Author: Miles Donavan

Electoral reform will not transform our political culture overnight, but refusing to confront fragmentation will make effective governance permanently impossible. By Tom Brake, Director of Unlock Democracy If you want to see what happens when politics gets stuck in the past, look no further than France. The country’s descent into near-ungovernability – a fractured parliament, fragile coalitions, and fiscal paralysis – is not simply the product of President Emmanuel Macron’s missteps or public discontent over the cost of living or changes to the retirement age. It is the consequence of a deeper structural mismatch: a fragmented party system straining against…

Yet another resignation will add to the sense that Reform is a party in chaos, with a number of councillors having quit since the local elections in May. Yet another Reform UK councillor has quit, this time the party’s group leader of Cornwall Council. Councillor Rob Parsonage was one of 28 Reform councillors who won a seat during the local elections in May, making them the largest group on the local authority. A coalition between the Liberal Democrats and independents prevented Reform from taking control. In a statement, a spokesperson from the Reform UK group in Cornwall said: “Following careful…

‘Nigel Farage has finally admitted what everyone already knew: Reform’s economic plans are built on sand.’ Reform is set to ditch the massive tax cuts it included in its 2024 general election manifesto. Nigel Farage’s party pledged to abolish inheritance tax for all estates under £2 million, reduce corporation tax to 15%, increase the income tax personal allowance to £20,000 and the higher rate threshold to £70,000. These tax changes, aside from increasing the income tax personal allowance to £20,000, are skewed towards benefitting the rich.  At the time, the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned that the proposals, which would…

Now it seems that the unit’s first test case has utterly failed, with Kent County Council considering a 5% hike in council tax. Reform’s DOGE unit, modelled on Elon Musk’s equivalent in the U.S., was supposed to be an innovative cost-cutting machine, aimed at reducing what Farage and his cronies had slammed as ‘wasteful expenditure’. However, it’s been an abject failure. The party’s DOGE unit made headlines over the summer, when it was launched at Kent County Council to begin with, with Reform announcing a team of software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors who would “visit and analyse” local…

Farage has admitted he knew Gill for ‘a very long time’ but claims he didn’t know anything about his pro-Russia activities… Nigel Farage has finally admitted that he has known ex-Reform leader in Wales Nathan Gill, who has pleaded guilty to accepting pro-Russia bribes, for 20 years.  This comes after weeks of Reform UK distancing itself from the ex-UKIP and Brexit Party politician, with the party’s head of policy, Zia Yusuf, claiming he didn’t know who Gill was. Farage, however, has now admitted that he has known Gill “for a very long time”. When asked on BBC Breakfast why Reform…

“A budget consultation for next year opens the door to council tax rises up to a maximum 5 per cent.” Yet another broken promise from Reform UK! It’s emerged that 8 of the party’s councils have indicated that they will raise council tax next year after struggling to find huge cuts in public spending. It comes after promises from Nigel Farage to cut out wasteful spending within the councils and to lower taxes in councils under the party’s control. After being hit by the reality of governing, Reform councils have realised that amid spiralling cost of children’s and adult social…

Why is a Labour government trying to resurrect Tory anti-protest powers that the courts found to be unlawful? From the riots against the poll tax in both the 14th century and the 1980s, to the Suffragette and Chartist campaigns for voting rights, the fight against racism in the Bristol Bus Boycott and the mass demonstrations against the Iraq War, Britain’s past and present have been shaped by protest movements. But has change ever been achieved through a single day of marching with placards? Even in those historic examples, governments haven’t always listened. In the case of the Gaza war, the…

The Mail is selling the dream of European life it helped eliminate, to readers trapped in the post-Brexit reality it championed. The Daily Mail has been at it again, selling readers a dream life abroad – this time to Cyprus. “British family moved to Cyprus after getting fed up of dreary UK life – and now enjoy life on ONE parent’s salary only,” boasted a recent headline, promoting the story of a couple from Middlesbrough who moved abroad with their two young children. The article applauds the family’s newfound happiness, freedom from 60-hour workweeks, and the dramatic drop in living…

“Free speech, anyone?” The usual suspects in the right-wing press flew into predictable hysteria this week, over Gary Neville’s comments on the Union Jack and St. George’s flags. Once again, the self-appointed champions of ‘free speech’ revealed how little they actually value it, especially when it comes from voices they dislike. The former Manchester United and England footballer sparked a frenzy after posting a video in which he suggested that patriotic symbols like the Union Jack have become associated with division and hostility, particularly among what he described as “angry, middle-aged white men.” Neville linked this surge in aggressive nationalism…

Unlike other political figures who tend to cower before the tabloid firing squad, Polanski has welcomed the hysteria with open arms. Zack Polanski has had a good week. Not least because the Green Party now boasts more members than the Liberal Democrats, despite having 68 fewer MPs, or because of the infectious energy that reportedly flowed through the party’s conference in Bournemouth, which enjoyed a record-breaking attendance. No, the real feather in his cap came courtesy of Britain’s right-wing media, who seem beside themselves at the mere existence of a confident, unapologetically progressive leader. Unlike other political figures who tend to cower…