Robert Reaney is the Reform UK Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Bolsover. We spoke with Rob about his decision to stand.
“If the Keystone Cops were running parliament there’s a good chance they could have done a better job”
Can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Rob Reaney and I am a family man in my mid 50s with one son. I was born and bred in Sheffield with humble roots that I am non the less very proud of. I am self employed now and run a small business in Chesterfield, having recently moved into the area. My work life has given me a mixed financial and business background as I worked in financial services for eighteen years and now run my own business in vintage motorcycles which has been a business that I thoroughly enjoy for the last twenty years.
“You name a subject and basically the situation appears to be in dire straits. I feel obliged to act”
What made you decide to stand for Reform UK?
Something has to be done. I was sick of moaning about politics and doing nothing about it. My wife actively encouraged me to stand and looking at both of the main party’s I knew instinctively that I could not represent either of them with any degree of sincerity. You name a subject and basically the situation appears to be in dire straits. I feel obliged to act. Immigration in crisis, the NHS in crisis, the National debt at its worst, taxation off the charts, defence a joke, wages at their lowest, standards of living in physical decline, crime sky rocketing.. especially online crime, the police utterly disinterested, industries all over being sold out. Even national infrastructure and utilities are in disarray, social services on the brink of collapse, education of our children is not fit for purpose. The future prospects for our children looks rather grim – what chance have they got of even getting on the housing ladder?.
Where do you begin? If the Keystone Cops were running parliament there’s a good chance they could have done a better job. Brexit has been an utter betrayal. There is no other description for it. Something has to be done pretty urgently. Reform UK are the only party with any realistic chance of making major changes on the national stage in my view. I have looked at their policies and their people and they appeal to me. This is a team I can represent and I feel that they are talking sense. Common sense. Look at their manifesto. There’s no hype, waffle, empty promises, UN-costed dreams or fairy tales. It’s all no nonsense big change stuff. We need a really serious shake up. In my view Reform UK are the only ones gearing up to deliver it. Neither Labour or the Conservatives are the answer to our problems going forward. I do not believe either of them have the vision needed frankly. Only fresh thinking and some pretty bold moves are going to get us out of the jam that we are in. Neither Sunak or Starmer look credible to me. Do you really want them at the helm in a crisis? Honestly?
“The Constituency switched to the Conservatives last time purely to get Brexit done. They voted more than 80% in favour of Brexit here. They have been let down cruelly and in essence sold out by the Conservatives”
You’re the Spokesman for Bolsover what’s made you decide to represent this area?
First and foremost I live here. I am not a career politician drafted in to win an easy seat. Far from it. I work locally, and I connect with the people in the locality on every level. The seat was staunch Labour under Dennis Skinner, the “beast of Bolsover” for nearly five decades. Here was a straight talking no nonsense man and there appears to be a lot of respect for him still. You may not have agreed with what he was saying, but you at least understood it. There was no second guessing what Dennis Skinner meant. I believe that local people respect that level of honesty because it comes from actually believing what you are saying. The Constituency switched to the Conservatives last time purely to get Brexit done. They voted more than 80% in favour of Brexit here. They have been let down cruelly and in essence sold out by the Conservatives. I feel sure they will not go back down that path. Actually, some will never forgive the Tories for the last fourteen years. But will they switch back to Labour? That is what will be the question facing them in the ballot box. Conservative or Labour? Yet I have faith that the people of Bolsover are brave enough and perhaps savvy enough to vote for the wild card, the new kid on the block, the under dog.. which will be Reform UK. If any constituency in the UK has the bravery and sheer grit to send a shocking message to Westminster, then its Bolsover because the people here are beyond fed up. I want to represent the ordinary man or woman in the street who works hard, pays their taxes and expects a simple honest competent handling of the economy in return. Instead of what we are getting. The people of Bolsover deserve better. As do the people of the UK.
“We are promised a green jobs revolution, yet I don’t know a single person actually working in that industry”
What do you see as the big concerns for the constituency and what issues do you hope to champion?
Jobs, housing and immigration. Affordable housing for kids are almost non existent. The pressure on housing locally is ridiculous. In terms of jobs my local MP tells me that we have been transformed into a “service economy”. What does that mean? Does that mean that the best job in the area you can expect if you have worked hard and got a degree is serving in a shop? Probably at the local supermarket? What’s that about? Where have the real jobs gone? What happened to jobs for life, booming industries, highly skilled or professional jobs, rebuilding the country, decent trades etc. etc.?. Oh yes, I forgot. All that has been swapped in, in the race to become green. We are promised a green jobs revolution, yet I don’t know a single person actually working in that industry. Yes, we do have people installing solar panels, wind turbines and heat pumps, but where are these made? Is British Industry manufacturing these items or are we importing from overseas? Are we not manufacturing the pumps and the turbines here in the UK because we are being dragged down the route of a zero carbon footprint? Where are all the engineering and innovation jobs? We are and have always been an enterprising and innovative nation. This needs to be encouraged and promoted. We are a nation of miners, steel men, motor industry men, farmers, builders and inventors. Our children need to be encouraged in apprenticeship based skills. Is there any wonder that our young people are leaving the UK for a brighter future elsewhere. I truly can not blame them.
Finally immigration. Honestly, some people are frightened by all these strangers hanging about. Some are just sick of paying for the worlds hungry and needy. Others are angry at these outsiders jumping the cue for housing, health, education and social care. Everyone is worried about the financial drag when the TV blares out that it’s costing ten million a day to house what we already have and yet everyday more arrive. It is beyond a joke.
For those eager to help, how can they get involved in the campaign?
Go to the main website and study reforms policies. Don’t hear it second hand.
Reform need social media ambassadors, which are people promoting them on their own social media platforms. They need volunteers to drop leaflets and door knock. Each local candidate needs funding to buy leaflets, sandwich boards, bumper stickers, posters etc. etc. So you have choices. You can support us online. You can make a donation. You can simply join the party. Or you can get actually involved and help canvas people and drop leaflets. All the links you need are on that website. Every local candidate has Facebook, Twitter, X and whatever else there is covered and all have their links on that website above, or will do very shortly. The single most important thing you can do however is to engage. Tell us what you want to see change. This is the only party that will not have a whip. That means that your local Reform UK candidate represents you and you can fully influence what they vote on. Do not sit back and be quiet and think there is nothing that you can do to make things change. Voice your opinion and voice it loudly. We are listening. Reform UK need your input. let’s not be a party that is detached from reality or its citizens. We need to know what you think all the time, every day and as often as you can be bothered to tell us. Engage. Do it now. And if you perhaps have someone who is elderly and not online, help them to engage as well. Get them on the telephone if need be. That is the type of party I want to be involved with.
You can find me on X/Twitter, and Facebook, email me at [email protected], and find more at https://www.reformparty.uk/bolsover-constituency.
