Reform UK discussion

[Robin Edwards]

How bad will the collective meltdown be, if Reform lose their leader in Clacton, and the Manchester Mayoral election in Manchester? who will they blame, you can bet it won't be their own stupid actions,

I would say the Mayor of Manchester more important to longer term ambitions than a single MP, who even if he wins, will face being kicked out again anyway, but of course, Reform is Nigel Farages own very fragile ego trip.

Quite simply, he will do a "Trump" and claim he was stitched up by "The Establishment" he apparently wants his proud supporters to rally and rage against. Whatever happens to his detriment, will never be of his doing. He likely has his latest victim card ready to play.

 

[ainsworth74]

Has Farage actually put the nomination papers in? Deadline is today...

 

[dosxuk]

If NF gets beaten in Clacton, then it will be the end of him as a political force (lets face it, he will have lost to a bin, on a By Election that was not needed)

To me, this will also be the end of Reform as a potential "big party". NF Will have to leave, and lets face it, the one thing NF is, is a showman. Its not really the Reform Party, its The Nigel Farage Party. If he goes, the party will lose all momentum, and go back to being UKIP 2.0, with few votes.

Then we can see whether the ex -Tories suddenly realise that they don't really like Reform, and want to go back...

It won't. He'll just decry it as the Establishment working against the people to keep him out, claiming it's evidence of why he should be in charge. Farage will quit the party when it suits him best, either on a high to keep future doors open, or in utter disgrace for something even he can't shrug off - which frankly if the circumstances for such a thing existed in his past, they'd probably have been revealed by now.

Electing Binface will do no more to Farage than throwing a milkshake at him - it'll be amusing (for some) for a few minutes, but the joke won't last long and it won't put a dent in his ambitions.

 

[35B]

Electing Binface will do no more to Farage than throwing a milkshake at him - it'll be amusing (for some) for a few minutes, but the joke won't last long and it won't put a dent in his ambitions.

I disagree on that - it will puncture his credibility and the sense of inevitability that he's used to build his momentum.

A milkshake gives him a grievance that he can use to say he's under attack. Being defeated (or even run close) by a joke candidate in an election he's asked for says something really damaging about him

 

[Broucek]

A milkshake gives him a grievance that he can use to say he's under attack. Being defeated (or even run close) by a joke candidate in an election he's asked for says something really damaging about him

With his backers as much as the voters....

 

[martin butler]

If he decides to cut and run, he does have form, It might suit him longer term,

1 : It effectively stops the parliamentary investigation, he can then flee to the States, to continue his grift,

2: If Reform has peaked, it has only one way to go, and the more extreme of Reform's members, will turn to Lowes party, he can walk away, and distance himself from a failing party by shutting it down,

3: It gives him another opportunity to ride back into the fray in 2029 as the saviour of Britishness, at the head of a new organisation.

 

[brad465]

If he decides to cut and run, he does have form, It might suit him longer term,

1 : It effectively stops the parliamentary investigation, he can then flee to the States, to continue his grift,

2: If Reform has peaked, it has only one way to go, and the more extreme of Reform's members, will turn to Lowes party, he can walk away, and distance himself from a failing party by shutting it down,

3: It gives him another opportunity to ride back into the fray in 2029 as the saviour of Britishness, at the head of a new organisation.

It would also take the spotlight off Burnham at the time he's taking over, although somehow I don't think this particular spotlight on Farage will be a good one for him.

 

[35B]

If he decides to cut and run, he does have form, It might suit him longer term,

1 : It effectively stops the parliamentary investigation, he can then flee to the States, to continue his grift,

2: If Reform has peaked, it has only one way to go, and the more extreme of Reform's members, will turn to Lowes party, he can walk away, and distance himself from a failing party by shutting it down,

3: It gives him another opportunity to ride back into the fray in 2029 as the saviour of Britishness, at the head of a new organisation.

Disagree, he's backed himself into a corner and he's intelligent enough to know he'd be losing his appeal to the wider electorate that he needs to reach to get power. The drip, drip, drip of stories in the press are cutting through, and he knows it - hence the griping. When it was just a parliamentary investigation, people weren't going to be that interested, as more and more comes out, that gets harder to sustain.

If he were to try to come again in 2029, his big problem is that he's gone from being a saviour figure to a bit of a nasty joke - kind of Neil Hamilton without the laughs, and with a LOT more money. And if he's lost or not stood, he's also shown he's vulnerable - either to defeat, or for cowardice. Neither are good looks

 

[SargeNpton]

If he decides to cut and run, he does have form, It might suit him longer term,

1 : It effectively stops the parliamentary investigation, he can then flee to the States, to continue his grift,

Isn't the Met Police also looking at some of the allegations? If so, hay won't go away if he loses.

 

[The Ham]

Has Farage actually put the nomination papers in? Deadline is today...

I don't know, but if they attract submitted it'll be the fault of the Establishment (even if it was just him not doing his admin)

If he decides to cut and run, he does have form, It might suit him longer term,

...

3: It gives him another opportunity to ride back into the fray in 2029 as the saviour of Britishness, at the head of a new organisation.

Not sure how well that will work.

Whilst stories about gifts may get forgotten, the fact that he walked away may not go down well with his base.

Also, there's a fair chance that some of his base (as there's a fair percentage who are older) may have permanently moved on from supporting him and so no longer vote!

The other factor is just how well the right do going forwards, including how the 2028 US presidential election goes.

 

[jon0844]

How bad will the collective meltdown be, if Reform lose their leader in Clacton, and the Manchester Mayoral election in Manchester? who will they blame, you can bet it won't be their own stupid actions

Nigel will be sat in 5 Hertford Street drinking some fine wine or port, blaming everything on the establishment that are also members of the same private club!

 

[brad465]

There are 34 candidates standing in the Clacton by-election, which for an election with no mainstream party representation beyond Reform UK, is a staggering number.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

There are 34 candidates standing in the Clacton by-election, which for an election with no mainstream party representation beyond Reform UK, is a staggering number.

Wow, 33 joke candidates and Count Binface.

I wonder how many will get no votes at all.

 

[AlterEgo]

There are 34 candidates standing in the Clacton by-election, which for an election with no mainstream party representation beyond Reform UK, is a staggering number.

State of this.

Everyone is God | Political party

Everyone is God is a radical political party that has revolutionary policies that fundamentally solve all human problems.

www.everyoneisgod.co.uk

Pair of Peep Show characters.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

There are 34 candidates standing in the Clacton by-election, which for an election with no mainstream party representation beyond Reform UK, is a staggering number.

Thats going to create a rather long voting sheet and a nightmare for the counting tellers. Also has names are published in order of surnames Farage wont be at the top.

 

[pr1]

There are 34 candidates standing in the Clacton by-election, which for an election with no mainstream party representation beyond Reform UK, is a staggering number.

It beats the previous record by some distance.

Attached file shows record byelection ballot papers:

34: Clacton
26: Haltemprice and Howden
19: Newbury
18: Kensington and Chelsea

 

[dosxuk]

Somewhat surprising to see three candidates representing the Official Monster Raving Loony Party. I'd been under the assumption you could only have one representative of a party in each election, but this throws that idea out the window.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Also has names are published in order of surnames Farage wont be at the top.

Indeed, that's why Joseph 77 goes by that name as a candidate.

 

[The exile]

When (if ever) have 3 candidates from the same party stood for election in the same single member constituency?

 

[brad465]

Thats going to create a rather long voting sheet and a nightmare for the counting tellers. Also has names are published in order of surnames Farage wont be at the top.

And Binface is 3rd from the top which makes voting for him much easier.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

This the ballot paper from Haltemprice and Howden so if they follow same format Farage will be well down first column

sourced from a BBC News article http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7500264.stm where it was stated this was a new record for candidates standing in a by election.

 

[edwin_m]

Somewhat surprising to see three candidates representing the Official Monster Raving Loony Party.

Perhaps they are the Provisional Monster Raving Loonies and the Continuity Monster Raving Loonies (Splitters!).

 

[D6130]

Perhaps they are the Provisional Monster Raving Loonies and the Continuity Monster Raving Loonies (Splitters!).

That accounts for two of the them. Perhaps the third candidate is a wannabe Monster Raving Loony?

 

[JamesT]

Somewhat surprising to see three candidates representing the Official Monster Raving Loony Party. I'd been under the assumption you could only have one representative of a party in each election, but this throws that idea out the window.

Reading https://www.electoralcommission.org...rtificate-authorisation#block-book-navigation

Political parties authorise candidates to stand for them by issuing a certificate of authorisation. This must state that the named candidate can stand on their behalf and allow them to use one of the following:1

the exact party name as registered with the Commission
one of the party’s registered descriptions
your choice of either the registered party name or one of the registered descriptions

It's down to the party to authorise it's candidates, but nothing to say there can be only one.
One assumes that a normal party would make sure to only authorise their chosen candidate, but who knows how the Loony's work.

 

[JGurney]

Somewhat surprising to see three candidates representing the Official Monster Raving Loony Party. I'd been under the assumption you could only have one representative of a party in each election, but this throws that idea out the window.

There is no rule against it because there was never any need for one - no sensible party would ever do it anyway. Having two or more candidates would mean votes for the party got split between them, which would reduce the party's chances of winning. I presume the Monster Raving Loonies have noticed that there is no rule against it and decided to do as their name suggests and do the opposite of sensible.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

There is no rule against it because there was never any need for one - no sensible party would ever do it anyway. Having two or more candidates would mean votes for the party got split between them, which would reduce the party's chances of winning. I presume the Monster Raving Loonies have noticed that there is no rule against it and decided to do as their name suggests and do the opposite of sensible.

The OMRLP are 'deputising' for the three main parties, as they are not standing, is the official line I believe! It should be remembered that a lot of OMRLP policies have been adopted - all-day drinking, Sunday trading, pet passports so clearly they are the 'sensible' party. Seriously, I hope Binface (Count) puts up a decent showing against Frogface (Nigel) in Clacton.

 

[Welly]

Wow, 33 joke candidates and Count Binface.

I wonder how many will get no votes at all.

The inevitable lost deposits will help pay for the by election!

 

[The Ham]

The inevitable lost deposits will help pay for the by election!

Assuming 30 lose their deposit that's £15,000 out of a potential circa £380,000 cost.

 

[Stathern Jc]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Bookies will be offering odds on the number of lost deposits at Clacton.

With that number of candidates it could be difficult to recognise who might be genuinely wanting to represent the local population.
Hopefully, anyone who does want to act for the people of Clacton will already be known in the area, and those voters looking for local representation will be able to sort the wheat from the chaff.

I don't know how long the electoral deposit has been £500. That isn't beyond a whip round in the pub, and I don't think an increase to the psychological £1,000 mark is unreasonable. It would perhaps reduce the likelihood of farces like this in future.
Spare a thought for the people doing the count.

 

[BAFRA77]

The Canadians regularly claim the crown for most candidates to run in a Riding/Constituency.

In 2025 - a byelection was called after its recently re-elected MP, Damien Kurek, resigned to allow Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to run for a new seat in the House of Commons. Poilievre lost in his longtime riding of Carleton at the previous General Election.

214 candidates were on the ballot paper.