‘Clown show’: Reform UK chairman resigns as party infighting escalates
Zia Yusuf has resigned as chairman of Reform UK, stating he no longer believes working to elect a Reform government is a “good use of my time”. In a surprise announcement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday evening, Yusuf said: “11 months ago I became chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a […]
Bar Truss from standing as Tory election candidate, former minister urges party
Liz Truss should be barred from standing as a Conservative election candidate to show “that we get it”, a former minister has said. Sir Conor Burns, who served consecutively as a Northern Ireland and international trade minister from 2021-2022, said that his party must “draw a line under the ClusterTruss”. Truss’ premiership in autumn 2022 […]
Reform UK split over burqa ban as chairman labels stance ‘dumb’
An apparent split has emerged within Reform UK after the party’s newest MP, Sarah Pochin, called for a ban on burqas in Britain “in the interests of public safety”. The MP, who won the recent Runcorn and Helsby by-election with a margin of just six votes over Labour, asked her first question at PMQs on […]
Transport secretary condemns ‘have-a-go hero’ Robert Jenrick for fare dodger video
The transport secretary has dismissed a recent video posted by Robert Jenrick, which showed him pursuing alleged fare dodgers on the London Underground, as the act of a “politician masquerading as a have-a-go hero.” Heidi Alexander suggested that the shadow justice secretary’s actions were motivated by political ambition rather than a sincere effort to address […]
Threats against MPs are stifling debate and weakening democracy, speaker warns
A rise in threats and abuse targeting MPs and election candidates is actively undermining the health of democracy, a cross-party inquiry chaired by the commons speaker has concluded. An interim report from the speaker’s conference found that intimidation is dissuading individuals from standing for office and making it harder for elected representatives and candidates to […]
‘Sooner we have clarity’ on winter fuel U-turn ‘the better’, says Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer has said that the “sooner” ministers are able to provide clarity over the government’s winter fuel U-turn “the better”. Speaking to BBC Radio 4‘s Today programme, the prime minister reiterated that the government is reconsidering the eligibility threshold for winter fuel payments. Starmer committed to expanding eligibility for the winter fuel payment at […]
UK to expand nuclear-powered submarine fleet in ‘message to Moscow’
The United Kingdom is set to significantly expand its fleet of nuclear-powered attack submarines by “up to 12”. The move is a central plank of the new strategic defence review (SDR) aimed at shifting the UK’s Armed Forces to “warfighting readiness” in response to what the government describes as “rapidly increasing threats.” John Healey, the […]
Environment secretary declares ‘era of profiting from failure is over’ after Thames Water fine
The environment secretary has declared that the “era of profiting from failure is over” after Thames Water was fined nearly £123 million by the regulator, Ofwat. The financial sanction follows two separate investigations that uncovered failures in its wastewater operations and breaches of rules relating to dividend payments. The penalty package includes a £104.5 million […]
Badenoch told Rupert Lowe defection would see Tories ‘move even further to the extremes’
Kemi Badenoch has been challenged to urgently rule out the defection of former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe to the Conservative Party. The Liberal Democrats have seized on a report that Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary and onetime Tory leadership candidate, held a meeting with Lowe at a private members club in Mayfair last […]
Nigel Farage’s policies labelled ‘Trussonomics on steroids’ after major speech
Nigel Farage vowed to introduce tax breaks for married couples and abolish the two-child benefit cap in a major speech seeking to position Reform UK as the true opposition to Labour. Delivering a pro-family pitch, Farage said lifting the two-child limit is the “right thing to do” as it would make having children “a bit […]
