Politics

It is a question prompting at least some debate within the party. “When he goes down this angry route he doesn’t help himself,” the prominent Reform activist Tim Montgomerie told Radio 4’s The World At One. Montgomerie, the founder of the ConservativeHome website, defected to Reform two years ago. He …

It is “almost inevitable” Nigel Farage will be found in breach of parliamentary rules for failing to declare £5 million given to him by a crypto billionaire, Harriet Harman has told Sky News. The veteran politician, who was deputy Labour leader under Gordon Brown, explained on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast …

The government has issued a temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbeques as they pose a “significant risk to the public” during the current drought and heatwave conditions, according to advice published online. The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade said the product has been the cause of …

Disabled and terminally ill campaigners have written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham urging him to reform social and palliative care before assisted dying legislation is introduced in England and Wales. The Assist Us To Live group says people are currently being “failed by society” and “introducing assisted dying in these …

Max Barrett was one of the 9,455 people who voted for self-styled intergalactic space warrior Count Binface. “It would be nice if he won, because it would be good for the area,” Barrett said. “There’d be a lot more tourism and it’d just be interesting him representing this area.” The …

Here’s a look back at previous by-elections in the east of England. The Mid Bedfordshire by-election in 2023, won by Labour, drew attention to the lack of infrastructure on new housing developments and the Corby by-election of 2012 put the future of Kettering Hospital into the spotlight. Was it any …

Farage had earlier told supporters at a Reform UK event that he was “damned if I’m going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory, a ringing endorsement of all that I’ve tried to fight for, and you’ve tried to fight for, and be demeaned and humiliated by …

Nigel Farage has won the Clacton by-election and returned as the constituency’s MP but skipped the result declaration, saying he did not want to be “humiliated by nobodies”. The Reform UK leader won with 63% of the vote on a turnout of 44% in a highly unusual by-election that he …

Count Binface – whose real name is Jonathan David Harvey – received 9,455 votes for the Clacton by-election. BBC News

Farage won 22,239 votes, with Count Binface in second with 9,455 votes. BBC News

Nigel Farage did not turn up to savour his victory in the by-election he triggered himself. Overnight he told a rally of Reform UK supporters he had been advised there was an “organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result” and wanted to avoid being “demeaned and humiliated by nobodies”. …

Votes are being counted in the Clacton by-election, with results expected in the early hours of Friday. BBC News

Votes are being counted in the Clacton by-election, with results expected in the early hours of Friday. BBC News

A Reform UK councillor has been suspended from the party after non-recent social media posts appeared to show him calling for a former Commons Speaker to be hanged. In a post on X from 2019, Kirklees councillor Dave Rowan appeared to write “Hang the Dwarf” in relation to a post …

Carling, MP for the North West Cambridgeshire constituency, which includes Holme Fen, said: “This isn’t about spoiling anyone’s fun; it’s about recognising that conditions right now make fireworks and disposable barbecues genuinely dangerous.” Qayyum added: “I’d urge everyone to exercise real caution. That means thinking twice about fireworks and disposable …

Western nations allege Russia has been operating a “shadow fleet” to evade international sanctions imposed on its oil exports. The UK Ministry of Defence says Russia has a fleet of more than 700 vessels, responsible for carrying 75% of the country’s sanctioned oil. This oil is a “critical lifeline for …

Retailers have warned that a ban on zero-hours contracts risks inflicting a “hammer blow to young people’s job prospects” after the government’s own analysis found the move could cost businesses billions of pounds a year. Youth unemployment is already at its highest level in more than a decade, and Andy …

Police officers and sniffer dogs were in the grounds of the abbey ahead of the service, which lasted about 90 minutes. The private requiem mass included a homily from the Rt Rev David Charlesworth, Abbot of Buckfast. He said: “In the midst of the shock, clamour and sometimes unwarranted comment …

Home Office minister Anna Turley has said the government is sticking with plans to accommodate asylum-seekers on former military bases despite protests from local residents. She told the BBC the government’s priority was to ensure asylum-seekers were looked after in a “secure” and “appropriate” place. That included disused Ministry of …

Other parties have come up with their own ideas for dealing with overcrowding in prisons. At a news conference on Monday, Reform UK suggested 10,000 prison spaces could be freed up if all foreign criminals were sent abroad to serve their sentences. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said his party …