Author: Miles Donavan

“Polluting‑for‑profit water companies, industrial‑scale agriculture, and toothless regulation have failed people and nature alike.” Bathing waters in England are five times more likely to be polluted than those in the EU, according to new research. Analysis by Best for Britain, a group campaigning for closer UK-EU ties, found that people across all four UK nations are less likely to swim in “excellent” quality waters than in the EU. The research found that 64.2 percent of England’s bathing waters were rated excellent by the Environment Agency (EA) in 2024, while 85.4 percent of the EU’s were graded the same by the…

“Its like saying the Titanic maiden voyage was a success because it made it over halfway to New York.” David Frost, the UK’s former chief negotiator for exiting the European Union under Boris Johnson, has come under criticism for claiming Brexit has been a success. In a recent article in the Telegraph, Lord Frost’s headline claimed: “Brexit has been a success. Labour are slowly killing it.” He argued that years of EU membership left the UK’s political establishment incapable of governing effectively, asserting: “During long years of EU membership, our political establishment forgot how to run the country.” Frost acknowledged…

‘Without a big reset, then the keys to Number 10 are being handed to Reform and Nigel Farage.’ Labour members want the government to adopt more radical policies including a wealth tax, bringing water into public ownership and scrapping the two-child benefit cap, a new poll has found. In a clear message to the party leadership, the polling, conducted by Survation on behalf of Compass, found that almost all Labour members (91%) support introducing a wealth tax on the super-rich.  Ahead of Labour’s autumn budget, more than 30 MPs have backed a motion by Independent MP Richard Burgon to introduce…

Farage called for the Lords to be scrapped after peers voted for the UK to stay in the EU customs union Nigel Farage is trying to push prime minister Keir Starmer to allow him to appoint Reform UK peers, despite previously calling for the House of Lords to be abolished.  Incidentally, the Reform leader’s suggestion in 2018 that the House of Lords should be replaced with an elected senate came after peers voting against the government’s Brexit deal and argued  the country should remain in a UK-EU customs union.  Now that Reform has four MPs and controls 10 councils, Farage…

This seat was held by Labour at every election since 2012 The Green Party has won its first seat on Cardiff Council following a by-election victory. The Greens’ Matt Youde won the by-election in Grangetown ward with 24 per cent of the vote. The ward was previously held by Labour, who have won every seat in the ward at every election since 2012. The full breakdown of the vote in the by-election was as follows: Green: 24.0% Labour: 22.7% Plaid Cymru: 18.7% Reform: 14.5% Propel: 9.6% Independent: 4.6% Tory: 4.1% Lib Dem: 1.8% Following the by-election, Wales Green Party leader…

‘For the council to withdraw their support shows the lack of care they have for the people of Durham.’ The Trades Union Congress, Durham Miners’ Association and Durham Pride UK have criticised Reform-led Durham County Council for withdrawing funding for the city’s annual pride celebrations. The council said it has cancelled funding for Pride, due to financial pressures and “specific and contested political ideology”. An email from the council to Durham Pride UK organisers refers to a discussion on right-wing news channel GB news criticising support for Trans rights at other Pride events. Darren Grimes, Reform deputy leader of Durham…

“The Vice President’s absurd lies haven’t just been about eating cats and dogs in Ohio; he has lied about Scotland.” Scottish Green MSP Gillian Mackay has blasted the US Vice President JD Vance for telling lies about Scotland ahead of his arrival at a luxury estate in Ayrshire today. Vance made baseless claims during Donald Trump’s presidential campaign that Haitian migrants were eating household pets in Springfield, Ohio. Not only that, but Mackay pointed out that Vance spread misinformation about Scotland’s new buffer zone law around abortion clinics back in February. Vance had claimed people who live within safe access…

“He’s simply not welcome here.” Residents in the Cotswolds have taken issue with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance’s visit to the area, protesting against him. Vance is on holiday in the area, staying in a Grade II listed country manor in the hamlet of Dean, sparking protests against his visit. With an army of police and security descending on the area and nearby Chipping Norton, protesters as well as residents have made their feelings clear. Many have held placards telling Vance he is not welcome to the area, with some reading: “Sod off”, while others simply stated: ‘Not welcome.” One…

‘The source for the invented requirement remains a mystery.’ Farage has been telling falsehoods about Keir Starmer’s Brexit deal in the Daily Mail, it turns out.  Farage’s claim that British travellers will need to provide evidence of travel insurance when the entry-exit system begins on 12 October has been proven false. In a Mail article published on 10 August, Farage said: “How on earth we managed to negotiate a deal as bad as this, I do not know.” He then claimed that “For all the travellers who go to France, to have to prove medical insurance will be a very…

It backfired… A Tory MP endured a car crash interview earlier today, has he tried to attack the Labour government over its performance on the economy, only for it to backfire. Appearing on Sky News, Shadow Business and Trade Secretary Andrew Griffith, tried to claim that better than expected GDP figures which showed growth of 0.3% in the three months to the end of June, which was above the 0.1% forecast by the Bank of England, was not positive news. He said: “It’s pretty much confirming we’re in a period of stagflation, that means the economy isn’t growing, but cost…