The Politics of Fear: How disenfranchisement fuels support for Reform UK in south Wales

Farrell Perks

For many, deep in the Valleys of South Wales, poverty is the grim reality of daily life.

Utility bills rise, school transport is cut, shops in the high-street close down and inflation bites. Austerity has done a lot to decimate the coalfields of Wales, leaving the population reeling in it’s wake.

These people are scared, poor, confused and unsure how to dig themselves out of this hole. Snake oil salesmen like Nigel Farage have opportunistically seized this shared plight in an attempt to elevate themselves materially and politically.

What Reform UK is offering these disenfranchised voters is an ‘enemy’, someone to whom they can pin their grim reality on, and for a time at least, the opportunity to fight back.

The reality is, there was always an ‘enemy’ for these people, and they sit within boards and think-tanks, rubbing shoulders with bankers and so called ‘political elites’ – The person Nigel Farage actually is, not the insidious caricature of a ‘Man of the people’ he so often portrays.

History has shown us time and time again that if you attack a group of people for their beliefs, however unfounded or misguided, they will dig in their heels, and in more recent cases, begin to view you as the enemy in return.

We need only look towards the state of politics in the US to confirm this in the modern age. A country so divided by politics that a considerable section are openly calling for civil war. Is this really the future we want for the UK?

Are we so blinded by hatred and vitriol that we would ignore such clear warnings of our future and continue down this path of voluntary segregation?

With political rhetoric on both sides of the aisle increasingly becoming combative, intertwining with culture war issues, I would guess that we are much closer to the US’ state of politics than anyone would care to admit. Besides of course those leaders on the far-right openly calling for division, after all, it’s the only way they would be able to hold onto power.

First-hand experience

I feel I can speak on this issue with some certainty because I have first-hand experience campaigning throughout the south Wales Valleys, arguably the poorest area of Wales, perhaps even the UK as a whole.

When I speak to people who clearly indicate that they vote for Reform UK, they are not espousing hate.

There is no aggressive posturing towards fascism or tendencies towards civil war, these people are simply suffering.

Their bills are rising, they cannot reach their doctor, the shops they have known their entire life are closing and Farage is telling them that they need not worry about finding the root cause, he has done the hard work for them – Immigrants are the problem.

Not because of the pigment of their skin, of course, but because we’re giving them too much money, too much housing, too much medicine and too much time and attention.

Their Turkish neighbour, he’s okay, he pays his taxes just like them. The Indian family that runs the nearest takeaway, again, they’re okay. You could one-by-one ask them about every single immigrant in their community and 9 times out of 10 they will describe to you how these community members are absolutely fine, not like those problem immigrants we all hear about.

You and I, reader, know that immigrants don’t receive too much money, unless of course you really think £37.75 per week is too much?

We know that they aren’t receiving too much housing, in fact most migrants have incredible difficulty accessing affordable housing – Legislation across England & Wales places many barriers between migrants and social housing leading to the vast majority of migrants ending up either in private renting or unfortunately homeless.

We also know that they aren’t receiving ‘too much’ healthcare, in fact migrants in the UK suffer severe barriers to wellbeing leading many to forgo treatment, treatment that if ignored usually leads to larger problems. The problem with all of this, though, is that it’s hard to find this information for the average person.

Most people, especially down here in the Valleys, work long hours most days of the week, and want nothing more than to just rest and not have to think about how pervasive societal injustice is when off work.

For many, there isn’t even time to rest, as children require attention when not in schools or there are even those working second jobs to make ends meet.

Compassion and constraint

It’s hard for many to put themselves in the shoes of prospective Reform voters. We often see the racist populist rhetoric for what it is and subsequently disregard the struggling person underneath it all.

Don’t get me wrong, I have no doubt there are some out there that buy into the fascistic tendencies of Farage and the likes, with no qualms about the ramifications, though I do think that they are a vocal minority, and in any case, these are not the people we’re talking about.

During my time campaigning I have spoken to hundreds of Reform voters, and only once have I come across an individual I would consider to be a ‘Reform Absolutist’ if you will.

In almost every single case, the individual fairly quickly indicates their main cause for voting such a way, and it is always fear, without fail.

Fear of many things, fear of rising costs, fear of lacking healthcare, fear of waning culture, the list is endless. The connecting line between them all, is that Reform UK has told them who is to blame for these fears.

They turn up empty, though, when asked how Reform UK intended to fix the issues causing their fears, beyond of course the catch-all “End all migration”, which again, we know isn’t the problem.

The first, and perhaps most crucial, step we should be taking when combating this, is making politics easier to understand. And when I say politics here I mean everything, policy, bills, parliament, the whole lot. The reason Reform is finding it so easy to outright lie to these people, is they have difficulties finding the answers for themselves.

Understanding the bills our parliaments vote on, should be step one for anyone participating in a free and fair democracy, but the support just isn’t there. Second, we need to stop simply ostracising these people, as it does nothing but push them further into the willing arms of those leading them astray. I’ve no doubt that it will be difficult to do that for many, but the alternative is a firm drawing of battle lines between left & right, something a modern democracy doesn’t need, or perhaps couldn’t even survive.

Third, politicians, and more importantly the Welsh Government, need desperately to communicate more with the electorate. Too often decisions are made seemingly in the shadows with people left to read about it via reactions from political pundits rather than from the source itself, serving only to further disenfranchise people from democracy.

A path forward

If we are to prevent further fragmentation of our political landscape, we must approach these issues with empathy and understanding, not condemnation. People in the Valleys and beyond are not gravitating toward Reform UK out of hatred, but out of desperation, fear, and a sense of abandonment.

They are being sold easy answers to complex problems by opportunists who thrive on division. The only way to counter this is by meeting people where they are, listening to their concerns, and offering solutions that address the root causes of their struggles – poverty, failing services, and political isolation.

It is critical that we invest in political education, transparency, and engagement, making it easier for people to understand the systems that govern their lives and participate in shaping them. In Wales, as across the UK, we need leadership that doesn’t retreat into sound bites or scapegoating but faces the tough realities of inequality head-on. Only by doing so can we create a political environment where fear no longer drives people into the arms of right-wing populists, but instead, fosters a society where everyone feels seen, heard, and supported.