75 m. ago Frantic last 24 hours of campaigning for local elections as poll shows Reform set to win most votes

Politicians are out knocking on doors ahead of the contests in England, with the Tories and Labour trying to quell a surge by Nigel Farage's party.

Politics

3 h. ago The Tories have shown Labour exactly how not to fight Farage | Rafael Behr

As local elections loom, it’s clear that years of agreeing with the Reform leader have failed to discourage people from voting for himIn the playbook of election strategies, there are two canonical campaigns. Incumbents say things are going in the right direction; don’t let the opposition screw it up! Challengers say everything is screwed up already; it’s time for change!There is a less orthodox, third option, innovated by the Conservatives in competition with whichever party Nigel Farage happens to be leading: our opponent is right; don’t vote for him.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

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11 h. 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.

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16 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

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17 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.

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24 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.

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33 h. ago Now Labour is facing a summer of discontent: Nurses, teachers and council staff issue strike threats as Tories say Rachel Reeves is soft on unions

The Chancellor put the Government on a collision course with unions by warning that any inflation-busting rises would have to be funded by cuts to services.

Events

43 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

47 h. ago Tories 'face losing 500 seats' in Reform local elections surge as Keir Starmer 'stays away' from Runcorn by

Tension is building ahead of the crucial votes on Thursday, with Reform expected to make sweeping gains.

Politics

69 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

3 d. ago A protest vote is an important democratic safety valve, but be careful how you use it

Editorial: Nigel Farage’s party is expected to do well on Thursday as voters turn away from Labour and the Conservatives

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3 d. ago Key seats to watch in the 2025 local elections and why they matter

Will a string of controversial policies be Labour’s downfall at the ballot box? And will Reform surge ahead leaving the Tories in their wake as pollsters predict? Kate Devlin looks at where the votes will count the most on May 1

Politics

4 d. ago Reform and Labour tied at the top ahead of local elections, poll shows

The Conservatives have the most seats to lose in next week’s local elections

Politics

4 d. ago Reform on course to beat Labour and the Tories in Red Wall mayoral elections as polls suggest a bad night for main parties

Andrea Jenkyns, the former Tory minister, is set to romp home in Greater Lincolnshire, while in neighbouring Hull and East Yorkshire, former boxer Luke Campbell is ahead.

Politics

5 d. ago Local elections 2025: Guide to every council and mayoral contest

A total of 1,641 council seats are up for grabs across 23 local authorities.

Politics

5 d. ago Opinion polls suggest unsettled public mood ahead of May 1 elections

An average of polls completed in the seven days to April 20 puts Reform on 25%, Labour on 23% and the Tories on 21%.

Politics

5 d. ago Tories accuse Labour of lining up ‘crony’ to head new football regulator

Former journalist and media executive David Kogan is said to be a leading candidate.

Politics

5 d. ago Tories face 'losing 500 seats' in election hammering by Reform in North and Lib Dems in London commuter belt

The town hall polls are a test of Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage’s leaderships

Politics

6 d. ago Tories urged to ‘come clean’ on Reform after Jenrick ‘coalition’ comments

In an audio recording obtained by Sky News, the shadow justice secretary said that he wants the ‘fight’ against Labour to be ‘united’.

Politics

7 d. ago Nigel Farage thinks net zero is the new Brexit. Starmer can prove him wrong | Rafael Behr

Labour must deliver the green transition voters want, leaving Reform and the Tories on the side of economic decline and dictatorsWhich former British prime minister described the climate emergency as “a clock ticking to the furious rhythm of hundreds of billions of pistons and turbines and furnaces and engines quilting the Earth in an invisible and suffocating blanket of CO2”?The florid style gives it away. You’d guess Boris Johnson even if you’d forgotten that the master of Brexit bombast also had a sideline in net zero evangelism. It wasn’t the most memorable part of his repertoire and it didn’t catch on as a Conservative catechism.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

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