‘I voted for somebody else this time, just to see if they can make a change,’ said one Reform voter from former Labour heartland Barnsley.
The results were predictable, but remained shocking, as Reform UK secured enormous gains across the country at the local elections on May 7th, taking 1,451 seats.
Making History
For the first time in its history, Reform UK will hold an entire council, having won 27 of Newcastle-Under-Lyme’s 44 seats. Beyond that, they have solidified their position nationwide, particularly in the Labour ‘heartland’ and Northern councils historically seen as safe seats.
The response to this, particularly on social media, has been intense. Current politics has seen voters on both the left and the right hardening their positions, in turn creating heightened resentment and a strained political climate that teeters towards social unrest.
Understandably, critics are concerned that hostile rhetoric will only work to deepen political alienation and harden current opinions.
So, instead of categorising the 25 per cent of UK voters who support Reform as idiots, perhaps it is time to hear their concerns and understand why current politics is failing them, as the first step towards re-engagement with the mainstream.
Voters’ Changing Needs
It’s easy to dismiss these concerns, but the economic state of the UK has left hundreds of thousands in poverty, while a broken job market has eroded many people’s financial stability, making them live from pay-check to pay-check. All this has helped to create a climate of anger and discontent, and this is what far-right politicians have so effectively capitalised on.
Amir Massoumian, lecturer at SOAS, University of London, says: ‘Instead of rejecting those who are struggling, parties like Reform make it easy to feel accepted. And this is something that the left needs to more effectively consider.’
Massoumian’s reflections are echoed in the voices of Reform voters themselves, who have said: ‘Labour don’t represent working people anymore’ and ‘we tried socialism for 60 years and it’s created a bankrupt, stagnant society in a race to the bottom.’
This disillusionment with the mainstream, when paired with consistently being called ‘idiots,’ and told one is ‘incapable of understanding politics,’ only works to harden the position of far-right voters.
Many Reform voters are well aware of this ill-founded accusation. In a Reddit discussion between voters, one user says: ‘I see online that people make fun of reform voters and call us “unintelligent” or “uneducated” which to me … doesn’t really make sense … They also make fun of us for voting for reform which again I don’t understand.’
Another user responds: ‘We’re simply too stupid to understand the world, and are seen as “lesser” beings because of it.’
While tackling immigration is often cited as the most popular Reform policy, a 2025 study by More In Common found several other motivations created by decades of economic insecurity.
For instance, 34 per cent of respondents said the country ‘needs something new,’ and 30 per cent said that ‘mainstream parties have shown themselves to be incompetent.’
Green voter Kieran Wallace, 26, from Worthing, noted a similar disillusionment, saying:
‘We had the Conservatives for so long. When Labour came in, I felt a bit more hopeful, but they seemed to continue to mess things up.’
Additionally, 12 per cent of respondents said that ‘no other party listens to people like me.’ This is exactly what Amir Massoumian has been saying when discussing how mainstream parties were seen to ‘abandon solidarity with traditional labour movements, whilst filling employment gaps with migrants for cheap labour.’ As a result, the voices of those struggling most financially ‘were seen as a problem to be managed rather than as citizens whose voices and opinions matter.’
A Look at Reform-Led Britain
As they currently stand, Reform UK’s policies could have serious implications. For women, they could spell an end to job protection in the case of pregnancy, as well as restrictions on abortion. The proposed scrapping of the UK Equality Act would see the gender pay gap restored, with women losing the right to equal pay.
As more prominent issues take centre stage, these problematic policies tend to slip under the radar. Nevertheless, their impact on the lives of voters across the country should not be underestimated. Crucially, the More in Common report indicates that even Reform voters themselves do not support these policies.
Based on the report’s findings, 68 per cent of Reform voters believe increased participation of women in the workforce is a good thing, and 46 per cent believe current abortion policies are fine. This reveals that only a handful of Reform policies actually speak to voters.
New Players
Perhaps even more concerningly than the rise of Reform, is the arrival of a new political party which is quietly gaining traction: Restore Britain.
Restore Britain’s fundamental policies include net-negative immigration (to decrease the number of migrants in the UK), reducing welfare dependency, and protecting ‘traditional British values’ and the Christian cultural foundations of the UK.
Restore spotlight ‘the relentless creep of radical Islam’ as justification for returning Britain to a nationalist country, and showcase the variety of opinions within the far-right.
Reform voters are often categorised as an uneducated crowd, with no understanding of politics. But Massoumian says, ‘the more you look into something, the more complicated it becomes. There are no easily predictable characteristics, or simple narratives that can be put to say all Reform voters are X or all members of this political allegiance are such and such.’
The growing dominance of far-right political parties has emerged because mainstream politics is failing UK voters. But instead of allowing these voters to be swept up in the growing whirlwind of Reform UK and Restore Britain, other parties must take note and engage in more meaningful dialogue.
Cassy Boate, 22, from Southampton, believes that open conversation is the only way to lessen the frustration and find a middle ground, saying:
‘I think … a lot of people … don’t even know the policies. My dad would focus on the economic policies, and when I bring up the social policies, he is in denial.
‘People pick and choose what they want to believe, so educating voters on all of their [Reform’s] policies might be a solution.’
A fundamental for many new Reform voters has been the need for change. Shrinking budgets and increased costs of living are making it harder for everyone. Many people simply want to feel that their concerns are being heard.
Current indicators suggest that a Reform win is looking increasingly likely for 2029. However, if Labour and other mainstream parties pull themselves together and really listen to what their voters want, it may still be possible to restore confidence in moderate politics.
DISCLAIMER: The articles on our website are not endorsed by, or the opinions of Shout Out UK (SOUK), but exclusively the views of the author.
