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I thought we might have a little balance in the headlines for once.
JaneJudge
how on earth can they abolish PIP? I thought he was a finance person?
How do PIP and "finance person" go together. His view of finance is one of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.
Cossy 20.05 - I agree Farage would.....if only he could.
JaneJudge
how on earth can they abolish PIP? I thought he was a finance person?
The money which he dealt with in his trading days, couldn’t be further away from disability benefits.
He would stop benefits if he could, he would turn boats straight around and back to France or frankly anywhere other than get, he does not care about anyone or anything except himself
His signature music, played again at Farage Fest, does make me laugh.
Guess who's back, back again? Shady's back
Farage didn't want to be at the count because he is thin skinned and wants to be surrounded by sycophants, in the style of his idol, the US President.
For him to say that he didn't want to be at the count where he would be in the company of nobodies was an insult to the rest of the candidates and their supporters. In a democracy, we can vote for joke candidates and/or minority parties, if we so choose.
All politicians are at risk these days- not just Farage- who after all has played a part in promoting divisive politics and political discourse. He's the only politician that I know who has £5million at his finger tips to spend on security so why not use it if he thinks it's needed at the most important moments in his constituency? He may have to face another vote count in the not too distant future also and rely on his constituents to stick by him in a bye-election with stronger competition.
The police security in attendance had the dais well covered for the vote result- with plain clothes policemen in attendance as well I understand. Crikey even Trump does not duck away from public appearances. Farage would have had more security cover there than where he decided to alternatively locate instead- but then in that location he was in control of the media output.
It was disrespectful in my view for Farage not to be present and thank the people who voted for him whatever the result. He called the by election after all! AB was photoshot standing right next to Count Binface just weeks ago for the Makerfield vote count- smiling away. Obviously made of sterner stuff.
Oreo
There’s already a thread on this up and running.The voters of Clacton weren’t fooled btw as they knew they wanted NF back when they voted.
NF? Nigel Farage or National Front?
A man of the people, (OK we know he's not) if voted inito a position of responsibility by the people : they'd go to parliamentary sessions so the people who voted for them had a say on what was going into law (Farage doesn't or if he does, is likely to walk out before voting); they'd at least turn up to acknowledge the people whop had voted them back into office. If there was a known risk (but not severe enough for the public reveal to be abandoned, so not high) they could use some of their 5 billion security to protect themselves whilst on the dias, no?
I agree, LemonJam, with your analysis of Mr Farage's well tuned bonhomie, man- of - the- people persona, which has served him well.
However, of late, this seems to be not working so well, and he appears increasingly irascible. The warm relationship with MSM is cooling, with the possible exception of the Daily Express.
MayBee70
Why do Reform, with their handful of MP’s, get so much tv coverage if they as much as open their mouths?
FWIW- my personal view is that media outlets and broadcasters must be impartial ( some do it better than others) and thus must treat main parties equally.
Albeit Reform UK is a fairly young party and has but a handful of MPs ( thus is it. amain party?) it has consistently lead poll rating since the 2024 GE and Farage had been positioning himself as the next PM at the next GE. Thats why Reform has been attracted such huge £donations /sums of money etc.
Plus- although I am not a Reform supporter, Farage merits credit for his excellent communication skills and (until recently) expertise in managing and handling the media ( plus making very large sums of money from it!). Until recently his relationship with the right wing press has been very cosy and mutually beneficial.
He has skilfully drip fed 'policy' announcements and frequently over the past 2 years- not so much the detail- the headlines and emotion behind the ideology. He's an opportunist that capitalises on issues dear to party cause and manoeuvres photo opportunities with exquisite timing- that's why we saw Yusef rocking up in Ceuta a couple of weekends ago. Followed by exquisite timing of Operation Fortress proposals- grabbing headlines alongside photos of the Ceuta influx. He's a strategic and skilled media operator.
He's not enjoying media attention as much as usual at the moment and his level of control has slipped somewhat. Mostly I guess as a result of media scrutiny on his £5million sum received etc which he clearly dislikes. This has limited his usual ability to ability to duck and dive as he wishes in order to avoid endless £ probing questions.
This is where the National Centre for Social Research indicates Reform’s support comes from:
Social Grade and Class Breakdown
C2DE (Working-Class Households): Reform commands a large lead here, polling around 35% among working-class households, significantly outpacing both Labour and the Conservatives
.ABC1 (Middle-Class/Professional Households): Support drops heavily in professional and managerial groups, where the party averages around 21% or lower.
Occupational and Work Status
Routine and Manual Jobs: Support peaks strongly among workers in semi-routine, routine, and manual occupations.
Unemployed Voters: Polling highlights a sharp increase in support among jobless individuals—especially unemployed men in male-dominated sectors like construction and manufacturing, where over 40% express backing for Reform.
Small Business Owners: The party maintains solid traction among small-to-medium enterprise (SME) owners and supervisors, though educational background remains a more distinct divider than employment type alone.
One thought and concern has occurred to me in this proposed shift toward local councils funding the needs of those that will not fit into the category of those who have their PIP payments abolished (almost 3 million people) and do not quality for the replacement “heath security allowance” reserved only for “the most severe, enduring and high-risk cases”.
We've heard Reform say that they will discriminate against none voting Reform areas in some policy areas- e.g. the Reform proposal to place migrant housing in none Reform lead council locations to supposedly favour and reward Reform voters.
I don't have confidence that Reform UK will not extend this principle across other policy issues- ie financially favour government funding allowances to Reform local councils above none Reform led councils.
This would result in 2 tier level of provision and even more stretched budgets and lack of support for disabled people in none Reform led Councils.
Why do Reform, with their handful of MP’s, get so much tv coverage if they as much as open their mouths?
Fraser Nelson has published an analysis on his substack:
frasernelson.substack.com/p/six-flaws-with-reforms-welfare-plans
Every Reform MP sits on more PIP claimants than the majority that elected them.
And then goes on to show the numbers of claimants in their target seats.
In a nutshell, when the full policy is published tomorrow ...
we may be in the strange position where Reform will be planning to hit Reform voters harder than any other party.
Stripping disabled people of PIP payments is callous in my view. Saying that only the most severely affected will get anything at all is surely not what most of us want.
I notice they made this announcement after the Clacton by election. How many votes down would Farage have been if the people had known this.
It will certainly affect people in Clacton which has a very high number of disability benefit claimants - as I posted about upthread.
An election on Thursday and a formal policy announcement on Monday to make life harder for many of the people who may have voted for him.
If there is a suspension, recall and another by-election it will give Farage’s opponents even more campaign ammunition.
I can’t help thinking their Benefits Policy will lose some voters for Reform. 3 million is a significant percentage of the population, and many people, if not a claimant themself, will be related to people on PIP.
The policy isn’t in print yesterday but from what I read in the media:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz977nxww1jo
PIP would be abolished for almost 3 million people and replaced with a “heath security allowance” only for “the most severe, enduring and high-risk cases”.
Any other needs would have to come from local council budgets which we know are already stretched to the limit by adult social care costs.
Reform would make employers cover sick pay and take out insurance to cover the cost. It says it would reduce employer's NIC to make it cost neutral for business.
What Jenrick doesn’t say is how that will affect NHS funding. At the moment around £60 billion in NIC is allocated to the NHS each year. That’s what Reeves’ increase in NIC on employers was for, to increased the NIC allocation to the NHS from £35 billion a year to £60 billion.
First they go after the migrants. Then they go after the disabled, and anyone who needs care if they are going to add to local government costs and cut NHS funding.
Add in that they say they will abolish the Human Rights Act (which includes the right to life) and Equality Act (which protects the elderly and disabled) and we would all be on a very slippery slope.
Thank goodness Reform will never be in government.
how on earth can they abolish PIP? I thought he was a finance person?
Graphite
Except those who need to claim disability benefits.
Clacton has the highest number of PIP claimants in Essex placing it in the top 20 nationwide. 18% (9,627) working age people claim it.
Reform announces its plans to abolish PIP the day after Farage is re-elected in Clacton.
I didn't know that.
The timing & the mindset make me feel physically nauseous.
butterandjam
Oreo
I don’t think it matters where the small/ enormous boatloads of asylum seekers enter the UK, it’s the fact that they keep on coming surely?
Far MORE of them are entering every European country.
The number arriving here by boat is tiny in comparison.
In 2024 alone, around 8.8 million refugees and 1.3 million asylum seekers arrived in Europe.
. Germany received the largest number of refugees and asylum seekers in that year, followed by Poland and France.
It doesn’t matter really how many more are entering France or Germany or Poland they are much larger countries .
In any case we don’t know if asylum seekers there will be allowed to settle or will move on through to another country.
What you say is no comfort as the mega boats keep on arriving here.
Well, fortunately, Graphite, the voters of Clacton are in no immediate danger of any policies promoted by the Reform group, as it has fewer Members of Parliament than the Scottish National Party.
Oreo
I don’t think it matters where the small/ enormous boatloads of asylum seekers enter the UK, it’s the fact that they keep on coming surely?
Far MORE of them are entering every European country.
The number arriving here by boat is tiny in comparison.
In 2024 alone, around 8.8 million refugees and 1.3 million asylum seekers arrived in Europe.
. Germany received the largest number of refugees and asylum seekers in that year, followed by Poland and France.
The people of Clacton weren’t really offered a choice. The whole thing was a farce. Count Binface regularly stands in by-elections. He has stood against Boris Johnson and more recently against Andy Burnham in Makerfield.
Meanwhile over in Almondbury,
Lib Dems have just taken a council seat from...Reform!
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