Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party is appealing to a growing group of voters ahead of a crucial special election this month: men without a job.
Across Britain, men are becoming unemployed at a faster pace than women, as hiring freezes and layoffs fall particularly hard in male-dominated sectors such as construction, manufacturing and IT. Joblessness among young men now stands at over 16% — rates equivalent to the depths of the coronavirus pandemic.
Few places are feeling it more than Gorton and Denton in northwest England, the scene of a by-election scheduled for Feb. 26 that could decide the fate of Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Betting odds show right-wing Reform vying with the left-wing Green Party for a parliamentary seat that has among the highest number of young people claiming jobless-related benefits.
“The government’s handling of employment and unemployment issues is pushing people to Reform,” said Chris Annous, an associate at think tank More in Common. “Reform significantly overperform among those who are facing financial insecurity — it is one of the strongest predictors of voting for the party.”
Man, it’s almost like going all-in on an economic system that prioritises low inflation over low unemployment has serious social and political downsides down the line
Stoic_cave on
Daddy issues
kyr_yannakis on
Are these jobless men aware of Farage’s background or were they born after COVID?
zdzislav_kozibroda on
Something is rotten in the state of the UK.
But good luck to anyone (especially working class) who thinks that Farage is the cure.
mizezslo on
Men are so emotional.
Logical-Leopard-1965 on
If Farage gets in, they can always join his Sturmabteilung & bring their own twist to a UK version of ICE.
morbihann on
Ah yes, the guy that promises simple and fast solutions to fix everything and unleash the rivers of honey, no way it can fail.
Anhalir on
Huh. Weimar-esque Great Britain wasn’t on my bingo card.
TheDiceman3 on
Farage has nothing to offer the legions of the unemployed other than increasing poverty. How is it that they can’t see that?
G_UK on
Beware of people offering easy solutions to complex problems
AlloAll0 on
They know Farage is the main responsible for the UK economic owes, right?
Propaganda is a hell of a drug.
Rabti on
Turkey’s flocking to the abbattoir.
Let him be elected. He will be as much use as his former blond mate with the funny hair.
RubberDuckyRapidsBro on
I had a thought. If and when Deform come into power and Britain doesnt magically get repaired like how they wish they will only turn to more extreme measures.
Labs1982 on
So the man that sent us down this path brexit is the one save us. Look to anyone thinking of voting fpr this hot piece of shit he was the one that put us in this position with his lies and snake oil ways, reform are just the tories in a new colour scheme, they will absolutely 💯 percent throw us to the wolfs. Don’t fall for his lies he doesn’t care about you or your life and he will not make the uk great again.
15 commenti
*Irina Anghel for Bloomberg News*
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party is appealing to a growing group of voters ahead of a crucial special election this month: men without a job.
Across Britain, men are becoming unemployed at a faster pace than women, as hiring freezes and layoffs fall particularly hard in male-dominated sectors such as construction, manufacturing and IT. Joblessness among young men now stands at over 16% — rates equivalent to the depths of the coronavirus pandemic.
Few places are feeling it more than Gorton and Denton in northwest England, the scene of a by-election scheduled for Feb. 26 that could decide the fate of Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Betting odds show right-wing Reform vying with the left-wing Green Party for a parliamentary seat that has among the highest number of young people claiming jobless-related benefits.
“The government’s handling of employment and unemployment issues is pushing people to Reform,” said Chris Annous, an associate at think tank More in Common. “Reform significantly overperform among those who are facing financial insecurity — it is one of the strongest predictors of voting for the party.”
[Read the full story here.](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-02/britain-s-growing-ranks-of-jobless-men-are-flocking-to-farage?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc3MDAyMTQ3MSwiZXhwIjoxNzcwNjI2MjcxLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUOUtOTzdUOU5KTFQwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJEMzU0MUJFQjhBQUY0QkUwQkFBOUQzNkI3QjlCRjI4OCJ9.FLgIoYRmkTK8xWO0GlryY4pQMvNmllxvum-wGT7Wq0Q)
Man, it’s almost like going all-in on an economic system that prioritises low inflation over low unemployment has serious social and political downsides down the line
Daddy issues
Are these jobless men aware of Farage’s background or were they born after COVID?
Something is rotten in the state of the UK.
But good luck to anyone (especially working class) who thinks that Farage is the cure.
Men are so emotional.
If Farage gets in, they can always join his Sturmabteilung & bring their own twist to a UK version of ICE.
Ah yes, the guy that promises simple and fast solutions to fix everything and unleash the rivers of honey, no way it can fail.
Huh. Weimar-esque Great Britain wasn’t on my bingo card.
Farage has nothing to offer the legions of the unemployed other than increasing poverty. How is it that they can’t see that?
Beware of people offering easy solutions to complex problems
They know Farage is the main responsible for the UK economic owes, right?
Propaganda is a hell of a drug.
Turkey’s flocking to the abbattoir.
Let him be elected. He will be as much use as his former blond mate with the funny hair.
I had a thought. If and when Deform come into power and Britain doesnt magically get repaired like how they wish they will only turn to more extreme measures.
So the man that sent us down this path brexit is the one save us. Look to anyone thinking of voting fpr this hot piece of shit he was the one that put us in this position with his lies and snake oil ways, reform are just the tories in a new colour scheme, they will absolutely 💯 percent throw us to the wolfs. Don’t fall for his lies he doesn’t care about you or your life and he will not make the uk great again.