Author: Miles Donavan

Badenoch is bowing to pressure from immigration hardliners Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is bowing to pressure from immigration hardliners in her party, as she is expected to announce an exit from the European Convention on Human Rights as party policy. ​The announcement is expected to be made at the Conservatives’ party conference in mid-October.  Several senior Tories, including shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick and shadow home secretary Chris Philp have repeatedly said the UK needs to leave the convention. Badenoch’s move appears aimed at appeasing these figures and remaining as leader.  It is also a core Reform policy, in another…

He failed to answer the question… The problem with far-right populism espoused by the likes of Reform UK, is it replaces solutions with slogans and soundbites, which begin to fall apart at the slightest bit of scrutiny. Populism at its heart has always been a denial of complexity, favouring simplistic solutions and soundbites instead of offering tangible solutions. This was on full display yesterday, when Reform’s Zia Yusuf was asked on BBC Newsnight about how exactly his party would deport all migrants that arrive illegally back to their countries of origin. The issue of illegal boat crossings has continued to…

“I’ve always thought that the best politicians try and bring people together, and the very worst politicians try and drive them apart.” A government minister has slammed Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as ‘the very worst kind of politician’ over the way he has targeted hotels with asylum seekers. Dan Jarvis accused the Reform UK leader of fanning the flames of division after a number of protests flared up outside hotels housing asylum seekers after Farage celebrated a council’s successful legal challenge against one in Epping. The injunction was sought by Epping Forest District Council to stop migrants being placed…

‘It is clear that he did not expect to be elected, or have any understanding of what the role of a councillor actually entails’ Another Reform councillor has stepped down just four months after being elected, triggering a by-election which will cost around £27,000. David Maclean, a recently elected Reform councillor, resigned from Isle of Wight Council on Monday, citing personal reasons. Opposition councillors previously pointed out that Maclean’s attendance has been poor since he was elected in May. He also did not attend the by-election count on 2 May or his inauguration.  Last Thursday, Conservative councillor Paul Brading said…

The number of asylum hotels in use increased from 10 to over 100 while Chris Philp was immigration minister The shadow home secretary Chris Philp has been set straight on both his own record as immigration minister, and the Conservatives’ use of asylum hotels while they were in government. In an excruciating interview on BBC Radio 4, Philp tried to claim that if the use of asylum hotels had continued to halve, as they did in the last nine months of Sunak’s government, Labour would have ended their use by now. After Philp repeatedly dodged journalist Emma Barnett’s questions, she…

Lee Twamley, photographed at the front of Britain First’s “March for Remigration” in Manchester this month, has served prison time for trying to smuggle Vietnamese migrants into the UK. Far-right Britain First’s ‘March for Remigration’ in Manchester, in which the extremist group called for mass deportations, was led by a convicted people smuggler. Anti-fascist campaign group Hope Not Hate reports that ‘Lee Twamley, photographed at the front of Britain First’s “March for Remigration” in Manchester this month, has served prison time for trying to smuggle Vietnamese migrants into the UK”. A reminder that Britain First portrays itself not only as…

‘You’re tarring them all with the same brush.’ LBC presenter Iain Dale clashed with a Reform county councillor in Epping, who made sweeping statements about asylum seekers on air. A Reform county councillor in Epping, Jaymey McIvor claimed it was “an insult to British people” that people “illegally” seek refuge in the UK. He also complained that asylum seekers are housed in hotels and “get fed”.  McIvor said: “They need to be away from schools, away from young children and they need to be away from communities like Epping.” He claimed women cannot safely walk their dogs in Epping. Dale…

Members of the public cited billionaire owner Elon Musk’s “clear political agenda” as the reason for the objection. Thousands of people have complained to the energy regulator Ofgem, in a bid to block Elon Musk’s Tesla from supplying energy to British households. Campaign group Best for Britain is urging the public to write to Ofgem, stating that Musk is not a “fit and proper” person to have “a foothold in our essential services”, with around 8,000 people contacting the energy regulator lodging their objections. Members of the public cited billionaire owner Elon Musk’s “clear political agenda” as the reason for…

He’s making thousands of pounds from it Far-right agitator Tommy Robinson has pocketed thousands of pounds from selling advice anti-Islam activtism to people through an app owned by a right-wing American commentator. Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is charging up to £28 per minute for providing advice to far-right activists, and has made at least £9,194 from 300 sessions since mid-June.  According to The Times, Robinson is charging £37 for videos that last a couple of minutes, and an eye-watering £390 for 15-minute coaching calls.  A Times reporter who posed as an aspiring young activist contacted Robinson through the app,…

It shows how deeply unpopular Farage remains among the public and how the next general election is far from a foregone conclusion. A clear majority of voters still have an unfavourable view towards Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, a poll has found. The polling, carried out by YouGov in mid August, found that Farage’s net rating has consistently been between -27 and -31 since the local elections in May. The latest figures show a third of Britons (32%) have a favourable opinion of the Reform UK leader, while six in ten (61%) see him unfavourably, giving a net rating in…