I have often been told I must not assume that Reform voters are racist.
In that context, I note this from The Guardian this morning:
More than half of Reform UK members believe non-white British citizens born abroad should be deported or encouraged to leave, according to the first publicly available poll of those in Nigel Farage's party.
The findings come as the Reform leader attempts to court centre-ground voters while facing pressure from his right flank, including a hardline new party launched by Rupert Lowe, who left Reform after falling out with Farage.
According to the research published by the anti-racism group, Hope Not Hate (HnH), 54% of Reform members thought non-white British citizens born abroad should be forcibly removed or encouraged to leave, while one in five (22%) also supported it for non-white citizens whose parents were born in the UK.
The data does not appear to be on the Hope not Hate website as yet. I will use the above information in that case.
Is it reasonable to suggest that if 54% of Reform members think non-white British citizens born abroad should be forcibly removed or encouraged to leave, that the party is predominantly supported by racists? I think so.
That's not just because this policy blatantly is, but also because even if there are members who do not think that non-white British citizens born abroad should be forcibly removed or encouraged to leave, they may well hold sentiment that is prejudicial to those people, given that they have decided to support a party where support for this idea is commonplace, and Farage has made quite clear that his plan is to remove people from the UK, essentially on the basis of their being non-white.
So, I persist with my idea. Reform is a party predominantly comprised of racists. We need to be quite clear about that and its policy. We cannot oppose what we do not name.
UPDATE: Hope not Hate's report is here.
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I seem to remember Nigel Farage was fairly racist towards Jews and Eastern Europeans too. So in such policies he would deport the spouses and families of many British born citizens, like my former neighbour’s husband whom she met whilst doing aid work in Africa, the father of 2 British born children. And Kemi Badenock who was born in Nigeria.
Isn’t ironic that Hannah Spencer who made a point in her speech of saying we are all the same and share the same problems is accused of sectarianism and Matt Goodwin who said many terrible things promotes himself as a patriot.
Hannah’s message reminded me a lot of what Jo Cox said about more uniting us then dividing us. We need to hold on to this and the fact that thousands of Manchester citizens liked Hannah better than what Reform offered, including in Denton where the perception was the Greens wouldn’t get much support there.
It was a bit of a giveaway when Farage said ‘I’m absolutely convinced that amongst British-born voters, Matthew Goodwin came first in that election last week’ at a press conference following the by-election. Some voters are more equal than others apparently. He has plans to sort out a different electorate if given the chance.
I wonder how Zia Yusuf (Reform UK Spokesperson for Home Affairs) will explain to his parents that most of his party members think they should be sent back to Sri Lanka.
I am not sure I understand who this Reform scheme may apply to.
Does this mean that Reform wants to throw the parents of Rishi Sunak out of the country based on the color of their skin?
If so, does this also mean that Reform would also like to throw Rishi Sunak himself out of the country based on the color of his skin?
If Reform throws Rishi Sunak out of the country will they also throw out his billionaire wife too based on the color of her skin?
Will Reform have the Home Office introduce a “Platinum Card Voucher” where People of Color can buy a “right to remain” voucher for a £10,000,000?
It impossible for one to make up this stuff no matter how hard one may try!
It would seem the Sunak’s have to go. That is it.
And that voucher, may be £100,000, perhaps more, but it will exist.
So, Nadhim Zahawi had better start packing his bags.
Closely followed by Braverman, born in the UK, but of Indian-born parents. I don’t think the racists will make any exceptions once they start deporting.
But there is a difference — they have money. And Farage does quite like foreigners with money. Especially those that buy him a house.
Not every Reform voter is a racist, but every racist will vote for Reform (or the Lowe Party)
Excellent statement!
Not that surprising that more than 50% of Reform’s 200,000 plus members want non whites deported etc. But as to those who might contemplate voting for Reform – because all mainstream parties ‘are in it for themselves’ some may indeed be racists – as there may be some racists supporting other parties .
I suppose some racists may be prejudiced, and favour discrimination, but not go as far as forced deportations – who knows?. They often say ‘I’m not racist but….’.
It would seem the best strategy to give people as many reasons and pathways not to vote Reform despite their disillusion with main stream politics . So it could be best to not call potential reform voters racists or fascists , but just to keep pointing out what Reform are really about – demolishing the NHS, entrenching the control of US billionaire oligarchs etc etc.
I would never dream of calling a potential reform voter racist or fascist. But i am more than happy to tell them that the party policies are racist and fascist and that is what they would be supporting.
I listen to them.
Then I tell them they are ricist, if they are.
Ok, I have to stand corrected, the majority of Reform voters do appear to be racist. I do believe, however, that they don’t believe they are racist. Naively racist? Is that a thing? In other news, the Greens are now the most popular party with under 65s. Over 65 it’s Reform. Another case of the older generations screwing over the future of the young. It would also explain the tacky AI image I saw yesterday attacking the work ethic of the young.
Thanks.
The few Reform supporters that I have met are the kind of people who say
‘I’m not racist, but….’
And then go on to say something that proves beyond doubt that they are.
I think that I’m-not-a-racists fall into 2 groups.
The first is the type who Graham describes above, who start sentences I don’t want to start an argument/upset you/be rude/sound racist etc and then are – pushing the blame onto the listener.
The second comprises people who are more practical than academic – ignorant/uneducated etc are pejorative terms. These people aren’t stupid, but they’re often inarticulate. They know something isn’t right but they don’t know what’s causing it or how to stop it. And they don’t know where to go to find out.
They’re the ones who’ve lived in places where the jobs have disappeared and either not been replaced or the replacements are low paid, long hours, insecure. Plus they can’t get employed anyway, because the owners can pay lower wages to, shall we say, imported workers. They say what they see, but “some poncy *bleep* with a degree who goes home to their nice warm house comes along and tells them they’re racist.”
Then along comes Reform (the ones you can have a pint with!), apparently sympathising with them, giving them what sounds like a rational explanation. These people feel listened to instead of being shouted down either literally or intellectually. They really aren’t racist, they feel worried, neglected, helpless and afraid and can’t get their meaning across.
Reform makes them feel like there’s something they can do – and whoosh they’re in.
I think that may be part of why Hannah Spencer won. She was one of them, but could express all the things they couldn’t. I think that’s what gave them hope and why Reform didn’t do as well as expected.