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Today I am writing after Andrew Rosindell MP for Romford has left to join Reform UK. This marks a new beginning for Reform as Robert Jenrick’s defection has truly begun to garner defections from the Parliamentary Conservative Party to Reform. This has left many supporters and members of Reform feeling dejected and disorientated. The party most people have left has now begun to fully merge with Reform. With more defections about to come, it looks as if the Conservative Party will face a death by a thousand cuts. However, the blood that is streaming from every open wound is slowly flowing into the pours of Reform.
What some can see is a slow-moving infection which will provide genuine uncertainty over the stability of Reform UK. The massive growth of both party membership and elected positions is not the mark of a healthy party, especially one that simply does not have the infrastructure to function productively internally, especially with that influx of people being focused on one issue alone. What the news won’t tell you is there are a large group of people who are stuck between a rock and a hard place on the British right. The people who see that the Conservative Party needs to be punished with irrelevancy for it’s role in making a mockery of government and fostering a group of politicians who have a flagrant regard for the truth. However, they also see that Reform U.K is not the party of government it desires to be. With it’s rapid growth will come dire consequences. The party is attracting a lot of people, but some of questionable origin. We will soon see who those individuals turn out to be trouble makers, or in some cases, we can identify the ones that already are.
Those in this dilemma hopefully recognise the torrid nature of politics. The ones who like to keep up-to-date with events but seemingly feeling lost when attempting to put the world to rights. The ordinary politico feels powerless but to watch the powerful and wealthy do backroom deals that we have no control over, watching political tectonics shift but not in the direction that would benefit ourselves on the ground. Those left loosely advocating for political parties are left with faith alone to justify that we will get back on track towards prosperity as a country. However, those who have this faith also have the echoing voice that says “we’ve been here before” that allows doubt in our political actors to creep in. In light of this, what we hope to accomplish is to offer a local viewpoint for those who do not feel as inclined to drift into the never-ending expanding gas giant that is Reform Uk but not wanting to skulk back to the Conservatives. Support for either isn’t obligatory. You don’t have to support either because one is more successful than another in a constituency and has more of a chance at beating the myriad of British left wing parties and yes that includes the Lib Dems.
Most of the politically aware population are under false pretences that we have to suck up the ifs, buts and maybe’s that are lazily offered to us by political parties in their attempt to win power. Such examples of political laziness include Ifs such as “if you don’t vote X then Y will get in.” Buts such as “but we want to focus on local issues and not national issues” and maybes such as “maybe if XYZ hadn’t have happened, we would’ve delivered on our manifesto.” Most people who have engaged with canvassers or candidates on the doorstep have most likely encountered these very common but tiresome lines of reasoning. Some recipients end up slamming the door, some continue to argue with the visitor while a lot end up begrudgingly offering to support the party(ies) they have voted for in the past yet have become fed up with their lacklustre performances. If you’re either a Conservative or have left, you’re well aware of this feeling. As an experienced former campaigner for both major right-wing parties, I have seen a wide range of people fall into these categories. I like to think people have an optimistic view of the future, despite ONS polling showing life satisfaction within the U.K has fallen since the Corona Virus pandemic. This is why people see the best in what their political camp can still offer them and thus end up returning to the party line.
Unfortunately for those who have left for Reform, this feeling is coming to a doorstep near you. With such defections swamping the party from different ends of the political spectrum, many people who have sensed the seasons changing are now escaping to Reform to salvage their careers. Despite Farage’s attempts to hush criticism of Reform being a life raft for failed Conservative MPs, unfortunately for him, the electorate does not see this the same way. The scalps he has claimed off the conservatives don’t appear as such in the minds of the electorate who suffered under the previous conservative governments’ ambivalence for the truth. But ultimately, of the long-feared merger of both Conservatives and Reform that the former broad church has long dreaded. Farage and Zia Yusuf are responsible for this marketing approach and this will fall on the heads of the canvassers and candidates to defend. The cycle continues. Couple this with rumblings that all Reform County Councils are putting up Council tax to the maximum allowed without needing a referendum and you will begin to see, as Billy Joel coined, that Reform politicians will begin to say: “we didn’t start the fire, the world’s been burnin’ since the world’s been turnin’.” In order to excuse flagrant back tracks on flagship manifesto promises of drastically reducing council tax.
To conclude, you as part of the electorate know better than the people knocking at your door come spring. Every interaction either pushes you either towards further political ambiguity or back into the arms of the party you either once called home or still do. Despite my many criticisms of Reform in this piece, they have shown everyone one valuable thing. You have a choice, you don’t have to fall into what seems like an illusion of choice between the Conservatives and Labour. This is still the same today. Another awful bargaining chip (Lib Dem) canvassers will often utilise in marginal constituencies is “X is a wasted vote, they can’t win here.” But to you, that shouldn’t matter if “X can’t win here” it treats democracy as a means to and end and not a conscious individual choice that voting must be recognised to be.
