7 d. ago LORD ASHCROFT: 'We can sniff Starmer's fear of Farage' say voters as they back winter fuel U

Voters have been wondering what it was about Reform's surge in local elections that prompted Starmer to tighten his immigration policy and row back the winter fuel allowance cuts.

Politics

8 d. ago Reform Civil War: Now Richard Tice says chairman who quit was WRONG to oppose burka ban

Richard Tice said Zia Yusuf, who plunged Reform into chaos after resigning, had worked 'incredibly hard' and helped the party win hundreds of seats in last month's local elections.

Politics

8 d. ago ‘Lots of bumps in the road’: Keir Starmer faces testing month before one

From spending review to China audit to assisted dying vote, June’s events have potential to lift or darken Labour moodAs Keir Starmer approaches his first anniversary in Downing Street, there will be several things he wishes he had done differently. But before he can contemplate that July milestone, he faces a busy month strewn with political bear traps.June has proven a difficult time for successive prime ministers: Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak all had to contend with deeply unhappy parliamentary parties reeling from heavy local and European election losses. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Tice defends Reform MP’s question on burqa ban after Zia Yusuf resignation

Party’s deputy leader says discussion must not be ‘forced underground’ when it is policy in some European countriesUK politics live – latest updatesReform UK was right to start a debate on banning the burqa even though it triggered the resignation of its chair, Richard Tice, the party’s deputy leader, has said.Tice, who is one of five Reform MPs, said he was “enormously sad” that Zia Yusuf had quit as chair as he was partly responsible for the party’s strong performance in May’s local elections. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Perth and Kinross Council will consider cumulative impact of multiple battery energy storage systems

The local authority has received a number of planning applications for electricity generating stations

Science

1 week ago Mexican president hails ‘complete success’ after just 13% vote in judicial elections

Claudia Sheinbaum defends decision to put 2,600 judges’ posts to vote despite record low turnoutMexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum has defended the country’s unprecedented judicial elections after just 13% of Mexicans turned out to vote, a record low in a federal election.Roughly 2,600 posts, from local magistrates to supreme court justices, were up for grabs on Sunday, as an entire judicial system was put to the vote for the first time in the world. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘The brand is broken’: is there any way back from abyss for Tories?

Conservative party has repeatedly proved able to adapt and reinvent itself – but this time might be differentAt a carefully staged factory visit rich in pre-written lines, one part of Keir Starmer’s delivery felt entirely unscripted: his insistence that Reform is now his main electoral challenger, rather than a Conservative party “sliding into the abyss”.This was, one No 10 source said afterwards, “not posturing”, but simply an acknowledgement that under Kemi Badenoch there appeared to be no way back for a party slumping in the polls and that followed up a disastrous general election with almost equally bad local results at the start of this month. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Which Reform UK policies did Nigel Farage confirm in his speech?

The Reform leader’s wide-ranging speech attacking Sir Keir Starmer’s government came after the party secured widespread support in local elections.

Events

2 w. ago West Lothian electrical firm posts record turnover for third year running following series of significant contract wins

John Heaney Electrical Limited’s latest set of financial results to the year end December 2024 show an increased revenue of £11.5 million, up 51 per cent on the previous 12 months (£7.6m).

Politics

2 w. ago Casualties in Trump’s war on the arts: the small museums keeping local history alive

Institutions in Los Angeles and beyond have seen millions in grants wiped away almost overnight. What happens when they can’t tell their stories?For the past two years, a small arts non-profit has been telling stories about the communities living alongside the Los Angeles river, one voice at a time.The organization, called Clockshop, has collected the oral histories of nearly 70 local residents, activists and elected officials. Their knowledge is compiled in a vast cultural atlas – which contains videos, an interactive map and a self-guided tour exploring the waterway and its transformation from a home for the Indigenous Tongva people to a popular, rapidly gentrifying urban space. Continue reading...

Culture

3 w. ago Reform hits 30% landmark as more than half of Tory voters switch to Farage

The latest Techne UK tracker poll results for The Independent

Politics

3 w. ago The 10 English councils left with no overall party control and who leads them

Gains for Reform and Liberal Democrats saw some councils left under no overall control

Politics

3 w. ago The 10 councils left with no overall control after local elections

Gains for Reform and Liberal Democrats saw some councils left under no overall control

Politics

3 w. ago Which parties are leading hung councils after the local elections?

All 10 councils left with no party in overall control after ballots this month have confirmed their executive arrangements.

Politics

3 w. ago Rachel Reeves hints at winter fuel allowance shift saying she is 'listening' to mounting disquiet from Labour MPs

Chancellor Rachel Reeves suggested she is considering the threshold at which the benefit is removed after the cut was seen as a factor in dire local election results.

Politics

3 w. ago UK high street chaos 'could lose Labour seats to Reform UK' if Government don't act

The Retail Jobs Alliance has warned that the high street sector is set to shed 300,000 jobs by 2028, and that areas where Reform UK made significant gains in the local elections could be disproportionately affected

Politics

last month Ed Miliband faces losing Commons seat in Reform rout, local elections study shows

Projections by Electoral Calculus suggest the Net Zero Secretary faces being among a blizzard of victims claimed by Reform.

Politics