Letters: Reform getting in will cause a lot of civil disruption

Big Issue readers respond to the recent local elections, in which Reform UK made big gains.

Reform UK: the fallout

Reform is a populist party that promises all of these fantasyland policies. If they get in, they will pretend to act on immigration and act all high and mighty, when in reality nothing will change because they would lose their biggest scapegoat: brown people and foreigners. 

Zoomer_Boomer2003, Reddit 

The other side of this here is that as a population we are nowhere near as far to the right as Americans. Trump is enthusiastically supported by a slight majority of the US electorate. Reform would probably have the support of about 30% of ours?

For the kind of policies they might look to enact, that could cause a lot of civil disruption. We also have nowhere near the ability to curb central government power that they do in the US, even if they have chosen to ignore that for now.

Pinkerton891, Reddit

Local elections are often seen as a way of expressing disapproval with whoever’s in government. It doesn’t necessarily translate into electoral success – and Labour have only been in office 10 months.

Th0ma5_F0wl3r_II, Reddit

Every sane person in this country knew Labour’s first term was going to be about fixing a decade and a half of hurt. What did anyone really expect? Why are people so impatient now?

ShotofHotsauce, Reddit

A key problem for our democracy is that we generally expect way too much too soon. That being said, did Labour not prepare for government at all? Was their plan really to raise NIC, lie about it, pay off the unions who will just come back for more, make the tiniest cuts to winter fuel allowance and PIP then talk about it a lot to inflate it as an issue? And then what? Start conducting reviews? They don’t have a coherent policy platform.

BritanniaGlory, Reddit

Labour stomped to victory less than 12 months ago. The local elections were not the Labour government’s high point to lose, but the Tories’. By rights this should have been a victory lap, where, fresh from a stunning victory in 2024, they got to lord it with their huge groundswell of new support and celebrate the collapse of the previously incumbent government. 

What it should not be is the victory lap of a third party, as the fresh-faced and nominally honeymoon government have their leads in strongholds absolutely crippled if not crushed. Labour doesn’t get to say “oh we are the incumbent government” on this one. This was Labour’s moment to sweep them back, and it was not Labour who did the sweeping.

Far-Requirement1125, Reddit

• Reform UK’s climate denialism could devastate the very towns and cities they want to represent
• ‘Labour has blown its first year in office’: What Reform’s local election gains really tell us
• Local election results show Labour can’t counter Reform by allowing them to set the narrative

Good Geezer

Clive is a really impressive man, with his recent accomplishments in obtaining GCSEs and an acting diploma, giving up alcohol, learning to drive and saving enough to buy a van and caravan. And above all, his care for Geezer, who is such a good friend to him. It’s good to know that he has his connections with the theatre, as the 16-year-old Geezer approaches his end. Good for you, Clive, and go on realising your dreams! 

Juliet Chaplin, Cheam

Funeral costs

Funeral poverty is on the rise but it was recognised as far back as 2004 when Citizens Advice Bureau and John Birrell undertook a study looking at the costs of funerals in Scotland. If memory serves, their findings found that the cost of funerals between 2004 and 2014 had risen by approximately 90%. Many people (especially young adults) were having to take out loans to pay for a parent’s funeral. 

One response to these spiralling costs, through an initiative by the Scottish government with funding from the European Social fund, was the introduction of direct-to-cremation with Caledonian Cremations. They introduced a funeral package for below £1,000. To my knowledge, the price remains the same. Most funeral directors now offer similar packages, but not for below £1,000.

Maggie Robertson, Facebook

History lesson

John Bird’s look at the last 70 years of America taking the lead in the Western World made me realise that many of the issues we are looking at are due to a weariness of the American people and the recognition of the cost to their economy. Ignoring the power this also gave them, but which they are now noticing has been moving over to countries like China. 

I do wonder whether they would be better off learning from their history of the 1930s (the Great Depression), a time when the super-rich milked the average American dry.  

Brian Simmonds, by email

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. Big Issue exists to give homeless and marginalised people the opportunity to earn an income. To support our work buy a copy of the magazine or get the app from the App Store or Google Play