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PoliticsWhat is the latest finance scandal facing Reform UK?
Nigel Farage’s party has been referred to the police by Labour and the Lib Dems for potential breaches of the law UK politics live – latest updatesNigel Farage is facing yet another finance scandal following an undercover investigation into how the party is funded. The potential wrongdoing – denied by the party – appears serious enough to have been immediately referred to the police by Labour and the Liberal Democrats. These are the main legal issues for Reform and what any investigation will have to consider. Continue reading...
PoliticsReform suspends two officials over donations sting as Farage admits their comments ‘don’t look good’ – UK politics live
James Orr and Dan Jukes, aides to Nigel Farage, stepped down after an investigation by Channel 4 NewsBritish ministers have hit back after the Argentinian president said “winds of change” favourable to his country’s claim to the Falklands were “blowing around the world”, Kiran Stacey reports.The Electoral Commission has issued a statement this morning saying it is in touch with the police about the undercover investigation into Reform UK. In a statement, it said:We are considering all relevant information, in line with our regulatory remit, and we are in touch with the Met police.The Electoral Commission has not approved the donor vetting process for Reform, or any other party. Parties are responsible for ensuring their internal processes and controls are fit for purpose. Continue reading...
PoliticsNigel Farage meeting a 'shadowy foreign donor'? It can only be another establishment stitch-up | Marina Hyde
The only thing more dodgy than Reform’s financial dealings is the egregious lunchtime combination of oysters, Guinness and champagneHow many sarcastic air quotes is too many for quoting Nigel Farage’s suggestion that Reform have been ““““““““hoaxed”””””””” by some undercover investigators into appearing to seek to get round electoral law to bag a £500k donation from a foreigner, as well as commissioning off-the-books polling and failing to identify it to newspapers? I don’t feel eight was too many. I could run to nine. Amazing, really, that it’s been as long as a few weeks since Farage had a crash-out and forced a byelection. All any of us wants is for Nigel to once again resign after a staged shitfit and ask a few thousand members of the public to judge him.For whatever reason, though, the law of our country does not amount to an “ONLY THE PEOPLE OF CLACTON CAN JUDGE ME” tattoo, and so it is that as Reform’s conference gets under way today, the party has been reported to the police for allegedly using foreign money to fund its activities. It’s all based on a covert sting carried out by Verbatim – an investigative group founded by journalists from the non-profit Centre for Climate Reporting – and broadcast last night on Channel 4 News.Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
PoliticsPopulism poses serious challenge to independent central banks, Bailey says
Bank of England governor says central bankers must explain decisions or risk being seen as ‘unrepresentative elite’The governor of the Bank of England has said the rise of populist politicians presents a serious challenge to independent central banks.As Nigel Farage’s Reform UK gathered for its annual conference in Birmingham, Andrew Bailey said central bankers must be prepared to explain their decisions to the public or risk being attacked as an “unrepresentative elite”. Continue reading...
PoliticsReform officials ‘plotted to break law on foreign donations’ in undercover film
Investigation broadcast by Channel 4 News shows man posing as ‘impermissible donor’ paying for polling that helped ReformLatest: Farage aides step down after undercover report on donationsNigel Farage is facing fresh criticism on the eve of the Reform UK party conference after some of his team were filmed appearing to plot to avoid electoral laws on foreign donations in an undercover investigation broadcast by Channel 4 News.A group of investigative journalists called Verbatim, founded by the Centre for Climate Reporting, posed as a potential Reform supporter and his wealthy American father, an impermissible donor, who paid for £30,000 of polling commissioned by Reform and which benefited the party. Continue reading...
Politics'Fate of this country is down to us' - Zia Yusuf
Reform UK's shadow home secretary Zia Yusuf addresses delegates in Birmingham at the party's conference.
PoliticsTwo Reform officials step down after undercover donations report
Reform says Dan Jukes and James Orr have left their roles as it launches an investigation into the report.
PoliticsAndy Burnham presents his new government as more leftwing. In reality, it’s barely moved at all | Owen Jones
The prime minister talks the talk about reversing decades of privatisation and austerity, but we’re yet to see any policies to this endIf Starmerism sought to present the Labour government as more rightwing than it is, Burnhamism seeks to do the opposite.The change in rhetoric is certainly stark. Unlike his sulking predecessor, the new prime minister offers both an analysis and a vision. British stagnation and decline, Andy Burnham correctly told the House of Commons, can be explained by a series of “wrong turns” taken from the 1980s onwards: the privatisation of economic power, the deindustrialisation of the country and the ruinous austerity that followed the 2008 crash.Owen Jones is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
PoliticsDigested week: Tom Tugendhat is a serious politician. What’s he doing in a Reform-lite Tory frontbench? | John Crace
Want to see how small the gene pool of Tory talent is? I give you Andrew Griffith as shadow chancellor. Also this week: Starmer’s Fomo, and telly warsIt’s the end of summer and Kemi Badenoch chose to mark the occasion with a reshuffle of her shadow cabinet. Her aim is apparently to get the Tories match fit in case Andy Burnham calls an early general election, but the vibes are much more rearranging the deckchairs on a sinking ship. After all, when the gene pool of talent is that small, there’s not much you can do. James Cleverly got the ball rolling by announcing he was planning to be the Conservative candidate for London mayor in two years’ time. He may have his work cut out. London is a liberal, multicultural city and unlikely to be won over by a party giving up on net zero and the European convention on human rights. Continue reading...
PoliticsMason: 'Not what Farage wanted today to look like'
Chris Mason speaks from the Reform UK conference as two of its senior officials step down following a Channel 4 investigation.