#reform-uk

#reform-uk

"If we don't get what we need [in terms of extra government help] then a Section 114 Notice will come in, which is effective bankruptcy. We'd then get administrators come in, in effect - they'd then make a plan for where the money gets spent in Worcestershire. It would be a catastrophe. We're going to have to halt projects that were put into the budget by the previous administration, things that maybe were 'nice to have', but we can't afford them."

A BBC Question Time audience member's criticism of Reform UK's policies resulted in applause from the crowd. On Thursday (5 February), Zia Yusuf was challenged by a young audience member on his assertion that Gen Z are not patriotic. I think your party especially isn't giving me much to be proud of, the guest told Mr Yusuf. "I was reading your party's policies just before we came in, and the first four listed are all about immigration,

We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to smash Labour's failing grip in Wales and, as your new leader in Wales, I will pour my heart and soul into fighting for every vote. We will have a positive, ambitious manifesto, we will have a team of talented, passionate candidates who know their communities and will be taking our message of change to the streets. We're fighting to win, fighting for every vote, because this is the last chance for Wales.

Dan Thomas, a former Conservative leader of Barnet council, has been announced by Nigel Farage as Reform UK's leader in Wales, three months before Senedd elections in which the hard-right party could win the most seats in the country. Farage received a standing ovation before he introduced Thomas at a sold-out rally of approximately 1,000 people at the International Convention Centre Wales, near Newport, on Thursday morning.

It's not an ideal situation. We want low tax, low spend and we were always committed to that. It's just that national pressures that the government is not solving [such as] Send [special educational needs and disabilities] home-school transport. The people understand that taxes do have to go up now. I am dead against increasing taxes and I will do as much as I can to lower that bill and that burden.

An idiot's guide to running a byelection campaign. First, know your constituency boundaries. Sometimes easier said than done. On Tuesday morning, Lee Anderson was to be found doing a photo op for the Gorton and Denton byelection by posing outside the Stanley hotel. Which just happens to be in Angela Rayner's constituency. Shame that someone pointed out Anderson's mistake. He could happily have spent the next four weeks knocking on the wrong doors.

"Indeed, any elected politician who wants to play a part in our movement and help turn Britain around has until that date to apply to join Reform," Farage wrote in The Telegraph of the deadline, saying after that the door will be shut to current and former MPs, as well as councillors.

The party claimed in its manifesto that this would improve the general standard of care by reducing demands on the NHS. Its leader, Nigel Farage, appeared to double down on this commitment at a press conference last summer, saying: Perhaps if we gave people a bit of tax relief on paying for private health care, we might just relieve the pressure off the National Health Service.

James Evans has been removed from the shadow cabinet and had the whip withdrawn making him an independent, Tory Senedd leader Darren Millar has said. Millar said he did so on Tuesday morning "after being informed by James that he was continuing to engage with Reform representatives about the possibility of defecting to the party in spite of his personal assurances on Friday that he had rejected an approach they initiated last week".

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.

Nigel Farage has insisted Reform UK will not become "the Conservative Party 2.0" following the defection of former senior Tory Robert Jenrick. Writing in the Telegraph, the party's leader said Reform "is not a rescue charity for every panicky Tory MP" and any potential defectors would have to be prepared to admit publicly that the previous Conservative government "broke the country".

But one persistent line of questioning seemed to draw a flash of real anger from the defector: did he reject the views of a doctor who was permitted by Reform to use the main stage at its annual conference to claim that the Covid vaccines, which Zahawi had himself rolled out as vaccines minister during the pandemic, were responsible for King Charles and the Princess of Wales' cancers?

For Sam Smith, Thursday began as an ordinary day. The Conservative councillor was preparing for a budget scrutiny meeting at the Reform-led Nottinghamshire county council hall, where he is leader of the opposition, when he received a message from long-time friend Robert Jenrick. The MP's message to the Newark Conservative Association's group chat queried what local pubs they could visit to oppose Labour's hike on business rates.

Laila Cunningham, who was announced as Reform's candidate for the 2028 mayoral elections last week, said no one should cover their face in an open society, adding: It has to be assumed that if you're hiding your face, you're hiding it for a criminal reason. Cunningham told the Standard podcast: If you go to parts of London, it does feel like a Muslim city. The signs are written in a different language. You've got burqas being sold in markets.

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.