The debate on whether Reform is racist, or not, is heated and the subject of many claims, all of which rather ignore what people actually think.
YouGov did polling on this at the end of September, but little attention appears to have been given to what they found, which was this:
What are the conclusions?
First, on balance, most people think Reform's policies are racist. That is clear from the data. The opinion I, and many commenting here, hold appears to be widely shared.
Secondly, and unsurprisingly, if you support Reform or the closely adjacent Tories, you deny this. There is nothing surprising about this. Just as I found in my tax haven campaigning years that the easiest way to determine whether a place was a tax haven or not was to gauge the vehemence of its denial that it was, so too does this rule hold true for Reform, the Tories and whether they are racist or not. The more that they deny that they are racist, the more likely it is that they are.
Third, this split is now at the core of politics in England, but not in Scotland (although that is not clear from this poll, but is from others), whilst in Wales the situation might be more polarised than anywhere else, except the two sides are now represented by Plaid Cymru and Reform, with everyone else now falling pretty much by the wayside there.
In that case, then, let's stop debating this and instead conclude that Reform is generally agreed to have racist policies, as do the Tories, but they deny it.
Moreover, let us also conclude that this is where most of the heat is regrettably coming from in politics right now, when almost every other issue in society is vastly more important and is being pushed aside by the politics of hate.
And so let's finally conclude that the impact of racist policy on UK politics is entirely negative, because it is, and most people know that, which fact does not, however, stop the racists pursuing their goal of creating division, discord and misdirected anger within society.
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[…] a basis for delivering useful policy at any level of government, and since that is all the Reform has to offer, this outcome was always inevitable, but it's good to see it working out as expected in practice. […]
Interesting to see that about a quarter of Conservative voters describe Reform as racist.
There is clearly a significant chunk of the Tory vote that could go somewhere other than Reform.
I forget who’s “rule” it is but it says ….”If a headline is a question then the answer is NO”.
This is the exception that proves the rule.
🙂
Another exception is coming very soon.
Out of interest do you think the Koran is racist? If so why do you never criticise Muslim culture? Is that out of bounds for the left?
I think many old religious texts are racist, inclduding much in the Bible that I would very strongly disagree with, just as I find the teachings of Jesus and the Gospels inspriring, although they have been abused by many as well. The case is not about what historical texts say, it is how they are used in the world now. Why are you ignoring that? Are you being racist by any chance?
I have no idea if i am being racist or not but by your definition i’m almost certainly. My point is that muslim culture is definitely racist in your world certainly. Just look how they treat women and gays let alone those who don’t follow their beliefs. Yet you hav’nt the nerve to call it even though you call everyone else racist. It’s what the left do and you typify their actions.
Have you noticed how Christian nationalists treat women, gays and more?
And why do I concentrate on. them? Because they are governing and Muslims are nowhere near doing so in the UK.
Maybe you haven’t notcied that fact. Why not?
@Andrew Prentice
Do YOU think the Q’uran is racist?
Which particular suras did you have in mind?
Could you clarify for me how you understand the concept of “Ummah”?
Which ethnic groups are discriminated against in the Q’uran?
Just for clarity, I personally believe some Muslims, of various ethnic groups are racist, just as I believe some people of ALL religious and ethnic groups are racist. But that wasn’t what your question was about, was it?
Thanks
Andrew has to explain if he is to continue here
Islam is followed by a variety of cultures from Indonesia to Morocco to much of West Africa to India. Social norms vary.
Mosques are segregated by gender but not by wealth or race. They stand and kneel in rows in equality.
I have read some Muslim , Christian and Jewish theology in the past. In Medieval Spain the three faiths were often in dialogue and there was/is considerable overlap in their thinking.
Sadly, faiths today have often been weaponised by nationalism and other political causes.
Much to agree with
[…] already asked this morning whether Reform's policies are racist and having noted that most people in the UK think that they […]
My view – FWIW – is that where there is fascism, there is racism. The two can co-exist. Fascism has gripped Britain’s two mainstream parties and Reform was born using fascist political science anyway from when it was promoting BREXIT in its previous iterations.
@Andrew Prentice
https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/10/06/are-reforms-policies-racist/comment-page-1/#comment-1046616
Andrew, women and gays aren’t an ethnic group. That’s a different type of nasty prejudice.
But that takes us off-topic as this thread and your question specfically mentioned racism, and my questions to you about the Q’uran & racism remain unanswered.
You were saying…?
Hi Richard, long time lurker and first-time poster. While I suspect that I sit a little bit further to the right than you do, there is a lot that I agree with you on.
Rightly or wrongly, Reform have picked up on a (largely immigration bad) narrative that has struck a chord with a large part of the population – relying on Yougov polls as you have, their latest poll suggests that if an election were to be held today, they (Reform) would win 311 seats – with 231 coming from Labour.
Does this mean that a large part of the existing Labour vote is also racist? I don’t think so.
The problem as I see it is that in the past if you had any negative views on immigration or multi-culturalism then you were immediately deemed racist. I believe that the inability to have a balanced conversation discussing the pros and cons of immigration over the past 15 or so years has driven people to extremes.
Reform has exploited this and sadly I can see us moving from a position where we have perhaps been too tolerant where we get taken of advantage of, to a position where we are too harsh and lose all tolerance. Both Labour and Conservative policies are being pushed in this direction by Reform.
A balance needs to be met – we should be a tolerant and inclusive society but also one which isn’t afraid to call out issues or areas that are not compatible with our views or culture. It shouldn’t automatically be deemed racist to suggest that parts of another culture are incompatible with our own.
Are Reform policies racist? I don’t think that is the right term as I don’t feel they are directed at a particular race or ethnic group. Are they anti-poor and/or anti-immigration -probably!
I am differentiating.
I am calling Reform’s policies racist because they clearly are: they deliberately promote polcy that is discriminatory on the grounds of race. Most people can see that.
It does not mean everyone voting Reform in protest is a racist.
Reform, a lot of Tories and Trump advocate racist policies, but whether individuals are racist isn’t always clear. Some are clever enough to know how to rattle the cages of people who are obviously and unarguably racist. They stir these people up so much that people challenge them and call them racist. Other people see this and stick up for the racists because they think the racists’ freedoms are being attacked. Meanwhile those who stirred up the hornet’s nest of racism stand back in horror when they are confronted. QED.
I hope I have made the distinction.
I am blaming the parties, not the people voting for them.
That is harder in the case of their leaderships, I accept, but even there I can live in hope.