#reform-uk

#reform-uk

For seven months Helen Pidd has been keeping a close eye on what has been happening in Lancashire, her home county. It is one of 10 local councils Reform has taken over potentially a big indicator of what could happen if Nigel Farage's party were to get into Downing Street. She was keen to see if Reform's anti-woke' agenda would come crashing down when confronted with the cold hard realities of local government or if the party would prove itself more competent than people expected.

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.

Warwickshire county council has been warned by its executives that anything less than a 5% maximum council tax increase will put its financial viability at risk. In a report published on Thursday, the council's board said anything below a 4.99% council tax rise the equivalent to a 1.75 a week increase on a band D property is a riskier financial strategy that would threaten the medium-term sustainability of the local authority.

Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

Ian Cooper has, by sharing this kind of material, exposed his far-right and racist opinions. He should now resign the leadership and his seat. No wonder he was reluctant to take action against councillor Peter Mason given his own racist and repugnant views. Staffordshire deserves better than this outright bigotry.

Nathan Gill has had a political fall from grace not seen for more than 50 years. The former leader of Reform UK Wales is facing prison for accepting Russian bribes while a Member of the European Parliament. The downfall of Gill, 52, is almost without parallel save perhaps for that of Labour's John Stonehouse, who faked his own death in 1974 after his political career and business affairs unravelled.

Support for Labour and the Conservatives among British Jews had fallen to 58% by July 2025 from nearly 84% in 2020, according to a report from the Institute of Jewish Policy Research (JPR), which said it was the lowest level we've ever recorded by some distance. Labour is typically favoured by more secular Jews while the Conservative party is traditionally preferred by more observant Jews.

The Guardian may get a better idea of why some young people support Reform UK by asking actual Reform voters who work in shops, offices and factories in red wall towns and cities such as Mansfield, Grimsby and Derby what they think, rather than three students, an environmental activist and a youth equality organiser (How should we tackle Reform and the rise of the far right? Our gen Z panel has some ideas, 13 November). Nigel Scollin Breaston, Derbyshire

I looked out the window and thought, this could be the moment they actually killed me, and it's a really strange feeling.

The truth is that without securing higher, sustained economic growth, reconnecting people and politics, generating trust in the potential of democracy and importance of good government becomes almost impossible. And the appeal of the parties of the far right with their dogma of disruption, division and despair it becomes, too, alluring. Kyle added: We see it today with Reform, just as we did in previous times with the National Front and the British National party.

The last decade in British politics has been marked by instability and fragmentation, with six prime ministers in ten years, and Nigel Farage's Reform party now leading in the polls. A study this month from King's College London and Ipsos found that 84 percent of people now say the UK feels divided, up from 74 percent in 2020. Polling on voter intention shows a fracturing of the political landscape as people abandon two-party politics

But now the anti-racism charity Hope Not Hate has asked 11,000 people who said they were going to vote for Reform why that is and the answers may surprise you. The Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty says the results suggest an unwieldy coalition of voters who could be won back by other parties. He tells Helen Pidd that a lot of Reform voters want quite fundamental things from the party in terms of workers' rights and the environment, for instance.

So were all of the 7/7 bombers. It takes more than a piece of paper to make somebody British.

inappropriate and offensive comments have no place in our Senedd or society more widely

Only six years ago, at the 2019 election, the Conservatives and Labour got 76% of the vote between them, coming first and second in both votes and seats, as they have at every general election since 1922. Yet in most opinion polls now, the two parties around which politics is usually arranged at Westminster, in the media, and in the minds of millions of voters, activists and party donors have a combined support of less than 40%.