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First of all, let’s get serious. If you have decided to vote for Nigel Farage, the question is less likely to be “Can you admit to it?” than “Will you shut up about it?”
My own experience of Reform voters is that, actually, they are itching to tell you about their preference. This is particularly true among social groups where it might offer some shock value. I’ve been to numerous events recently where someone is absolutely bursting to enjoy the outrage generated by their new voting preference. “I’ll tell you what, I voted Reform this time,” people declare, with a bold stare that defies the rest of the gathering to challenge them. There is nothing they want more than to indulge in the always enjoyable condescension of telling people they need to get out of their privileged, elite bubbles.
In any case, despite the implication in the question that you mix in social circles that might not look kindly on playing footsie with Farage, let me reassure you. I really would not worry about “coming out” as a Reformer as almost all your friends have already worked it out. If there are “shy” Reformers, all I can say is they must be very shy indeed.
Those who live at the angrier end of the political spectrum generally cannot wait to pepper friends and colleagues with their opinions, so if your views align with Farage’s, then those around you will already have a fairly good idea who gets your X in the ballot box. And, secretly, you want them to know.
This is not just true of Reform. There are a raft of issues, from Brexit to Gaza, climate change to immigration, trans rights to tax rises, cancel culture, vaccines and lockdowns where people are treating social events like a Twitter (sorry X) feed, just waiting to pounce on you with their opinions. And from these, it is rarely hard to deduce their party of choice. Politics is now central to many people’s identity. Corbynites, radical Greens, Brexiters and Rejoiners all hold a disproportionate interest in parading their views.
Clearly, your concern about social stigma only applies if those around you are likely to feel differently. But we all remember finding ourselves behind enemy lines during the Brexit divide. There are significant parts of the country where there is no longer any shock value in saying you vote Reform. And the party’s electoral success is offering people more confidence about declaring their allegiance.
Patently, there are still places and social circles where people may think less of you for such a declaration. You know that in liberal circles an admission like this one will mark you down as a wrong’un. Then again, what do you care? If you are voting Reform, you should have contempt for such people. They also know that you think less of them, since a central aspect of the Reform ideology is contempt for urban metropolitan liberals who have no idea what it’s like in the real world, even if they in fact do. They are the enemy within. What are you even doing socialising with these metropolitan elitists? Could it be — the horror — that you are one yourself? Still, don’t let that bother you. Reform is a growing movement with room for everyone. Just don’t tell them you work for the BBC.
In fairness, it must also be said that there is no easy win with declaring your voting intention at the moment, whoever you align with. Almost any party allegiance comes with baggage, apart perhaps from the Liberal Democrats, since a vote for them is pretty much a vote against the baggage. And that’s fair enough. Many of us remember when the Lib Dems were last in government, and that experience of responsibility traumatised their voters for nearly a decade.
Greens still have a cuddly reputation, unless you live in a council they run, but there is a growing sense that they are leftwing killjoys who support people disrupting your journey to work. Labour has sold out its voters by taking welfare from pensioners. The Conservatives are, well, let’s just say they aren’t what they were. Abstention sounds lofty but just shows a lack of civic responsibility.
There is, it ought not to require saying, no obligation to discuss how you vote. There is even an enjoyable frisson of hauteur to be had in reminding people that it is a secret ballot. So if you are worried about revealing your vote, then don’t tell people. In fact, even if you aren’t worried, don’t tell people. Stay silent, it’s a win for everyone.
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