Iran could hold nuclear talks with European powers next week, Tasnim says
"The principle of talks has been agreed upon, but consultations are continuing on the time and place of the talks. The country in which the talks could be held next week has not been finalised," Tasnim reported quoting a source informed with the matter.
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Sky News
23 minutes ago
- Sky News
Reform UK is on the march - and the most popular party on TikTok. There's just one problem
Reform UK is on the march. Following a barnstorming performance in this year's local elections, they are now the most successful political party on TikTok, engaging younger audiences. But most of their 400,000 followers are men. I was at the local elections launch for Reform in March, looking around for any young women to interview who had come to support the party at its most ambitious rally yet, and I was struggling. A woman wearing a "let's save Britain" hat walked by, and I asked her to help me. "Now you say it, there are more men here," she said. But she wasn't worried, adding: "We'll get the women in." And that probably best sums up Reform's strategy. When Nigel Farage threw his hat into the ring to become an MP for Reform, midway through the general election campaign, they weren't really thinking about the diversity of their base. 1:48 As a result, they attracted a very specific politician. Fewer than 20% of general election candidates for Reform were women, and the five men elected were all white with a median age of 60. Polling shows that best, too. According to YouGov's survey from June 2025, a year on from the election, young women are one of Reform UK's weakest groups, with just 7% supporting Farage's party - half the rate of men in the same age group. The highest support comes from older men, with a considerable amount of over-65s backing Reform - almost 40%. But the party hoped to change all that at the local elections. Time to go pro It was the closing act of Reform's September conference and Farage had his most serious rallying cry: it was time for the party to "professionalise". In an interview with me last year, Farage admitted "no vetting" had occurred for one of his new MPs, James McMurdock. Only a couple of months after he arrived in parliament, it was revealed he had been jailed after being convicted of assaulting his then girlfriend in 2006 while drunk outside a nightclub. McMurdock told me earlier this year: "I would like to do my best to do as little harm to everyone else and at the same time accept that I was a bad person for a moment back then. I'm doing my best to manage the fact that something really regrettable did happen." He has since suspended himself from the party over allegations about his business affairs. He has denied any wrongdoing. 0:40 Later, two women who worked for another of Reform's original MPs, Rupert Lowe, gave "credible" evidence of bullying or harassment by him and his team, according to a report from a KC hired by the party. Lowe denies all wrongdoing and says the claims were retaliation after he criticised Farage in an interview with the Daily Mail, describing his then leader's style as "messianic". The Crown Prosecution Service later said it would not charge Lowe after an investigation. He now sits as an independent MP. 1:04 A breakthrough night But these issues created an image problem and scuppered plans for getting women to join the party. So, in the run-up to the local elections, big changes were made. The first big opportunity presented itself when a by-election was called in Runcorn and Helsby. The party put up Sarah Pochin as a candidate, and she won a nail-biting race by just six votes. Reform effectively doubled their vote share there compared to the general election - jumping to 38% - and brought its first female MP into parliament. And in the Lincolnshire mayoral race - where Andrea Jenkyns was up for the role - they won with 42% of the vote. The council results that night were positive, too, with Reform taking control of 10 local authorities. They brought new recruits into the party - some of whom had never been involved in active politics. 6:11 'The same vibes as Trump' Catherine Becker is one of them and says motherhood, family, and community is at the heart of Reform's offering. It's attracted her to what she calls Reform's "common sense" policies. As Reform's parliamentary candidate for Hampstead and Highgate in last year's general election, and now a councillor, she also taps into Reform's strategy of hyper-localism - trying to get candidates to talk about local issues of crime, family, and law and order in the community above everything else. Jess Gill was your quintessential Labour voter: "I'm northern, I'm working class, I'm a woman, based on the current stereotype that would have been the party for me." But when Sir Keir Starmer knelt for Black Lives Matter, she said that was the end of her love affair with the party, and she switched. "Women are fed up of men not being real men," she says. "Starmer is a bit of a wimp, where Nigel Farage is a funny guy - he gives the same vibes as Trump in a way." 'Shy Reformers' But most of Reform's recruits seem to have defected from the Conservative Party, according to the data, and this is where the party sees real opportunity. Anna McGovern was one of those defectors after the astonishing defeat of the Tories in the general election. She thinks there may be "shy Reformers" - women who support the party but are unwilling to speak about it publicly. "You don't see many young women like myself who are publicly saying they support Reform," she says. "I think many people fear that if they publicly say they support Reform, what their friends might think about them. I've faced that before, where people have made assumptions of my beliefs because I've said I support Reform or more right-wing policies." But representation isn't their entire strategy. Reform have pivoted to speaking about controversial topics - the sort they think the female voters they're keen to attract may be particularly attuned to. "Reform are speaking up for women on issues such as transgenderism, defining what a woman is," McGovern says. And since Reform's original five MPs joined parliament, grooming gangs have been mentioned 159 times in the Commons - compared to the previous 13 years when it was mentioned 88 times, despite the scandal first coming to prominence back in 2011. But the pitfall of that strategy is where it could risk alienating other communities. Pochin, Reform's first and only female MP, used her first question in parliament to the prime minister to ask if he would ban the burka - something that isn't Reform policy, but which she says was "punchy" to "get the attention to start the debate". 0:31 'What politics is all about' Alex Philips was the right-hand woman to Farage during the Brexit years. She's still very close to senior officials in Reform and a party member, and tells me these issues present an opportunity. "An issue in politics is a political opportunity and what democracy is for is actually putting a voice to a representation, to concerns of the public. That's what politics is all about." Luke Tryl is the executive director of the More In Common public opinion and polling firm, and says the shift since the local elections is targeted and effective. Reform's newer converts are much more likely to be female, as the party started to realise you can't win a general election without getting the support of effectively half the electorate. "When we speak to women, particularly older women in focus groups, there is a sense that women's issues have been neglected by the traditional mainstream parties," he says. "Particularly issues around women's safety, and women's concerns aren't taken as seriously as they should be. "If Reform could show it takes their concerns seriously, they may well consolidate their support." According to his focus groups, the party's vote share among women aged 18 to 26 shot up in May - jumping from 12% to 21% after the local elections. But the gender divide in right-wing parties is still stark, Tryl says, and representation will remain an uphill battle for a party historically dogged by controversy and clashes. A Reform UK spokesman told Sky News: "Reform is attracting support across all demographics. "Our support with women has surged since the general election a year ago, in that time we have seen Sarah Pochin and Andrea Jenkyns elected in senior roles for the party."
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Reform would nationalise half of water industry, says Nigel Farage
Nigel Farage has vowed to nationalise half of the water industry by striking a deal with the private sector. The Reform UK leader said he would attempt to fix the 'mess' blighting Britain's waterways by bringing 50 per cent of the sector under public ownership. He refused to say how much the reforms would cost but insisted it would be 'a lot less' than the £50bn that has been estimated. Mr Farage's promise comes as the Government has pledged to halve the amount of raw sewage being pumped into rivers, lakes and seas by the end of the decade. But Reform has said the British taxpayers 'need to be in control' of their own utilities. In its 2024 manifesto, the party vowed to launch a 'new model' that brings 50 per cent of all utilities under public ownership, with the other half owned by UK pension funds. Asked about the pledge on Sunday, Mr Farage said Britain had become 'completely incapable of coping' with the demands placed on the water sector by a huge increase in the population. Pressed on how much it would cost to have 50 per cent of the industry under public ownership, Mr Farage told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show: 'That depends what deal you do with the private sector investors. 'We are in a hell of a mess with this – an increase of the population by 10 million has left us completely incapable of coping, companies have been badly run. 'We would look for private sector investment, the Government can be a partner.' Labour has resisted calls to nationalise the industry with Steve Reed, the Environment Secretary, saying on Sunday it would cost too much and take too long. Reform's 2024 manifesto said the British taxpayer 'needs to be in control of Britain's utilities' and vowed to 'launch a new model that brings 50 per cent of each utility into public ownership'. 'The other 50 per cent would be owned by UK pension funds, benefiting from new expertise and better management,' it added. 'We will ensure standing charges are capped to help low users and pensioners.' The Government has estimated that it would cost more than £99bn to nationalise the water industry, based on figures from Ofwat, the water regulator. But Mr Farage said it would cost 'a lot less' than half that to bring 50 per cent of the sector under Government control if the right deal was struck. The leader of Reform told the BBC: 'I'm sorry, Defra [Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] and Ofwat are part of the problem. Everybody thinks the same. 'It's public sector thinking, we need private sector innovation.' Pressed again on whether he would spend £50bn, Mr Farage said: 'Well, I think it'd be a lot less than that if you strike the right deal.' Asked how much it would cost, he continued: 'I don't know, I haven't sat in the negotiations – but a completely different mindset is needed.' Mr Farage added: 'We don't know what negotiations we're going to have, but it doesn't need to be a big sum of money if you incentivise private capital to come in and do the job properly.' The Reform UK leader also warned that British people are being defrauded of billions of pounds to fund net zero. In an attack on Labour's environmental agenda, Mr Farage claimed that subsidising green energy schemes at the taxpayers' expense is having 'literally zero effect' on global emissions. Reform has been heavily critical of the UK's bid to achieve net zero by 2050 and vowed to scrap the target if it wins the next election, claiming it would save £225bn. Labour has pushed on with its attempts to decarbonise the economy, sticking to its pledge to achieve clean power by 2030 despite concerns about the impact on the UK's energy security. Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Mr Farage acknowledged the impact humans have had on the climate, saying it was 'impossible to think' that billions of people have not had an effect on rising temperatures. But he insisted this did not mean Britain should 'beggar itself' by sacrificing traditional industries in favour of green initiatives when the UK accounts for around one per cent of greenhouse ga s emissions worldwide. When Laura Kuenssberg put to him that the scientific consensus is 'absolutely clear that man's activity has a significant impact on the climate', Mr Farage said: 'Well, say it does, is that sufficient reason to defraud British taxpayers of billions of pounds every year, which is what we're doing in subsidising wind energy and solar energy for literally zero effect on global CO2 emissions? 'The same goes for closing our steel plants and moving the production to India. We've got ourselves stuck in this mindset. We believe that man has an influence on changing the climate. I didn't deny that. 'I think man does... it's impossible to think that seven or eight billion people can't have some effect.' Earlier this year, research found that Britain's green energy subsidies have added an estimated £280 to household energy bills. The figure was similar to the £300 that Labour promised bills would decrease by if the party came to power and moved Britain's energy system to renewables. The Government has argued that subsidies are accelerating the move to clean energies and reducing UK vulnerability to future surges in gas and oil prices. But critics have warned against sacrificing traditional British industries if it means outsourcing carbon-intensive production to other countries, at no net benefit to the environment. Gareth Davies, shadow financial secretary to the Treasury, said: 'Nigel Farage is flogging billion-pound promises with no plans to deliver them, meaning higher taxes and more borrowing – and working families footing the bill. It's pure theatre – they are not serious. 'Only the Conservatives believe in sound money, lower taxes, and serious leadership. Britain deserves better than this circus.' A Labour Party spokesman said: 'Nigel Farage summed up his ideas for the water industry in three words: 'I don't know'. 'He has no answers, no plan and nothing to offer apart from bluster. Working families can't afford an unfunded, uncosted Reform experiment with their money.'
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Labour minister says he is ‘not at all surprised' by Reform's lead in the polls
Steve Reed has said he is 'not at all surprised' Reform UK is consistently beating Labour in the polls. The environment secretary said Nigel Farage 's party poll lead is a ' reflection of people's disenchantment with politics'. ' I am not at all surprised, because we just had 14 years where people were promised so much, and all of those promises were broken,' he told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. Mr Reed said: 'Through austerity, through Brexit, after the pandemic with build back better, none of it actually happened. 'The public want to see the change they actually voted for become real.' He went on to outline Labour's plan to leave Britain with the cleanest rivers on record by rebuilding crumbling sewage pipes and overhauling the regulation of water firms. Reform is currently leading in the polls with 29 per cent of the vote, with Labour trailing in second place on 23 per cent. A recent so-called mega poll by YouGov put Mr Farage's party on course to comfortably gain the most MPs in a general election, winning 271 seats compared to Labour on 178. Reform would not have a majority, but would by far be the largest party and unseat cabinet ministers Angela Rayner, Yvette Cooper, Bridget Phillipson and Jonathan Reynolds. Asked about the poll deficit and how Labour plans to turn it around, Mr Reed said: 'This government is making change for this country, but it takes time for that to feed through. 'I'm proud of what we're doing. I'm proud of this government and the British public will see the change they voted for over the coming months and years.' Labour's first year in power ended disastrously, with headlines dominated by the chaotic U-turn over Sir Keir Starmer 's planned £5bn benefit cuts. And polling guru Sir John Curtice said Sir Keir had " the worst start for any newly elected prime minister, Labour or Conservative". He said Labour's landslide victory last summer had masked vulnerabilities in the party's support and its policies. 'Labour only won 35 per cent of the vote – the lowest share ever for a majority government. Keir Starmer was never especially popular, and the public still don't know what he stands for,' he told Times Radio. 'The only vision he's really presented is: 'We'll fix the problems the Conservatives left us.' But it's not clear how he wants to change the country.'
