Gransnet forums

News & politics

Racists in Reform UK! Shock horror!!!

(117 Posts)
sarahcyn Thu 15-Oct-26 21:35:33

Who'd have thought it!

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/reform-racism-itv-investigation-burnham-b3067705.html?utm_campaign=View%20from%20Westminster%20Newsletter%2015-10-26

Margs Fri 16-Oct-26 12:38:13

Are there really that many Reform councillors left? They seem to be changing sides or abandoning their political ambitions at a rapid rate, either because of policy disagreements or because they realised they can't run a political career in local government as a 'hobby'.

Maremia Fri 16-Oct-26 12:26:12

Totally agree especially with that last paragraph Cossy.
Why do people think he cares about them?
What has he actually done to demonstrate this 'concern'?

Casdon Fri 16-Oct-26 12:08:02

What we would need though Chestnut is some evidence that other parties are behaving in the same way. Journalists have been crawling over the minutiae of the doings of the Tories and Labour for many years, and have exposed various major issues as a result, but I don’t believe there has been anything of this breadth and magnitude?

Dickens Fri 16-Oct-26 12:06:59

Excellent post Cossy at 10:18.

Yes, the 'leaders' v 'followers' is an important distinction which I think maybe nanna8 is missing.

What Farage and Lowe appear to actually want is to cancel welfare completely, keep women out of the labour market completely and push our country back to the 1950’s when we all “knew our place”.

It's been hinted at obliquely by Farage and others. Some more high-profile figures have also made it clear by their comments that they are indeed misogynistic in their outlook.

I think the belief is that in order not to have to rely on immigrant labour, we should produce our own home-grown force. That will of course require women to SAH, and there have been suggestions that life could be made a bit easier for mothers who do - along with ideas to penalise those women who don't.

If we, Farage et al, follow the American model - and that seems a fairly reasonable assumption as he (Farage) has allegedly spent more time in the US than he has in Clacton and makes no bones about his support for Trump, then would it also be reasonable to assume that there will be efforts to reduce the further educational opportunities open to women at present? My personal opinion is that a vote for Farage will ultimately lead to a very regressive and repressive government - for women. Farage himself may not be too extreme in this regard, but there are others, men - we don't talk about them much on GN - who, for various personal reasons quite literally hate women and want to see them disenfranchised.

If you'll bear with me for a moment... for many months now I've been 'following' various American men who espouse the manosphere on FB. They do vary in their insistence that women's role is purely to support men, but the more extreme individuals' views should alarm any woman who values her personal freedom and independence. But, the point I want to make is that, on checking their FB page, every single man who indicated a political allegiance, supported Trump. Of course along with others on FB there were those who kept their account private - or didn't appear to have any political 'interest', nevertheless, I think it's hugely important to note that those who did were behind Trump. And, of those, the number who called for the repeal of the - I think 21st Amendment, which gives women the right to vote - is high.

Farage might not take us down this route - but his party, and Restore's - will attract those who would, inevitably. And Farage will, one day, retire. I don't believe it's too fanciful to imagine a day in the future - under a Reform government - when he, Farage, would, historically, be regarded as the 'benign' face of the rightward movement.

Any GN member who has daughters and grand daughters should research Farage fully, specifically his ties with the MAGA movement, and the American Tea Party movement, not to mention his expansion into cryptocurrency where donations have connected the Party to Silicon Valley where he maintains professional relationships with prominent (and very rich) Trump-aligned crypto 'advisors'.

I'd seriously question how much he really cares about the 'left-behind', disenfranchised or 'forgotten' members of society, or whether he's using their legitimate grievances - he is very articulate and convincing - merely as a political tool to achieve his own agenda.

Chestnut Fri 16-Oct-26 12:01:18

Maremia

Are you excusing them Chestnut, on the premise that perhaps other politicians speak this way?

Of course I'm not excusing them. I've said clearly they need to be removed. I'm trying to give a balanced debate by offering another side to the discussion, which is what a discussion is about. We don't want everyone just nodding their heads and agreeing.

Cossy Fri 16-Oct-26 11:50:04

Details of ITV Investigation

www.itv.com/news/2026-10-14/reform-councillors-told-to-resign-after-chilling-itv-investigation

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw3dj458re1vo

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nigel-farage-reform-uk-itv-undercover-chris-parry-b3067660.html

Cossy Fri 16-Oct-26 11:47:05

This is once source, the figures may differ slightly between sites,

“Best for Britain Tracker: Public trackers note that over 150 Reform UK councillors have resigned, been suspended, defected, or walked away since the local elections. More specifically, since the May 2026 local elections alone, over 52 Reform UK councillors have quit or been removed.”

Cossy Fri 16-Oct-26 11:44:11

Whitewavemark2

I think that the argument being made that because of the racism, misogyny etc which is endemic in Reform it will attract racists and misogynists, far more than other parties.

Unless of course there is evidence to the contrary.

Bang on!

Cossy Fri 16-Oct-26 11:43:39

Chesnut “Whataboutery”, “what if” both are the very worst kind of deflection, and oft used to “excuse”.

I would feel the same if this was Labour, Green, Tory, LibDem, Monster Raving Loony Party, but this particular thread and said investigation is about Reform, not any other party.

Bring me evidence about other parties from credible sources and I’ll condemn them equally.

The biggest issue here for me is the scale of these Reform councillors and the rhetoric that their 7 or 8 MPs repeat day in, day out.

Whitewavemark2 Fri 16-Oct-26 11:38:54

I think that the argument being made that because of the racism, misogyny etc which is endemic in Reform it will attract racists and misogynists, far more than other parties.

Unless of course there is evidence to the contrary.

Cossy Fri 16-Oct-26 11:38:17

nanna8

I know you don’t like them but to tar everyone in that party with the same brush is just libellous.I don’t like them,either and I don’t like the Green Party there or the ones here but I would never,ever judge them by individuals. Dig deep and you would find nasty people in every single party ,of that I am certain. The Labour Party are no Saints, far from it. Same applies to the Conservatives I am sure.

It’s the individuals involved in this we are condemning AND their leaders who appear at the least to ignore this, or at the very worst actively encourage it.

It’s simply not good enough.

No one on here, whatever their be political persuasion has ever said any political party or its members are perfect or free from scandal.

However in almost EVERY other political party in our country there are some very decent, hard working, MPs.

It would appear in Reform , their MPs all share similar moral compasses and sense of decency that the majority of people in this country do not share!

Maremia Fri 16-Oct-26 11:28:59

'They', the ones caught on camera. 'They', simple as that.

Casdon Fri 16-Oct-26 11:27:28

There are bad apples in every basket Chestnut. However there is no getting away from what this report reveals, or from the number of Reform councillors who have been forced to resign from their posts since the May 2025 elections due to their actions being inappropriate. It’s highly unlikely that there are the same endemic issues in the other parties, because they have not recruited so many councillors who have never served before, so they are largely known quantities and would have been exposed before.

Maremia Fri 16-Oct-26 11:26:53

Are you excusing them Chestnut, on the premise that perhaps other politicians speak this way?

Maremia Fri 16-Oct-26 11:25:51

We are talking about the actual Reform officials caught on camera using their own words, that reflect racist, misogynistic beliefs.
Why not view the footage for yourself, and then come back to say what you found?

Chestnut Fri 16-Oct-26 11:16:45

Whitewavemark2

They are apparently using language and terms well known amongst paedophiles and those committing incest which means nothing to ordinary folk but has deep meaning amongst those foul individuals.

These are people who hope to run our country for heavens sake.

So let's get rid of these individuals. I keep saying it, these people are looking for a political home and will settle there unless they are booted out.

Let's hear some of the undercover conversations amongst people in the Labour party. They might be just as bad. We don't know, do we?

Whitewavemark2 Fri 16-Oct-26 11:05:44

One called for the King to be killed.

Whitewavemark2 Fri 16-Oct-26 11:01:51

They are apparently using language and terms well known amongst paedophiles and those committing incest which means nothing to ordinary folk but has deep meaning amongst those foul individuals.

These are people who hope to run our country for heavens sake.

nanna8 Fri 16-Oct-26 11:00:55

I know you don’t like them but to tar everyone in that party with the same brush is just libellous.I don’t like them,either and I don’t like the Green Party there or the ones here but I would never,ever judge them by individuals. Dig deep and you would find nasty people in every single party ,of that I am certain. The Labour Party are no Saints, far from it. Same applies to the Conservatives I am sure.

Whitewavemark2 Fri 16-Oct-26 10:57:56

nanna8

If you are calling members of Reform paedophiles and incestuous you are risking a court case . Good job you don’t live here, you would be sued. Hateful comments and certainly as bad as the ones you are whinging about.I will no longer respond to trash like that.

There has been an undercover “sting” by sky news (I think or it may be ITV) but these people are filmed using this language amongst themselves and discussing incest etc.

I think we are perfectly entitled to describe these people in the terms we are using and some!!!

Cossy Fri 16-Oct-26 10:52:14

nanna8

If you are calling members of Reform paedophiles and incestuous you are risking a court case . Good job you don’t live here, you would be sued. Hateful comments and certainly as bad as the ones you are whinging about.I will no longer respond to trash like that.

Perhaps read up on the actual stories before you condemn those living in the UK having to tolerate and hear these stories daily about local
Councillors elected from the Reform Party who behave in this utterly vile way.

nanna8 Fri 16-Oct-26 10:48:33

If you are calling members of Reform paedophiles and incestuous you are risking a court case . Good job you don’t live here, you would be sued. Hateful comments and certainly as bad as the ones you are whinging about.I will no longer respond to trash like that.

Cossy Fri 16-Oct-26 10:42:31

Fallingstar

I will tar the Reform party with the same brush but not all those who vote for them because I think Farage et al are good at scaremongering and trying to look like a viable option to other political parties whom the voters are fed up with.
The anti establishment spiel as set out by Trump is a big draw, whilst both Trump and Farage are bankrolled by billionaires.
Do voters see this??
I think it is easy to turn a blind eye if convinced that a party is going to do something about illegal immigration, if that is the one issue voters want solved.
The Greens have recently fallen in many people’s estimation but I feel that with a new leader and party members who resonate with what Caroline Lucas established, there is hope. Zach Polanski is not ‘the Green party’ he is just the most recent leader, but Farage is Reform.

Very well put and I 100% agree.

Whitewavemark2 Fri 16-Oct-26 10:40:15

I think the “ they” is talking about reform councillors and parliamentary candidates.

Using “they” in this instance seems reasonable.

Chestnut Fri 16-Oct-26 10:27:49

Maremia

If they are frequently caught making racist comments, then calling them racist seems linguistically accurate.

It's the collective 'they' again as if hundreds of thousands of people can all be described in one way. They are all different and have different views.

Extremists are always looking for a home and will be attracted to a party which swings either left or right. It's up to the party to remove them.