Author: Miles Donavan

“It’s either dog-whistle or it’s so vague it’s meaningless,” one Tory MP said Having seen herself as a ‘rising star’ and referred to as a ‘future Tory leader’, Tory MP Katie Lam probably thought the only way was up, yet her own MPs have brought her crashing down to reality. Lam, who hit the headlines earlier this week after she said that large numbers of legally settled families must be deported, in order to ensure the UK is mostly “culturally coherent”, has been widely condemned for her comments. Not only are the comments utterly disgraceful, showing how far the Conservative…

Time is short. The climate crisis is rapidly accelerating, and those least responsible, here in the UK and overseas, are on the front lines and increasingly threatened. The climate crisis is gathering pace. This summer was the UK’s warmest on record. Around the world people’s lives and livelihoods are increasingly being wrecked by searing heatwaves, floods, drought and storms of unprecedented force and frequency. With global efforts to cut emissions veering wildly off course – and climate scientists warning that we risk crossing dangerous tipping points – these extremes will only worsen. As usual, it’s the less well-off, who have…

Reform councillor Sam Journet was arrested at Basildon council offices last month A Reform councillor, who has been accused of harassment and stalking, has had his bail extended as police continue to investigate, sparking calls for Nigel Farage’s party to suspend him. Sam Journet, Reform councillor for St Martin’s ward in Basildon, was pictured being arrested at the Basildon Council offices on Monday 8 September. At the time, a council spokesperson said: “Following repeated public disorder in the council offices, harassment of staff and councillors and trespassing into areas of the council they are not permitted to be in, a…

Reform promised to cut ‘wasteful spending’ but now plans to spend thousands on flags Reform-led Nottinghamshire County Council has said it will spend £75,000 on putting up 164 Union flags around the county. Before the local elections in May, Reform promised to slash wasteful spending and make council services more efficient.  The decision will not go to a vote, but councillors have five days to object to the plan.  The 164 union jack flags will be displayed at a cost of about £457 per flag including brackets, traffic management and cherry pickers. Reform has yet to confirm who the flags,…

Glad to see the Question Time audience not take Dorries that seriously. Former Tory cabinet minister Nadine Dorries who has since defected to Reform UK, was laughed at on BBC Question Time as she tried to explain how Reform would tackle high levels of immigration. Appearing on the programme, Dorries claimed that the only way we would protect our borders and stop small boat crossings was by leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). However, presenter Fiona Bruce reminded Dorries that ‘there are a number of countries in Europe who have reduced their level of immigration and who remain…

It turns out Farage hasn’t put his name forward to ask a question for months Nigel Farage made a song and dance this week about not getting to ask questions at Prime Minister’s Questions. In ‘protest’, the Reform leader took a seat in the public gallery during PMQs on Wednesday. Farage’s stunt was widely mocked, with critics accusing him of wanting to be “the centre of attention”. It was also noted that Farage has failed to show up for PMQs on several occasions in the past. As PMQs started on Wednesday, Farage posted on X: “Every week at PMQs I…

Reform was the favourite to win the by-election Plaid Cymru won the Caerphilly Senedd by-election, beating Reform with a 3,848 majority and ousting Labour from the seat.  Reform had been the favourite to win this election, having led the polls with 42% to Plaid’s 38%.  This is also a big defeat for Labour, who have held the Senedd seat since it was formed in 1999. It is the first time in over a century that the party has lost a Senedd or Westminster election in Caerphilly.  Plaid Cymru’s Lindsay Whittle won with 15,961 votes, Reform came second with 12,113 votes…

Corbyn and Sultana’s new left party has shared its draft founding documents. Here’s what you need to know Zarah Sultana MP’s announcement that she would be quitting Labour and co-founding a new left-wing party with former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn back in July brought hope for many on the left. But things quickly turned quite messy.  A recap of what’s happened so far First, Corbyn did not confirm his involvement in the new political venture until the following day, and when he did, he made no mention of co-founding it with Sultana. Infighting followed in September, before the party had…

Of the 12 proposals put to the British public to see which they would support in principle, the second most popular was a ‘mansion tax’ on homes worth more than £2m, which garners the support of 69% of the public. An overwhelming majority of the British public support a wealth tax, a new poll has found. The poll, carried out by YouGov, found that 75% of those asked said they would support a wealth tax of 1% on assets above £10m and 2% on assets above £1bn. The poll findings come ahead of the Chancellor’s budget next month, with Rachel…

Reform has finally expelled the councillor over his unacceptable comments, five weeks after he was suspended A Reform UK councillor who posted comments online saying he wished to shoot the prime minister has been expelled from the party. Five weeks after he was first suspended, Reform has finally removed John Allen from the party.  Allen, a former Reform councillor in Hirst ward on Northumberland County Council, is believed to have posted comments from a YouTube account @johnallen7807 saying he wanted to kill the prime minister. Allen was also a councillor on Ashington Town Council.  Anti-extremist campaign group Hope not Hate…