Reform Party’s Focus on Traditional Family Values Amid Controversy
In a decisive move, the Reform Party has emphasized its commitment to supporting working parents, explicitly distancing itself from welfare dependency. “We’re talking about working parents only,” stated a party representative. “We are absolutely not talking about families that are completely on benefits, and therefore we are not supporting a benefit culture, because that is absolutely against what Reform stands for,” reports 24brussels.
However, this family-first approach presents challenges for the populist right, particularly for a party already facing criticism over gender issues. Reform aims to reclaim traditional values while navigating a landscape rife with accusations of being anti-woke.
The party’s slogan—“family, community, country”—resonates with conservative principles seen in the United States. Despite this, party member Pochin insists Reform is “absolutely not” inspired by culture wars from across the Atlantic.
“This is just core values stuff,” Pochin continued. “Britain has always been a traditional country with traditional family values, and that seems to have been lost.” She criticized the government for prioritizing support for asylum seekers over initiatives aimed at strengthening family structures, asserting the need to return to “our traditions, our culture, our values — and we believe that starts with the family.”
Patrick Brown, a family policy expert at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, noted the secular nature of British society. “In the U.K., you guys are a more secular society with religion less politically engaged [in discourse],” he explained.
This secularism complicates political messaging. Analysts caution that if leaders like Farage were to adopt more stringent stances on contentious issues such as abortion or same-sex marriage, they could alienate public opinion, including their supporter base, warns O’Geran from More in Common.