So disappointing to see all the pro-Farage conspiracy nonsense. 

Why do Reform PLC voters wear their ignorance as a badge of pride?

What I love about living in this post code is that these areas have a very high remain vote, they are diverse areas, and we have very few Reform type voters living here.

Yes, you have freedom of speech to spout your conspiracies, but you have no right to force us to listen - so it is quite valid to ask the House Keeper to keep their views to themselves, or be removed from the job. She is paid to house keep not repeat tired far right tropes about immigrants.

An equally important freedom is the freedom of association, and many of us choose not to associate with bigots who think Reform is a valid voting choice. It's a party of simple slogans for simple people and offers nothing but hollow promises. It's for losers who want to blame their failure in life on the mysterious "elite" or "immigrants" or anything other than their own obvious shortcomings. 

It speaks volumes about someone's lack of capacity of critical thought if they think Reform is any sort of solution to the complex problems faced around the world.

I suggest Clacton Upon Sea might be a better location to live if that's how you think. 

There, that's me exercising my freedom of speech. 

 

Love the topic — btw, there is a Petition going on right now with almost 3 million (!) signatures already, so hopefully we’ll all get to decide “right” this time;-)
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/700143

Simple, you make up your own mind.

No, I dont fund the bbc.

What have billionaires to do with my views..emm nothing.

readysteadycook wrote: ↑Thu Nov 21, 2024 11:34 am Your parents housekeeper sounds a very switched on and astute person.

Perhaps you need to start listening to her as remember, her views are just as valid as yours.

Please be aware that the Mainstream media is all owned by the world elites, to push their agenda. Turning off the BBC and Sky news is a good start.

We live in a bubble in Nappy Valley but many towns in the Uk have been destroyed by the likes of immigration. 

I think you will find Reform could be in a very strong position at the next election when this Labour government has started to destroy the farms, made many of our hold pensioners. Very cold, and destroyed the private school system with their policy of envy, VAT on fees. 

Primary schools will be the worst affected from this VAT and choice will soon reduce. It amazes me that our local school governors are so deluded to think they don’t need to cut fees. Schools will soon need to save costs, that will be done by reducing the numbers of teachers (and their out of kilter, 28% pension contributions - many parents don’t know this part - all paid for by fees).  The fall out will affect many.

Sp please do listen to your parents housekeeper and explore her thinking - you might learn a lot. 

I'm all for freedom of speech. But this is arrant nonsense. I particularly love the suggestion that we should turn off the BBC because it's owned by the world elite (whatever that is). In fact it's owned by you and me. And if you do turn it off, where will you go for your news? GB News ? Owned by a Dubai-based billionaire. Twitter? Owned by the richest man in the world. Insta, Tiktok? Owned by billionaires. The conspiracy peddling smaller sites on social media? Probably owned by our enemies. What you really mean is that you don't agree with these channels so they must be suspect and should therefore be taken down.

Reform may well get a powerful share of the vote next time. BUt they too are owned by billionaires. And their tactic is the same as Trump's: whip up hatred and fear among their supporters on a variety of social issues so that they win power and then use the power to implement sweeping reforms that will benefit the billionaires at the expense of the rest of the very people who voted them in.
 

readysteadycook wrote: ↑Thu Nov 21, 2024 11:34 am Your parents housekeeper sounds a very switched on and astute person.

Perhaps you need to start listening to her as remember, her views are just as valid as yours.

Please be aware that the Mainstream media is all owned by the world elites, to push their agenda. Turning off the BBC and Sky news is a good start.

We live in a bubble in Nappy Valley but many towns in the Uk have been destroyed by the likes of immigration. 

I think you will find Reform could be in a very strong position at the next election when this Labour government has started to destroy the farms, made many of our hold pensioners. Very cold, and destroyed the private school system with their policy of envy, VAT on fees. 

Primary schools will be the worst affected from this VAT and choice will soon reduce. It amazes me that our local school governors are so deluded to think they don’t need to cut fees. Schools will soon need to save costs, that will be done by reducing the numbers of teachers (and their out of kilter, 28% pension contributions - many parents don’t know this part - all paid for by fees).  The fall out will affect many.

Sp please do listen to your parents housekeeper and explore her thinking - you might learn a lot. 

I'm all for freedom of speech. But this is arrant nonsense. I particularly love the suggestion that we should turn off the BBC because it's owned by the world elite (whatever that is). In fact it's owned by you and me. And if you do turn it off, where will you go for your news? GB News ? Owned by a Dubai-based billionaire. Twitter? Owned by the richest man in the world. Insta, Tiktok? Owned by billionaires. The conspiracy peddling smaller sites on social media? Probably owned by our enemies. What you really mean is that you don't agree with these channels so they must be suspect and should therefore be taken down.

Reform may well get a powerful share of the vote next time. BUt they too are owned by billionaires. And their tactic is the same as Trump's: whip up hatred and fear among their supporters on a variety of social issues so that they win power and then use the power to implement sweeping reforms that will benefit the billionaires at the expense of the rest of society.
 

The school did phone first! My point is that children can pick up on comments in a fairly unpredictable way that can come back and bite you.

Ps
I don't understand why you would overthink , and let a comment like that past you !
Tell her oh thats not nice, anything!

Silly but your role there was to educate, using your 'better' education .
You got her to take them so you must use her.

Use 5 'whys' or just say the haircut skill isnt related to nationality !

Don't worry about who she votes for, that is her right.

Not good to assume she is typical of any voting pattern she is presumably voting for policies.

The school did the educational role above but seems a bit excessive imo to *write to parents-again this shows no interest in having a quick chat about it and finding out more info.

Thank you for all your replies. I do understand I have privilege however I've also toned down some of her comments that I referenced as I didn't want to go into too much detail but that might have been a mistake.

For example, last time we were there we were discussing haircuts.

I mentioned that I wanted to take people to a particular barber and she said "we always go to X as they're English there and we don't like giving money to XXXXX" - I won't put the reference in there but it wasn't pleasant.

So I don't think it's just a different social background, although I know that's some of it, this feels like overt racism.

Thank you again to all replies.

I imagine if it was just you hearing her views that wouldn’t be a problem but I can see there is an issue if your children pick up on them and start repeating them at school because the school is then likely to take a very tough line on it and you are then likely to be called to account as parents. On the other hand an attempt to have a tactful word with your parents’ housekeeper might go the wrong way, she could hand in her notice and your parents and you will have to deal with the consequences. You don’t say how old your children are. If old enough to explain the situation could you simply say to them that you find Mrs XYZ’s opinions rather horrible but she does a good job caring for granny and grandpa and the main thing is not to repeat her views. If they are too young for this kind of conversation, could you explain the problem to your parents and get them to have a quiet word? They may not appreciate the fact that schools these days have racism policies and you don’t want your children to fall foul of them? I’m speaking from experience here as our youngest child heard our east european cleaner making disparaging remarks about ‘brown people’ and repeated them at school. We then received a formal letter and the incident went on his school record. All in all something good may come from this: your children will meet lots of different attitudes in their young lives and negotiating them is part of growing up.

Just because we all live in London, don't assume we all hold the same narrow liberal views as you and would seek to effectively cancel anyone with opposing views. This smacks of 'liberal elitism' and plays directly into the hands of people like Farage (who millions of voters support).

Southwest London, where you mention your parents live, is indeed one of the wealthiest parts of the country. The perspective on issues like immigration might look very different for someone living there compared to those in areas hit hardest by economic challenges. It’s important to consider that mass immigration has a varied impact: for families like yours, it might provide skilled housekeepers or childcare providers, but for working-class communities, it can sometimes mean increased competition for jobs, lower wages, and strain on public services.
 
This isn’t “Nigel Farage nonsense” but a reality recognized across the political spectrum. Many believe the Democrats in the U.S. recently lost ground with the working class for similar reasons. They prioritized social issues that resonated with wealthier urban liberals but overlooked the economic struggles of working-class voters. In Britain, the Labour Party has faced similar challenges.
 
If your housekeeper is making these comments, it’s worth considering that her experiences—perhaps as someone who has navigated the effects of immigration or economic change—are shaping her views. Rather than labeling her concerns as rubbish, an open conversation might reveal why she feels as she does. This approach would not only avoid creating an atmosphere but also demonstrate to your children the value of listening and engaging respectfully with views different from their own.
 
After all, she has been a beloved part of your family for many years, and this offers a foundation of trust and mutual respect for you to have a productive dialogue. It’s a chance to model how disagreement can coexist with compassion and understanding, a vital lesson for your children to carry forward.

A really good test is could you do her job on her wage for a period of time? Live her life and face her challenges? 

Remember the new left are only self-described liberals when in fact they are the political wing of the middle class. They have become the chief cancellers and please do not fall into that trap. It is an eccho chamber where ignorance lies. Ignorance based upon a false sense of superiority.

Mass immigration is as well as a liberal ideal also a neoliberal tool to increase prductivity without investment by decreasing wage demands and so lowers wages for the poor. One does not have to blame immigrants or be racist to see this. 

A really good example of the middle class trap of considering onself superior is the last big social split we had: whilst I did not vote Leave many Remainers horrified me by so often chaffing that they were the better educated (they were but this does equate with intelligence as they assumed) despite not being well-eduated enough to distinguish between correlation and causation (less education correlates with lower wages and hence being a mass immigartion net loser) not to mention forgetting the first 3 rules of a marginal election/referendum "don't insult the opposition" - all of that may be untrue but it is a reasoned and well construected argument - not mine I hastenn to add. It has no hint of bigotry. 

You are proably better educated and from a higher social class than this woman. But are you just a snob? Look deep and if you think that you may be then read some philosophy - The Daily Stoic - is free, fashionable & a fabulous place to develop intellectual skills esp those which could equip you here. 

So only views aligning with your own are valid - do you see the irony here?

So what if she voted Reform - a lot of people did, as the results show?  You may not like their views but an awful lot of people do and, as others have said, the impact of decades of poorly managed immigration policy is being seen in many places outside of London, while the affect in London is largely diluted.

gosh poor you having to listen to views other than your own :)

Do you have an in-depth knowledge about the dangers of illegal immigration for example.

One thing I notice in London in a group, is many older people seem to *assume everyone must have the same view on politics, so they speak *for the group. There is also a lot of prejudice eg ridiculing American public, or labelling and reverse discrimination.

Whether UK or US or French election stuff it's all up for an informed discussion.
Many peoples views are not well informed, whatever stripes they are and just dictated to by the news outlets they follow as another poster said.

Open your mind, people are entitled to their own views. The housekeeper might need to pipe down a bit ;) but their views don't need to be the that of the whole family.
It's your parents decision , what do they think. Perhaps they have their own views too, different to yours.

I doubt this click bait story happened but these days you will find the good, genuine, honest and decent people think like your housekeeper.

More and more are waking up from their woke slumber.

I’ll employ her if she does exist.