I wanted to share some thoughts from my experience of leafleting and getting the word out about Reform UK in a local town near to where I live. These are just my personal reflections from one day out in the community - not meant as generalisations, just observations from my personal experience and real conversations.
Transcript of Audio:
“I’m just reflecting back on my day on Saturday. The Saturday we’ve just had where I went with a group of people from my local Reform branch. We had a table and we were handing out leaflets and inviting people to sign up for Reform for the Reform UK Action Day that 450 local branches were taking part in.
It was good to know that we were part of something bigger, that lots of people were out there handing out leaflets, talking to people about Reform UK, about the country, about politics, about what they want to change in the country. It was a very exciting thing to be part of.
I have not done anything like that for a very long time. For the past 17 or 18 years I’ve been a full-time mum. A lot of that time I’ve been home educating my children, and so a lot of life revolves around home and taking my kids to activities and things like that. It’s very child focused a lot of the time, and so to get out and do something very different was great.
I was struck by how nice all the other volunteers were, how lovely people were. I think we were 14 in total. My son, 17, was the youngest, and there was probably somebody there, a lady who was 75. We all had this common goal of telling people about Reform and asking them if they wanted to sign up, but just chatting to people about the country, about where things are heading, and about change. I think a lot of our purpose was to have those conversations with people.
It was really interesting because on the one hand I have never come across people who were so rude. That is really alarming actually.
I guess what we had in the high street in this little Suffolk town was a cross-section of society. Part of that town is deprived, part of it is quite well off, and mostly middle class I would say, but there are definitely parts of the town that are deprived.
Just standing on the high street, it was a typical high street, and you get a lot of people who clearly are not interested at all and couldn’t care less about politics.
There were also particularly middle-aged women and some middle-aged men who were quite rude. They were dismissive of us.
Some people were directly rude, saying things like “clear off,” “p*** off,” “f*** off.” We got called fascists at least a couple of times. Someone said “No, absolutely not, I have human decency,” and other things like that.
They don’t know us at all. Complete strangers talking to complete strangers like that says a lot about the person.
It’s not nice to be on the receiving end of that. I’m not usually on the receiving end of things like that in daily life. Sure, you have run-ins with people occasionally, but pretty rarely to be honest. This was several people insulting you in a short space of time, and that was nothing compared to what happens to politicians and people with much higher profiles. I don’t know how they deal with that because you have to develop a thick skin and not take it personally, but it’s very hard not to.
It’s unpleasant. For the last couple of days I’ve thought back to those things and they sort of niggle away at you. Part of it is just like, wow, is that what people really think? Don’t they have any manners? What makes you say things like that to people, or what’s going on in their lives that would make them behave like that or have those views?
I’m also realising I can’t take it personally. It’s not about me, and it’s mild compared to what some people get. This is just the world that we live in. It was an eye-opener for me from that perspective.
Now, we had one guy in particular. In fact, I think there were two or three people from the Green Party who stopped and talked. I only spoke to one of them. Another of the branch members had a big argument with someone who just would not let them go and was very antagonistic.
This guy came up to my son, another lady and me, and he was shaking. He was a young man, probably in his twenties. It was like there was something wrong with him.
The lady I was with, who’s 75 and one of the loveliest people I know, said, “Are you okay? Are you cold? You’re shaking.”
He said, “No.”
She asked, “Are you angry?” and he said, “No, I’m just so upset.”
We asked, “What are you upset about?” and he said, “I’m so upset that you’re here in this lovely town full of kind people, and that you think it’s okay to be here, you fascists.”
I called another man over from the group, a lovely gentle guy in his sixties, and asked him to come over and talk to this guy. I wanted him to have a calming presence. We were all calm, but this man was especially steady. He came over and said, “Do you know what a fascist actually is?” The young man couldn’t reply.
We got into a discussion. The young man was ranting, and it was like he was reading off a script. Everything was about how people like us are uncompassionate, don’t care, are racist, all the immigration stuff - people coming over in boats, asylum seekers escaping war-torn countries.
I said, “What about crime statistics?” He said, “Oh yeah, so you’ve been reading some dodgy report.”
I said, “It’s not a dodgy report, these are actual statistics showing that a lot of foreign people commit more crimes.” He argued that more white people do. I said, “Yes, but that’s because it’s proportional.” I said, “What about all the rapes?”
He said, “White men rape people too. What about all the crimes committed by white people? What about domestic violence and sexual attacks?”
He was so angry. Nothing we could say made any difference. In the end he was still upset and angry and still thought we were awful. The way he said, “You’re not compassionate people,” really struck me, because the lady I was with is a Christian minister who’s worked in prisons and youth ministry. To have someone make such assumptions about people they don’t know is nonsense.
In the end we thanked him for stopping by and said it was good to talk and good to swap ideas. I think he was a bit disarmed by that because he wasn’t expecting us to be so calm. We were very civil and tried to give our point of view.
This is what people are like now. It’s sad that people can’t just give their viewpoint, talk, argue, but still be civil, without making assumptions and hurling abuse. Honestly, it was all the same stuff you see on TV or online. It’s such an odd way of seeing the world, but so many people are like that.
I don’t know how you resolve it. I think it starts young, with children learning certain ideas at school and being taught to see the world in a particular way. For a long time children have been taught to think along certain lines. Politics in the last five years has become more and more socialist, and these ideas are coming to the fore. There’s so much animosity towards the right, and it’s kind of crazy really, but that’s how it is.
The good conversations we had were great. We had a lot of support, people saying they were voting for us, or that they were already members. That was encouraging. Lots of smiles and positive words.
We had some great conversations, often with slightly older people, some on their own, some couples. Many just wanted to talk, to share their frustrations.
People said things like, “I don’t think I can cope for another three and a half years of this,” or “Do you think they’re going to cancel the general election?” People shared worries about how Christianity seems to be fading, how we’ve been lied to and deceived, how the economy is struggling, how hard it is for young people to buy homes or get on with their lives.Immigration was a big concern.
Many spoke about how things were better twenty or thirty years ago. I think people needed to get things off their chest, to talk, to feel they were being listened to and that their concerns were valid.”
I meant to say a bit more and finish off a little less abruptly but my phone died at that point unfortunately. So, I decided to post anyway as this is still pretty reflective of my experiences of the day.
Overall, in spite of some antagonism, it was a positive experience for me and it was interesting to hear what everyday people think about how our country is doing right now and where they would like to see it head in the future.
I’m reminded that even when we disagree, conversation matters. Listening still matters.
I hope to have more opportunities to do this type of thing again.
Have you done anything similar? What have your experiences been of sharing your political views with and listening to others’ views? Let me know in the Comments below.
