The view from the political campaign trail

On 10th August, we were joined by voluntary campaigners from Reform UK, the political party led by businessman and Talk Radio presenter Richard Tice.  They were keen to hear what matters to us in terms of how the country is operating, and what needs to change.

They explained that Reform UK is in favour of political reform to:

• restore accountability between politicians and citizens
• offer voters policies which are rational and reflect the realities of contemporary life in the UK
• safeguard traditional British values like freedom of speech and freedom of choice
• maximise the opportunities resulting from our departure from the EU.

The following issues were raised during discussion:

• failure of successive governments to undertake long term planning of the UK’s energy supply
• failure of GPs to see their patients
• misuse of resources in public services like the NHS and civil service departments
• questioning of Reform UK’s green policy, which seems to represent  the same ‘big state’ politics as other political parties, and smacks of disingenuously ‘playing the game’.  A bold, common sense policy on tackling pollution would be more meaningful, and would provide more benefit to voters, than appearing to ride on bandwagon of ‘Net Zero’.  (This led to a wider discussion about the origin of Reform UK’s policies and who is invited to contribute ideas to them.)
• impact of illegal immigration on community cohesion, public spending, modern slavery, investment in UK residents, public perception of safety and security
• misuse of taxpayers’ money as evidenced by Government throwing cash at problems, instead of addressing the causes
• reluctance of politicians to widen their clique of advisers in order to access a diversity of opinion, and fresh ideas
• low voter turnout in recent by-elections
• transformation of the political spectrum from right-left to right-wrong
• how the fundamental principle of national sovereignty (i.e. independence and self-governance) should override any other factor in political policy and decision-making
• the urgent need for ‘small state’ politics, true representation of voters’ issues, and political accountability.

We agreed that having guest speakers to our group is positive and encourages further debate.  All Politics in Pubs members are welcome to invite others to attend.