In other news, my politically-connected mate tells me that my ward is looking like a close 3-way split: LibDem/Reform/Ican’trememberthe3rd. So 'Ow Do’s in with as strong a chance as anyone 
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looks like some one has, thankyou!
Luckily his brother agga wasn’t running
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No one seems to want to face the facts as you’ve set them out, and have a grown up conversation that as a country we are in long term structural managed decline - therefore expectations continue to be wildly off the mark without anyone being willing to reset them.
As politicians get increasingly desperate about the fact that there aren’t any real or easy solutions, what we’ve seen instead is mis-managed decline and a descent into farcical and magical thinking on a larger and larger scale.
It really does remind me of the post depression lurch to populism of the 1930s 
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The grass roots voters for reform are often those suffering the most, the most powerless who want something to blame and have been indoctrinated to believe immigration (Not bankers or the squeeze from the super rich who will continue to buy assets from the middle and lower classes) is the cause.
Perhaps in the sunny upland promise of a reformed & Great again GB people forget this:
Of course Farage’s backer Arron Banks (Insurance) will fight this tooth & nail -
Not.
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Over the past year, about 4-5 friends of ours have emigrated, with their families. We have a few more actively considering the same in the next few years. My retired parents are also considering it. All feel that their future is better elsewhere.
I’m not ready to chuck things in just yet, but it’s pretty sad to see, and experience.
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Fortunately I have the River Mersey seperating me from the Runcorn Riviera and the frog faced party that gained yet another MP last night. Runcorn and Helsby are quite rural and most parts either agricultural or middle class wannabe’s, presumably inheritance tax played some part in the victory. The remaining area cgaf as long as they have beer, ciggies and can live off the state ( an impression ), which appears to be Mr Farages life style, win win for Nigel.
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Where to ? Not the USA I hope. Or Germany or France. The Antipodes look nice, if a bit out of the way.
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A few years ago, when I went abroad for work experience, people thought I was mad.
Now they saying I’d be mad to stay in the UK.
Preparations are well underway to move abroad. I cannot afford to stay. There’s no future for me in the UK.
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My run to the sun Runcorn retirement plans are in tatters.
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I’ve liked that Stu, but it’s bloody sad that you feel like that.
Still, now we have an opportunity for Belgian bake-offs!
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The similarities to Benidorm keep growing.
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I dont think it’s a protest vote, people actually like Reform. Need to get your heads round this. The Tory Party is toast, white van man ain’t voting Tory or Lab right now.
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Fuck knows why. Farage is a repulsive specimen. Also, as a prime advocate for Brexit, he bears a major part of the responsibility for our economy’s negligible growth prospects. I don’t understand why he gets a free ride from the media who have singularly failed to hold him to account in any way for the Brexit disaster.
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This is partly it. The motivation for some of my friends was that while they’re not struggling here, their living costs are only increasing, while they’re not expecting their income to keep pace, and quality of life is decreasing.
Personally, I think we are pretty relentless in focusing on the negatives of our country. I find every time I go abroad, I return with a more positive perspective. Many things are better elsewhere, but other things that are important for me are worse. On balance, compared to other places, I think we’re ok.
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A lot of people are racist.
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Well he didn’t win Brexit, he was excluded by him with the bad eyesight, who actually won the vote.
That aside, the more you pile hatred onto Farage the more his base extends and the more they like him.
Labour have been his best cheerleaders to date, what with pensioners losing winter fuel allowance, the utter debacle over grooming gangs of Pakistani origin and their refusal to instigate any meaningful public inquiry, their punitative aporoach to nett zero, ULEZ schemes that fuck over the poor, ill thought out inheritance tax for farmers etc.
It’s like watching a car crash in slow motion at the moment, the outcome has a certain inevitability around it.
Fucking depressing is what it is.
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Not a lot I can say, but I think will plan to take my Civil Service Pension before the next GE. I can see certain parties wanting to mess with that for those yet to retire.
I work with a number of centrist colleagues (not committed to any party) who voted Labour in the last election. All of them hate Starmer with a passion now and are almost having regrets about their choice, though they acknowledge voting Cons probably wouldn’t have made much difference. I don’t think they’d vote Reform, but I can see a lot of people doing so, if only out of desperation. It’s a shame Lib Dems seem to have faded to irrelevance, and aren’t able to step up and fill the vacuum.