Farage, Reform, their plans, why bother?

I agree with everything you say Cossy.
Imho top of the political agenda with winter round the corner should be the cost of living crisis, followed closely by a stagnating property market and the inability of young people to get on the property ladder - the whole housing debacle, inflated prices for property, the clunky long winded way that houses are sold in England, as well as the recent hike in stamp duty, needs to be overhauled,
And in the name of all that is sacred ‘the NHS’!!!
Cutting waiting lists, and getting rid of corridor wards to start with.
That really is just the tip of the iceberg before we even touch illegal immigration

Fallingstar

I agree with everything you say Cossy.
Imho top of the political agenda with winter round the corner should be the cost of living crisis, followed closely by a stagnating property market and the inability of young people to get on the property ladder - the whole housing debacle, inflated prices for property, the clunky long winded way that houses are sold in England, as well as the recent hike in stamp duty, needs to be overhauled,
And in the name of all that is sacred ‘the NHS’!!!
Cutting waiting lists, and getting rid of corridor wards to start with.
That really is just the tip of the iceberg before we even touch illegal immigration

👍👍 👏👏👏

Despite the fact that Reform would be incapable of forming a government, it’s still worth examining their policies so that they can be torn to shreds.

Jenrick is predicted to lose his seat to the Tories as is Kruger who was trying to spin this latest benefits plan on the BBC this morning.

When there are far more PIP claimants in your constituency than the size of your Westminster majority, it’s a dangerous game to be playing.

Fraser Nelson summed it up rather neatly.

Reform voters are most likely to report a limiting health condition: they may be against welfare in general, but want it in person. And they may be first in line for the cuts.

He also said:

We need to remember that Robert Jenrick’s team are at war with Zia Yusuf’s team and they think of ways to outbid each other.

In other words, people with disabilities have to be made to suffer to satisfy the egos of two equally reprehensible warring men.

Cossy - "Please don’t tell me that the majority of those arriving here are fit and healthy young men in their thirties, then in the same breath claim they take up valuable places in schools, GP surgeries and hospitals"

However they do receive completely free dental treatment including dentures, bridges & crowns - all of which, even with a NHS dentist we have to pay for

Jenrick has just announced that the long term unemployed would be expected to work 20 hours a week "clean up high streets and parks......to staff libraries and community centres....."

This would be funded by local councils, who will have their funding cut if they don't participate. What happens to the poeple who are currently employed as street cleaners, park rangers, librarians and in community centres? Would their hours be cut to accommodate the unemployed?

I'm pretty sure these sorts of ideas have been touted before but have never been implemented by any government.

They have, MollyNew. It's known as workfare.

There's little evidence that workfare increases the likelihood of finding work. It can even reduce employment chances by limiting the time available for job searching and by failing to provide the skills and experience valued by employers.

Workfare is least effective in getting people into jobs in weak labour markets where unemployment is high.

Since Andy Burnham became P M I think Farage has gradually lost his mojo and I doubt he will get it back . Just hope Burnham does a good job, he has a few years to prove himself. I think his main danger now will be back with the Consevatives who now have a credible leader in Kemi Badenoch. However, the more people go on and on about Farage, the more he will attract people - just the way it is.People don’t like to be told how to think.

In Clacton constituency, numbers from April 2026 showed 10,442 people were receiving PIP and 24.2% were receiving out-of-work benefits.

For Boston & Skegness (Tice’s constituency), 10,548 receiving PIP and 21.6% receiving out-of work-benefits.

In Great Yarmouth (Lowe now Restore), 9968 receiving PIP and 23.4% receiving out-of work-benefits.

I don’t know what proportion of those receiving out-of-work benefits are classed as long term unemployed but, prima facie, that sounds like a lot of people to be found community work in what are coastal communities where there is very little paid work and much of that seasonal and poorly paid.

oops, this ended up in the wrong thread.

@Cossy "*But why?Why does he constantly seek attention? Why does he put forward frankly unrealistic, non-legal solutions to problems and issues that he and his party have blown out of all normal proportion.*"

Because Trump. It worked for Trump in America

Nigel is stupid enough to think it will work here; I don't think it will because of marked differences in our history, size and culture.

We're a very small island where the whole population shares some common services; national broadcasters, health and education , a long view of history; a much more flexible adaptable system of Government, and a political system that can easily and speedily dismiss leaders who lose favour.

Nigel thought the poorest most deprived corner of Britain was where he could get away with anything and nobody who mattered would notice or care. He thought his billionaire patron could buy his security from process, like Trump buys judges in USA.

But we have noticed and we do care , and in this country he won't get away with it .

Harborne can't buy Nigel out of this hole. But he may decide to bury him in it.

I’ve just been listening to Andrew Neil’s take on the announcements and why they are happening now, in an interview he did this morning with Times Radio. It’s worth hearing, regarding the Reform rationale for doing this now, and also what some of the flaws would be in implementation.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_y1phR2llI

Reform proposes ban on most benefits for foreign nationals in UK

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly555430nno

Doesn't the headline the BBC used for this story immediately throw up a significant flaw? What about all the EU nationals with Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK post Brexit? Are they going to be allowed benefits ? How would the EU respond to this, given that a great many British people live in EU countries and are eligible for those countries' benefits?

sundowngirl

Cossy - "Please don’t tell me that the majority of those arriving here are fit and healthy young men in their thirties, then in the same breath claim they take up valuable places in schools, GP surgeries and hospitals"

However they do receive completely free dental treatment including dentures, bridges & crowns - all of which, even with a NHS dentist we have to pay for

As do pregnant people and some on certain benefits.

MaizieD

*Reform proposes ban on most benefits for foreign nationals in UK*

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly555430nno

Doesn't the headline the BBC used for this story immediately throw up a significant flaw? What about all the EU nationals with Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK post Brexit? Are they going to be allowed benefits ? How would the EU respond to this, given that a great many British people live in EU countries and are eligible for those countries' benefits?

That’s such a great point.

I think those who sometimes appear to think we shouldn’t have migrants of any description need to understand if we closed our borders completely to anyone and everyone, the impact could be far reaching.

Those ex-pats/British born who’ve moved abroad in their droves to either work or retire, for what they consider a better work/life balance, or to places outside of Europe to take advantage of tax breaks, might find themselves being penalised.

We’d also find ourselves short of trained and skilled staff in many areas.

MaizieD

*Reform proposes ban on most benefits for foreign nationals in UK*

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly555430nno

Doesn't the headline the BBC used for this story immediately throw up a significant flaw? What about all the EU nationals with Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK post Brexit? Are they going to be allowed benefits ? How would the EU respond to this, given that a great many British people live in EU countries and are eligible for those countries' benefits?

Well in interview this morning Kruger said that if the EU decided to stop benefits for British people living in EU countries he would totally understand that and suggested British people could come back to the UK.
Sounds ridiculous.

Those ex-pats/British born who’ve moved abroad in their droves to either work or retire, for what they consider a better work/life balance, or to places outside of Europe to take advantage of tax breaks, might find themselves being penalised.

Possibly, Cossy, but I have a feeling that most people who move for tax breaks wouldn't be needing benefits at any time...

And, TBH, if they've moved because they don't want to pay their share in the UK I don't quite see why they should get any UK benefits...

Cossy

sundowngirl

Cossy - "Please don’t tell me that the majority of those arriving here are fit and healthy young men in their thirties, then in the same breath claim they take up valuable places in schools, GP surgeries and hospitals"

However they do receive completely free dental treatment including dentures, bridges & crowns - all of which, even with a NHS dentist we have to pay for

As do pregnant people and some on certain benefits.

But pregnant women and those on certain benefits often cannot find an NHS dentist so they do not get treated. There is a site on FB for people who cannot find an NHS Dentist and many people on there are either in agony for months or have pulled their own teeth out!

My friend’s husband has been in hospital for 5 weeks. She is refusing to take him home until they remove two infected teeth. He has Parkinson’s so has to be sedated. NHS And private dentists say he must go to hospital. He had a fall at home and ended up in hospital so my friend said a referral was in place so could they take the teeth out and then she would take him home. She is still waiting, he is in pain and bed blocking but nobody cares. It is disgraceful.

People arriving on not so small boats get to see a free dentist within 48 hours!

In my view there are way too many people who think Farage is the second coming of the Messiah. I fully accept he is a good salesman but when he was a MEP he seldom attended the European Parliament and rarely voted. Maybe the UK would have had a better deal if he had attended ?
look at his own declaration on the parliamentary website of income . Could he cope on a PM's salary ?

Yet here you are Cossy giving them more attention.
Why bother?

nanna8

Since Andy Burnham became P M I think Farage has gradually lost his mojo and I doubt he will get it back . Just hope Burnham does a good job, he has a few years to prove himself. I think his main danger now will be back with the Consevatives who now have a credible leader in Kemi Badenoch. However, the more people go on and on about Farage, the more he will attract people - just the way it is.People don’t like to be told how to think.

I don't think anybody's being told how to think, or what to think. The message is far simpler:

Please think. Watch, listen, think.

This is an extract from independent journalist David Hollas's response:

The ECHR isn't a footnote here. It's load-bearing.

The paper admits the last attempt at mandatory work-for-benefits, under Iain Duncan Smith, was struck down twice by the Supreme Court, in Reilly and Wilson and then Reilly (No 2), for lacking legal specificity. Reform's fix isn't tighter drafting. It's leaving the ECHR and repealing the Human Rights Act to remove the avenue for challenge entirely. That's the same mechanism Operation Fortress relied on to get around the sovereignty problem with landing marines on French beaches without consent. Two flagship policies, two separate legal obstacles, same workaround both times.

A second treaty problem gets the same treatment. To strip EU nationals of benefit access, the paper proposes to simply "renegotiate the treaty and disapply this provision," referring to the Withdrawal Agreement's equal-treatment guarantee for EU citizens resident before 2021. That's one sentence for what would be a unilateral reopening of a ratified international treaty. It's the same instinct as Fortress dismissing France's reaction to an unauthorised marine landing as "not a serious hypothetical."

Major legal and diplomatic obstacles get treated as administrative details throughout Reform's policy documents, not just this one.

The whole piece is here:

x.com/david_hollas/status/2089329955473604711

Dental practices are private businesses, and can choose to take on whatever source of work they choose. If a contract is offered for dental care for migrants, they either choose to do that, or something else with their time. Until payment for the provision of NHS dental care is increased to a sufficiently attractive level to tempt them that won’t change - if it does then, because they have learned not to put all their eggs in one basket now. It’s a major issue.

Why does he need attention?

Because I'm not an expert, I asked google what the signs are of a fragile ego. This is what came up.

Core Signs of a Fragile Ego

Extreme defensiveness: They react with anger or shut down during normal, gentle feedback.

Needing constant praise: They rely heavily on likes, compliments, and outside approval to feel okay.

Fear of being wrong: They view mistakes as proof that they are bad people, so they argue or deflect.

Showing contempt for others: They put other people down to make themselves feel taller or superior.

Threatened by success: They struggle to be happy when others win or get attention.

Tying worth to one role: Their whole identity rests on a single job, look, or relationship.

Interesting.