Why I am supporting Reform UK

How have we arrived in such a forlorn era in British politics? How have we been cornered into choosing between Labour’s untrustworthy Keir ‘Weasel Weathervane’ Starmer and the inauthentic Conservative usurper ‘Fishy’ Rishi Sunak? They both appear to be empty vessels. But is it a Hobson’s choice?

Starmer tells us “My father was a toolmaker”, desperately trying to fake some working-class credentials. The inevitable joke about making a tool is a crude one but it writes itself. Meanwhile Sunak bores us to death by repeating “We must stick to the plan” just as often. The problem is that his plan is non-existent.

While Sunak’s inability is undeniable, and he has neither the imagination nor the strength to avert a Tory wreckage, Starmer represents a serious danger. The image of the dull centrist is a fabrication. As Michael Curzon warns us, the Labour leader is a radical ideologue. The UK will suffer under his governance.

Unless the polls are off by a mile, we will end up with Labour in power and a shattered Tory party. The least bad outcome would be for Labour to swiftly prove their incompetence while being squeezed by a surging right-wing movement in Europe and – hopefully – a determined Republican administration in the US.

For British voters who understand that the next five years will be painful, there really is only one strategy to play, and that is to plan for the aftermath of Labour’s reign. Even if Sherelle Jacobs is right to anticipate an ineffective government, we must nonetheless use the time to plot the needed conservative restoration.

Reform UK is the only option of substance for those on the Left and Right who are disenfranchised by the ineptitude and entitlement of the Westminster blob. Neither Labour nor the Conservatives represent or serve ordinary people. Despite their ideological differences, there is common ground too, and it is bleak.

Both the main parties have become increasingly authoritarian – remember the vaccine propaganda and the glee with which the lockdown rules were inflicted? – and care nothing for patriotic values nor the safety and security of British citizens. Both sides seem wedded to high taxation and bloated state expenditure.

Reform UK does not have all the answers. Its policies need refinement but they are founded in good sense, respect and pragmatism. And while they are unlikely to make a dent in this summer’s election – they will probably earn millions of votes but few, if any, MPs – they represent the vanguard of the revolution.

Is there any point in casting a so-called protest vote for a party that will have no power in parliament? I think there is. There needs to be a permanent and crippling thorn in Labour’s side, either within or without the House of Commons. It is doubtful that role will be fulfilled by whatever is left of the Conservative Party.

The Conservatives need to learn a hard lesson. Their leftward drift and failure to expunge the spectre of Tony Blair from our politics and institutions with their eighty-seat majority cannot be forgiven. Their time in office after Boris Johnson’s 2019 victory should have been transformative, enduring and remarkable.

The support for Reform UK – which was steady under Richard Tice and is now soaring with Brexit hero Nigel Farage at the helm – will hopefully be influential after the election, even if the votes do not produce MPs. The Conservatives need to steer back to the Right and Labour need to respect the working class.

Reform UK is the loudest voice of those forgotten people from across the political spectrum, and the party’s value increases as the old Left-Right divisions and loyalties become less relevant in our current politics. Voting for Reform UK, as for the Brexit Party before it, is a matter of principle in an ideological battle.

The Brexit Party did not need any goals other than leaving the European Union. Its reincarnated form, however, has to come up with ideas for domestic policies. The plans thus far are set out in the Party’s Contract. The document has been refined as the election approaches but it is still messy in places.

Its stronger parts, such as the ideas relating to business, clearly reflect the experience and knowledge of Tice and the insightful and eloquent Ben Habib. And yet there are other sections which look rather like an untidy brainstorming exercise, belying a scarcity of expertise in some areas that needs to be addressed.

With my quarter century in policing and police training, I was surprised to find that Reform UK’s plans for policing and the criminal justice system are at times both ill-informed and sensationalist. Proposing that officers should serve a two-year probation is odd; they’ve been doing that for over twenty-five years.

This suggests that Reform UK needs to consult with more experts and shape its ideas into better policies, but there will be time for that after the election. The focus beforehand is, quite rightly, on publicity and gaining ground in the polls. Farage has invigorated the campaign and puts Sunak and Starmer to shame.

Reform UK has been accused of wanting to destroy the Conservatives, and while there is hyperbole at play, there is truth in the claim. Yes, the Conservatives deserve a thumping defeat, but Reform should be more diplomatic and engage with the few true Tories left in the Conservative Party. Reform will need allies.

There simply is no good reason to compete with the likes of Dame Andrea Jenkyns and Miriam Cates. Reform has no parliamentary experience apart from that of Lee Anderson, who joined the party after losing the Conservative whip. Reform will need friends who understand the political system if it is to disrupt it.

And yet Reform UK’s rough-around-the-edges nature is part of its appeal. Nigel Farage can engage with ordinary people in a way that Sunak and Starmer could never dream of. He’s gaining fans among young people who are appalled at woke ideology in schools and has even built a modest following on TikTok.

Great Britain needs Reform UK. They know the green agenda is fraudulent. They want to purge ideology from our institutions. They understand how high immigration is linked to crime, diminishing resources and the housing crisis. They are the common-sense brigade. That is why I joined and will vote for Reform UK.