Author: Miles Donavan

‘I’ve never felt so unwelcome in my own hometown as I do since your party came into Caerphilly’ An audience member confronted Reform candidate Llyr Powell over the party’s anti-migrant rhetoric during a BBC debate last night, ahead of next week’s Senedd by-election in Caerphilly. The woman, attending with her two mixed race sons, told Powell that her son’s father “is part of the 2.9% that you say are overtaking Caerphilly.” Her comments came after one of her sons, Cole, asked Powell to explain how immigration was a problem in the town, given local levels of immigration are 2.9%.  Cole…

The NHS nurse and health minister dismissed Dr Aseem Malhotra’s false claims about the covid vaccine as ‘free speech’ In a car crash Newsnight interview last night, ex-Tory minister turned Reform member Maria Caulfield defended her party’s decision to platform an anti-vax doctor at its conference last month. The NHS nurse defended Reform UK inviting Dr Aseem Malhotra to speak at its party conference on 6 September.  In Malhotra’s speech, he linked King Charles and the Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses to them having taken the covid-19 vaccine.  Caulfield said she disagreed with Malhotra’s comments and that Reform had distanced…

The research also reveals most people don’t think politicians like Nigel Farage should be able to present their own TV programmes Almost two thirds of Brits wrongly believe net migration is going up, when it has almost halved over the last year. New research by Cardiff University found that frequent GB News viewers are the most likely to get it wrong, with 84% believing migration has increased. According to the ONS, for the year ending December 2024, net migration is at 431,000 –  almost half compared to the previous year. The polling by YouGov, which surveyed 2,000 people, also explored…

Kemi Badenoch’s attack lines backfired on her… Keir Starmer hit back at Kemi Badenoch’s claims during Prime Minister’s Questions that the Labour government was responsible for the collapse of the China spy case. Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry were charged with allegedly spying for China between 2021 and 2023. They have both consistently maintained their innocence. The case was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service last week because evidence could not be obtained from the government referring to China as a national security threat. Badenoch has accused the Labour government of a “cover up”. Today at…

‘Tice and Oakeshott stayed at the Chernukhins’ “turreted villa” with “a stunning view of the Mediterranean” and had supper with them at a Michelin-starred restaurant’ Yet another Reform MP has been accused of being in breach of Parliamentary rules, after its deputy leader Richard Tice failed to register lavish hospitality he received from Lubov Chernukhin – wife of a former Russian deputy finance minister. It’s been revealed by anti-extremism campaign group Hope not Hate that from 4 to 6 August, Tice and his partner Isabel Oakeshott bagged themselves a trip to the French Riviera, where they were hosted the Lubov…

Kemi Badenoch’s attack lines backfired on her… Keir Starmer hit back at Kemi Badenoch’s claims during Prime Minister’s Questions that the Labour government was responsible for the collapse of the China spy case. Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry were charged with allegedly spying for China between 2021 and 2023. They have both consistently maintained their innocence. The case was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service last week because evidence could not be obtained from the government referring to China as a national security threat. Badenoch has accused the Labour government of a “cover up”. Today at…

Reeves said Brexit is partly to blame for the estimated £50bn blackhole in the economy that she is likely going to have to address at her autumn budget. After successive Tory leaders failed to acknowledge the disastrous economic impact Brexit has had on the UK economy, the Labour government had admitted that the decision to leave the EU is one of the main reasons behind the UK’s sluggish economic growth. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to deliver the budget next month, and still needs to find the money to plug a fiscal black hole worth around £20bn in the country’s…

Cryptocurrency donations are sparking fresh concerns over political funding transparency The first cryptocurrency donation to a major political party has reportedly been “made, but not declared” to the Electoral Commission. According to The Observer, Reform UK reportedly informed the commission that it received a crypto donation in recent weeks. The value of the donation has yet to be declared, but parties only need to notify the electoral body if it is more than £11,180. Parties must declare donations within 30 days of the end of the quarterly reporting period. For example, a donation received between 1 October and 31 December…

Polanski did not appear on Kuenssberg’s show at his party’s conference, but the interview has now been rescheduled amid complaints Zack Polanski, Green Party leader in England and Wales, will be given an in-depth interview on Laura Kuenssberg’s show on Sunday 19 October. This follows accusations from Green Party supporters that the BBC has showed anti-green bias. The Greens noted that Kuenssberg interviewed every other political leader at their party conferences. The New Statesman has since reported that Polanski will be interviewed by Victoria Derbyshire, instead of Kuenssberg, as she will be on holiday. The BBC cancelled Polanski’s interview at…

There are numerous reports of workers being assaulted, spat at and verbally abused Workers hired by councils to remove flags are being intimidated and abused by members of the public. Since the summer, activists have attached St George’s and Union Jack flags to lampposts and painted roundabouts across the country as part of the Operation Raise the Colours campaign. The campaign was co-founded by Andrew Currien (also known as Andy Saxon), a longtime ally and former bodyguard of Tommy Robinson (real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon). The rise in flag displays has coincided with increasing anti-migrant rhetoric, protests, and racist incidents over…