hope Burnham wins.

It may be that he is personally ambitious - at that level in politics they all are - but for whatever reason Starmer has been vilified from day one, and if we are to avoid a dictatorship he probably needs to go. It’s a shame (in fact it’s a disgrace), but even people claiming to have voted for him have complained about everything he’s done from the start, and the media have been after him, too. His Comms team are dreadful and he’s unpopular.

So, how to stop a party who is gaining traction despite openly saying they will repeal the Equality Act and stop recognising the European Court of Human Rights on Day One of getting into power? That would wipe out all women’s rights at a stroke. Our daughters and granddaughters would lose everything we and our mothers fought for. People of colour would be set back generations too, as would the disabled. Robert Kenyon has made the contempt in which he holds women very clear. He hasn’t been censured by his leaders, which shows their true colours too.

Burnham is popular, but he wasn’t in a position to get into parliament without the resignation of another. The Makerfield MP’s sacrifice has given him a chance to step in and try to turn things round. I don’t think he is wrong to do that - the stakes are too high to ignore.

I don’t have a vote in Makerfield, but I wish I did, so I could do my bit to hold back the tide of regressive policies that we will face if Reform is not stopped from getting into government.

I agree with your post Doodledog, I voted Starmer as leader and until recently supported him, no need to detail all the things contributing to my change of mind but his time as leader must end

Andy Burnham is a more experienced and confident person than when he stood previously. He’s a very popular Mayor and has demonstrated he can see what needs doing and crack on.

He grew up and lives in the area, his children went to local schools.

People tempted to vote Reform because they have simple slogans to complex problems need to remember their position on the nhs, equality, human rights, race, disability and particularly its views and impact on women.

People do like setting up Reform as the big bad bear. They are like the Greens , who eually have wild policies that would restrict our freedoms. Reform like talking about these policies because it gets them attention and all those who do not like Reform rise to Farage's baiting like Pavlov's dogs.

As we have seen in almost every government manifesto pledges melt away like snow in summer when the governing party have to deal with the real governing and all the problems that instigating some of their policies will cause.

It would be just the same for Reform. If by some existential horror they won an election. They would uickly find out how difficult it would be to implement many of these policies.

i really think we should just treat Reform as another party like the LibDems, Greens, SNP . Instead of rising to every tiny bait farge throws. We should take the party seriously. Treat its voters with respect and oppose and object to various policies.

Farage is nothing if he is not centre stage and living up to his reputation as a nasty bit of work. Were we all to calm down, refuse to rise to his taunts and just treat everything he says like you would from any other party leader and generally ignore him, he would soon get bored and mss all the attention.

I too rember Patrick Gordon Walker. I'm not happy about an unnecessary election being called just to satisfy one man's ambition. I'm glad I do not live in the constituancy. I

MOnica

I can see what you are getting at, but think you are underestimating the appeal of Farage/Reform to an awful lot of voters and ignoring the growing dissatisfaction with, not only Starmer, but mainstream politics in general and the two parties that, up until recently, monopolise this.

I also believe you are too easily dismissing the powerful - and wealthy - entities behind this movement towards Reform; invested 'interests' that once lent their support to the Tories are now shifting over to Farage in order to protect that very structure of wealth and power.

If you treat it, Reform, like any other party - the Libs, Greens, SNP - you run the risk of having the rug pulled from underneath your feet; when was the last time you saw either of those last three generate violent revolt and clashes with the police which involved a handful of officers having to go into hiding?

Our FPTP voting system means that a party with numerically the least votes can still become the party in power. If you want to see how quickly democracy can be demolished by populism, just look over the pond. In spite of the fact that our political systems differ, the driving forces behind populism are the same. Farage is not Trump, he is more articulate and intelligent - that makes him even more dangerous.

I acknowledge what you are saying, but I disagree with your conclusions.

No. We are dealing with a new development here which reminds me greatly of politics in the 1930's and reminds me of Oswald Mosley, supported internationally in Europe as well as a mixture of the aristocracy as then was and very ordinary people who had suffered a great deal in the financial Great Depression of the 30's.

Surely we don't need reminding that they portrayed Jewish people as "the Enemy" just as now its "Immigrants" and the backing of Trumps friends and the very very rich with very little awareness just how few % are irregular.

See the likeness? Remember our history and where that ended up.

Dont let it happen again, nor walk blindly into it.

It is not that we are walking blindly, I agree with many of Monica's points. I hate the nazi comparisons but if we are going to do that, it is the greens who I would be more afraid of in terms of that line.
The pro palestine marches etc, in my view have drawn a target on the backs of Jewish people, it isn't reform who have enabled that.

Galaxy

It is not that we are walking blindly, I agree with many of Monica's points. I hate the nazi comparisons but if we are going to do that, it is the greens who I would be more afraid of in terms of that line.
The pro palestine marches etc, in my view have drawn a target on the backs of Jewish people, it isn't reform who have enabled that.

Quite honestly, comparing the Greens with the Nazis really is silly.

If course Reform and the Nazis aren't identical, but you really should mug up on the Nazis' rise to power if you can't see the parallels and the warning signs.

Yeah I am half German so I have a fairly good knowledge thanks. Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean their knowledge is inferior.

Galaxy

Yeah I am half German so I have a fairly good knowledge thanks. Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean their knowledge is inferior.

Indeed but . . .

I still think if Reform was treated like a mainstream party, and given its vote support, I think it should, we would then judge and scrutinise the party in the way we do the Labour and Conservative parties.

This happened to the Green Party during the local elections and when that was done things came out of the woodwork that damaged both the party and its leader. But at least potential voters know about them now and consider how they vote next time.

Personally, all my support is for the 'The Monster Raving Looney party', whose manifesto sound the most reasonable of the lot
www.loonyparty.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Makerfield_Manicfesto-717x1024.jpg

I have always found the monster raving loony party fairly unfunny but I liked that

I think their suggestion was to put doctors receptionists in place in areas where illegal immigrants might try to gain access.

Monica - I don't think that Reform will "find out" how difficult it is to do the things it is saying it will do - I think Farage knows full well that a lot of what he promises isn't possible, but he has little intention of doing much about it. When he gets in, all Farage's favourite hobbyhorses will be given free rein, I expect he'd throw his weight about a bit about anyone not born in this country (who isn't a Reform MP) & the boats, but I don't think that's his primary concern were he to get his hands on power.That would be making sure him & his mates got rich(er).

Oh he absolutely won't be able to do anything, he is a second rate version of Johnson.