1 hour ago Parties clash over Trump and protest votes in local elections debate

Labour and the Tories are seeking to defend seats from Reform amid opinion poll momentum for Nigel Farage’s party.

Politics

3 h. ago Nigel Farage underling battered in brutal debate on Trump, tax and support for kids

Reform politican Alex Wilson endured a rough hour in a Channel 4 local election debate which covered Donald Trump, SEND provision, housing, taxes and ousted MP Rupert Lowe

Politics

4 h. ago Staggering amount 'grifter' Nigel Farage has pocketed since becoming MP revealed

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is the biggest earning MP in Parliament and will hit the seven-figure milestone this week - the Mirror can reveal how he has done it

Politics

6 h. ago Reform's mayoral candidate Andrea Jenkyns previously accused Nigel Farage's ally Aaron Banks of trying to bribe her to defect from Tories

Former Tory MP Dame Andrea Jenkyns privately claimed Aaron Banks had promised her a job in his company if she would join Reform UK, a leaked message shows

Politics

7 h. ago Britons name ‘none of the above’ as most popular candidate before local elections

Labour’s Keir Starmer, Reform’s Nigel Farage, the Conservative’s Kemi Badenoch and Lib Dem’s Ed Davey all trailing as voters prepare to go to the polls on Thursday

Politics

7 h. ago Reform UK could scoop 500 council seats to make Nigel Farage the biggest winner of this week's local elections

Nigel Farage 's party have consistently outperformed the Tories in recent national opinion polls and even risen above Labour in some surveys.

Politics

9 h. ago Phasing out fossil fuels ‘doomed to fail’, says Tony Blair as he calls for rethink of net zero policy – UK politics live

‘Any strategy based on either phasing out fossil fuels in the short term or limiting consumption is a strategy doomed to fail,’ says former PMSeverin Carrell is the Guardian’s Scotland editor.Keir Starmer is not expected to campaign in the Hamilton byelection, a critical contest for Scottish Labour which takes place in early June, Anas Sarwar has confirmed.I wouldn’t expect Keir to be campaigning in the byelection. That’s not to say he won’t, but I’m not expecting Kier to campaign in the byelection.I’ll be on the stump campaigning for a Labour win. I’m the candidate for first minister next year. I’m the one that wants to remove the SNP from government.Next year, we’ve got to demonstrate to people that for all Nigel Farage might want to come here with his easy answers and create a bit of a circus, the reality is a vote for Reform only helps the SNP. If you want to get rid of the SNP, only Scottish Labour can beat them. Continue reading...

Events

10 h. ago Plan to phase out fossil fuels ‘doomed to fail’, says Tony Blair as he calls for rethink of net zero policy – UK politics live

‘Any strategy based on either ‘phasing out’ fossil fuels in the short term or limiting consumption is a strategy doomed to fail,’ says former PMSeverin Carrell is the Guardian’s Scotland editor.Keir Starmer is not expected to campaign in the Hamilton byelection, a critical contest for Scottish Labour which takes place in early June, Anas Sarwar has confirmed.I wouldn’t expect Keir to be campaigning in the byelection. That’s not to say he won’t, but I’m not expecting Kier to campaign in the byelection.I’ll be on the stump campaigning for a Labour win. I’m the candidate for first minister next year. I’m the one that wants to remove the SNP from government.Next year, we’ve got to demonstrate to people that for all Nigel Farage might want to come here with his easy answers and create a bit of a circus, the reality is a vote for Reform only helps the SNP. If you want to get rid of the SNP, only Scottish Labour can beat them. Continue reading...

Events

11 h. ago Olympic boxing champion explains decision to stand for Nigel Farage's Reform UK

Former boxer Luke Campbell, who won a gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics, is standing as the mayoral candidate for Hull and East Yorkshire for Nigel Farage's right-wing Reform UK party

Sport

12 h. ago Tory plight could worsen, warns William Hague as Nigel Farage's Reform firms up poll lead

The Conservatives are predicted to lose hundreds of council seats on Thursday, May 1

Events

14 h. ago Senior Labour council leader says Government must do more to counter Reform UK

Sir Stephen Houghton, chairman of the body representing metropolitan district councils, questioned benefits changes and investment strategy.

Politics

14 h. ago Reform extends poll lead as Tories brace for hammering in local elections on Thursday

YouGov research put Nigel Farage's party on 26 per cent support nationally - creeping up a point since last week.

Politics

33 h. ago Voices: Nigel Farage is on the brink of another election breakthrough but then what?

With voters set to desert Labour and Tories at the local elections in favour of Reform UK, will the populist protest party be able to run services and balance the books of hard-pressed city councils? Of course not, says Sean O’Grady

Politics

42 h. ago Populists like Farage promise voters a simpler life. In fact, they produce ever more hassle and chaos | Andy Beckett

Centrists won’t beat Reform UK by echoing its messages. They should emphasise the true unworkability of policies like BrexitIn the middle of an election or the early stages of an administration, populist politics can feel like a liberation. The unsayable is said. Political rules are broken. Constitutional restrictions are flouted. Populist rallies are boisterous, seemingly uninhibited, with enemies of the movement taunted or intimidated.For many voters, and even some activists and politicians, conventional politics can be boring, with its careful rhetoric and predictably choreographed campaigns, its compromised and complicated centrist policies. Populism promises something much more visceral, with larger-than-life leaders and dramatic national goals: “make America great again”, “take back control”. Digital media, with its constant hunger for brevity and straightforward narratives, is a perfect environment for populism’s seductive claim that politics is actually quite simple.Andy Bec...

Politics

48 h. ago Political parties enter final campaign push ahead of local elections

Voters will go to the polls in 23 council areas across England on Thursday May 1, and will choose a new MP in Runcorn and Helsby.

Politics

48 h. ago Treasury to toughen debanking rules in the wake of Nigel Farage clash with Nat West to allow consumers to better challenge decisions to close accounts

Under new laws expected to come into force next April, consumers will have to be given 90 days notice and a 'clear explanation' in writing of why the action is being taken.

Economics

59 h. ago Voters deserting Labour and Tories as Reform to claim hundreds of seats at local elections, top pollster says

Exclusive: Professor Sir John Curtice said the big winner of the local elections is already Nigel Farage who he claimed is ‘murdering the Tories’

Politics

60 h. ago Tory peer Ben Houchen says party might form governing coalition with Nigel Farage's Reform after next election to kick Labour out of power

Lord Ben Houchen said there would have to be a 'conversation' about a pact of some kind with Nigel Farage 's party if it meant booting Labour out of Downing Street after a single term.

Politics

60 h. ago Labour peer says party 'will get its head kicked in' by Reform in local elections and must 'stop talking gibberish about diversity'

Maurice Glasman, the founder of the influential Blue Labour group, issued a grave warning days before the local elections in which Nigel Farage 's party is expected to make significant gains.

Politics

60 h. ago Badenoch ‘not worried’ donor announcing £1m for Reform could be first of many

It has been reported that Bassim Haidar has announced he is giving £1 million to Reform.

Economics