The biggest problem here is that when he listened back to this, he almost certainly did not combust in embarrassment. While the rest of us cringed, James and his mates probably just slagged off the truthteller. In that behaviour is the classic Reform voter.
Is it any wonder that Durham elected a Reform council with people like James voting?
And sadly, James is far from alone. Many have succumbed to believing and repeating ideas that are either absolute rubbish or central to those who they throw abuse at.
The Top 20 Ideas Believed Across The Reform UK Voter Spectrum Assessed
- “Net Zero is a costly scam.” The belief that the climate change agenda is not about saving the planet but is a fabricated crisis used to impose control, introduce new taxes, and impoverish ordinary people is believed without any evidence.
- “The BBC is a left wing propaganda machine.” The conviction that the BBC is actively biased towards a “woke,” left-wing, or globalist agenda, deliberately suppressing certain viewpoints, is completely undermined by the evidence.
- “The European Union is a superstate designed to erase British sovereignty.” A core belief that the EU’s ultimate goal was always political integration and the elimination of nation-states like the UK, justifying Brexit. No evidence.
- “Immigration is a deliberate ‘replacement’ strategy.” An adoption of the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory, which suggests a powerful elite is intentionally facilitating mass migration to replace the native population and dilute its culture. No evidence.
- “COVID-19 lockdowns were about control, not health.” The belief that the government used the pandemic as an excuse to test and implement authoritarian controls over the population that will not be rolled back. No evidence.
- “The ‘woke’ agenda is destroying British society.” The view that concepts like gender ideology, critical race theory, and decolonisation are coordinated, malicious attacks on traditional British values and history. No evidence.
- “The economic system is rigged for the elite.” A deep suspicion that both the Conservative and Labour parties are beholden to large corporations, banks, and globalist entities (like the World Economic Forum) that work against the British public’s interests. There is plenty of evidence for this, and it has been at the core of left-wing politics for centuries.
- “The mainstream media only tells lies.” A blanket dismissal of established news outlets (often called “MSM”) as purveyors of misinformation, with alternative online sources seen as more truthful. Again, the left wing of politics has been arguing this for decades.
- “15-minute cities are a trap for population control.” The belief that urban planning initiatives designed to improve liveability are actually a pretext for confining people to their local areas and limiting their freedom of movement. No evidence.
- “Human-made climate change is exaggerated or a hoax.” Skepticism that human activity is the primary driver of climate change, often believing it to be a natural cycle exploited for financial and political gain. No evidence.
- “The House of Lords is an undemocratic relic that actively blocks the people’s will.” The view that the unelected Lords are not a revising chamber but a tool for the establishment to thwart popular policies. Partially true and again a main focus of the left wing for decades.
- “The two-party system is a sham.” The conviction that the Conservatives and Labour are effectively the same (“Tweedledee and Tweedledum”) and offer no real choice, making a vote for Reform the only true alternative. Again, progressives have been arguing this for decades.
- “The government is intentionally underfunding the NHS to privatise it.” A longstanding belief on both the left and right that underinvestment is a deliberate strategy to make the service fail and justify selling it off to private companies. Another central tenet that left-wing analysis shares.
- “The education system is indoctrinating children.” The fear that schools are actively teaching “woke” ideologies and a negative view of British history instead of focusing on core skills and a positive national narrative. Another main focus of left-wing analysis. It is called the hidden curriculum.
- “Legal institutions are biased against Brexit and traditional values.” The belief that the judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights, overreaches its power to block the implementation of the public’s democratic decisions. Evidence?
- “The energy crisis was manufactured.” Suspicion that the spike in energy prices was not solely due to geopolitical events like the war in Ukraine but was exploited or even engineered by energy companies and governments for profit and control. Another long-term left-wing argument that goes much further back than Ukraine.
- “Big Pharma profits over people.” A deep distrust of pharmaceutical companies, particularly amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic, believing they pushed unnecessary vaccines and treatments for financial gain while suppressing potential harms. Again, the left wing has been reporting this for decades.
- “The election system is corrupt.” Concerns that postal voting and other processes are susceptible to widespread fraud, potentially undermining the legitimacy of election results. Evidence?
- “The police care more about ‘hate speech’ than real crime.” The perception that the police have been politicised and now prioritise policing online comments and “non-crime” over investigating burglary, theft, and violent crime. Evidence?
- “A ‘deep state’ of civil servants blocks popular policy.” The belief that a permanent, unelected bureaucracy within Whitehall works to sabotage the agenda of elected governments it disagrees with, particularly around Brexit and immigration.
Apparently Reform voters are sympathetic with many of the long-term concerns of the left wing. Perhaps if they escaped from their warped echo chambers, they may realise that there are others who are much better suited to create a better society than Reform UK.
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