Undercover at Reform UK’s biggest ever rally, I saw white men bond over fury at migrants, trans people and politicians'
At Reform UK’s rally in Birmingham, the line to the men’s toilets is the longest I have ever seen.
Snaking around the circular foyer of the city centre’s Utilita arena are dozens of men from all walks of life. Young, pale men in grey and blue suits, diminished clones of American white nationalist leader Richard Spencer circa 2016; groups of lads clutching plastic pint glasses as tattooed biceps burst from under t-shirts; middle-aged men in casual clothes, hair slipping back from the foreheads; and older men in tweed country jackets, Reform rosettes pinned to the lapels. Some are wearing ‘Save Britain’ baseball caps, others sport caps embroidered with ‘Make Britain Great Again’. They queue, twitching, willing the line to shorten so they can get back inside in time to hear Reform leader Nigel Farage.
In contrast, there’s no queue for the ladies. Reform’s voter base is majority male, although there are some women here, most of whom seem to have come with their husbands. It’s a mix of working-class women in cotton tops and jeans, and country club women with glossy hair over blazers.
At Reform UK’s rally in Birmingham, the line to the men’s toilets is the longest I have ever seen.
Snaking around the circular foyer of the city centre’s Utilita arena are dozens of men from all walks of life. Young, pale men in grey and blue suits, diminished clones of American white nationalist leader Richard Spencer circa 2016; groups of lads clutching plastic pint glasses as tattooed biceps burst from under t-shirts; middle-aged men in casual clothes, hair slipping back from the foreheads; and older men in tweed country jackets, Reform rosettes pinned to the lapels. Some are wearing ‘Save Britain’ baseball caps, others sport caps embroidered with ‘Make Britain Great Again’. They queue, twitching, willing the line to shorten so they can get back inside in time to hear Reform leader Nigel Farage.
In contrast, there’s no queue for the ladies. Reform’s voter base is majority male, although there are some women here, most of whom seem to have come with their husbands. It’s a mix of working-class women in cotton tops and jeans, and country club women with glossy hair over blazers.
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Reform UK will considerably increase their vote by 2029.
ReplyDeleteDo you foresee a Labour-Tory coalition being formed to prevent that? Starmer could easily have been Tory leader had he ran for the position.
DeleteI see little difference between the Tories and Labour so it's possible. My instinct tells me that the Tories are too full of hubris to countenance such a pact. Either way the Right is making serious ground. All it will take will be another Manchester Arena bomb or similar and the votes will surge for them.
DeleteThe Conservative Party is more likely to be cannibalised by Reform from the Right and Lib Dems from the left
ReplyDelete