Reform wins rescheduled Nottinghamshire County Council Election
Reform UK has won two seats on Nottinghamshire County Council in a rescheduled election.Voting in the Mansfield North division was originally due to take place along with all other council seats in early May but was postponed after the death of Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition candidate Karen Seymour.The area's two council seats were previously held by the Conservatives and Labour respectively.Reform's Gaynor Mann and David Smith won both by comfortable margins at the rearranged election held on Thursday.
Mann said the party's momentum "is increasing every day" and "it's onwards and upwards for Reform UK"."I think Nigel Farage is going to be Prime Minister in another four years," she said.Smith said it was "fantastic" to be elected."Whatever the residents' problems are, we will be there for them," he said.The full results were:Gaynor Mann (Reform UK) - 3,077David Smith (Reform UK) - 2,998Anne Callaghan (Labour) - 1,259Andy Abrahams (Labour) - 1,211Timothy Bower (Conservatives) - 500Amy Clements (Conservatives) - 426Christopher Clarke (Green Party) - 292Milo Tooley-Okonkwo (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition) - 62Otis Tooley-Okonkwo (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition) - 39Turnout for the rescheduled election was 28%.The result does not change who is in control of the county council because Reform already had enough seats for a majority, but the party now has 41 of the 66 seats.The Conservatives are the next largest group with 17 seats, while Labour has 4.The Ashfield Independents, the Broxtowe Alliance and the Broxtowe Independent Group each have 1 seat.A by-election is also due to be held in the Newark West division on 3 July after a Reform councillor stepped down a week after being elected.
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
ANDREW PIERCE: Is Angela Rayner's hard-Left boyfriend plotting to put her in No 10 as revenge for his sacking by Starmer's ruthless right-hand man?
On the eve of the Government's difficult Spending Review, Angela Rayner was in surprisingly high spirits. Drinks were flowing as the Deputy Prime Minister held court, acting as the DJ playing loud 'house music' while her guests danced the night away. Rayner's office has refused to confirm whether a party took place in her resplendent grace-and-favour apartment in Admiralty House, once the home of Sir Winston Churchill, the night before the Housing Secretary received one of the biggest financial packages of the Spending Review. Rayner had to battle to the bitter end against Chancellor Rachel Reeves, but the outcome fell in her favour and is a sign of her growing influence. In recent weeks, there have been reports of Rayner limbering up to replace Keir Starmer as Labour leader, and she has solid backing from members of the soft-Left, as well as the unions. Her victory in the Reeves negotiations is a clear sign that Downing Street is trying to keep her on side. Little wonder, then, that she indulged in raucous celebrations hours before the Chancellor addressed the Commons, reviving memories of when she was photographed belting out songs behind the DJ's desk in an Ibiza nightclub last summer. When Rayner, 45, took her place on the benches for the Spending Review, many thought she looked somewhat jaded. The same was said of Blackpool South MP Chris Webb, who was at the party and is one of her closest friends. A source told me: 'They were celebrating the fact that Ange had won her deal on the Spending Review. She is feeling on top of the world. The settlement showed that Ange is a serious player. Tarry, 42, has never got over being sacked as a shadow minister in July 2022 for giving a TV interview while on a picket line during a rail strike 'It may look insensitive but it was a private party for a small group of friends and supporters. These party guests will run an Angela Rayner leadership campaign if and when the time comes.' Rayner's ebullience was in stark contrast to the downbeat demeanour of the dwindling band of Reeves supporters. Her stock has fallen to rock bottom among Labour MPs and members. And Rayner's soiree will only heighten suspicions in the Downing Street bunker ahead of a potential crunch Commons vote on reforms to disability benefits. As many as 200 Labour MPs are said to be deeply unhappy about Reeves's plans to make £5 billion of cuts. In public, Rayner says she has no interest in becoming Labour leader. In private, however, I can disclose that many of the party-goers on Tuesday night are working hard to bolster her support among MPs and party members. Some MPs have dubbed the less-than-covert Rayner campaign Operation Revenge because it is being masterminded by her boyfriend Sam Tarry, 42, who has never got over being sacked as a shadow minister in July 2022 for giving a TV interview while on a picket line during a rail strike. Later that year, he was deselected as the MP for Ilford South. Tarry, who was part of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership team, blames his downfall on Starmer's all-powerful chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who wants to purge the party of Left-wingers. Revenge is a dish best served cold, they say, and Tarry is pushing for Rayner to be the first elected woman leader of the Labour Party. In the run-up to the election, Rayner ruled out a tilt at the top job because she knew Labour was destined to win big and assumed that Starmer would be a fixture in No 10 for years. Since he became PM, however, support for Labour has collapsed faster than that of any newly elected governing party in the past 40 years. Starmer's personal rating is a woeful minus 46 per cent. And Rayner is popular where it counts – with party members. In a poll by independent party news website LabourList, she came second to Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, who is not a leadership contender after his disastrous election defeat in 2015. What's more, many Labour MPs believe they must elect a woman for the first time in the party's 125-year history. Even Rayner's many detractors, who scorn her intellectual ability, concede there is no serious alternative contender. Rachel Reeves and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson have crashed and burned in the eyes of voters. Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, another favourite of party members, does not have a Commons seat. And Health Secretary Wes Streeting's majority was cut to 550 by an independent Muslim candidate standing on a pro-Gaza platform. Many suspect he will lose next time. The man who helped Rayner avoid a similar fate is her close friend Wajid Khan, a former mayor of Burnley. He was instrumental in ensuring no independent Muslim candidate stood against her in her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency in Greater Manchester, which she won with a 6,700 majority over Reform. To the surprise of many, Khan – who was elevated to the Lords by Starmer in 2020 – became Rayner's deputy minister in the housing department. 'Khan was repaid with a ministerial job and he is now repaying her in turn by working discreetly on her behalf,' says a supporter. 'He will be a hugely important link to the Muslim vote which Labour is losing under Starmer.' All of which helps explains why Rayner has come round to the idea that, if Starmer goes, she should run. It explains, too, last month's leak of a memo from Rayner to the Chancellor outlining her alternative money-raising measures, arguing for higher taxes on wealthier people and cutting benefits for migrants. Whoever leaked it – and Rayner's team say it wasn't them – had one purpose: to cast her in a positive light with the MPs and party members who will choose the next leader. Some MPs say the leak fired the starting gun on a long race to succeed Starmer, which is why it caused such anger in Downing Street. Days later, Rayner had to fight her corner behind the scenes after reports that Starmer would strip her of the housing element of her brief. Flame-haired Rayner is unashamedly combative and, according to a source, 'there was a lot of shouting'. A darling of the trade unionists, she has the personality to build bridges across the party. Rayner was the special guest at Tony Blair's Christmas drinks last year. She is also close to Gordon Brown and her boisterous birthday karaoke parties are well attended by the Right and Left in the party. A Rayner associate says: 'If you're a working-class woman like Ange, who is always being written off by the men in the Downing Street bunker, what better way to prove them wrong than by seizing the top job?' Rayner famously left school aged 16, pregnant and without any qualifications. Her political hero was former Labour deputy prime minister John Prescott. 'Some say she's Prescott in a skirt,' says a supporter. 'Like Prescott, she speaks the language of ordinary voters. She understands them the way the metropolitan elite around Starmer don't. If there's a leadership election tomorrow, she wins hands down.' Downing Street is aware of the manoeuvring. It may be why, in the past few weeks, Rayner has lost her personal photographer, Simon Walker. 'No 10 thought she was getting too big for her boots, so they grounded her photographer and have now taken the post away altogether,' a source told me. A source close to Starmer says: 'You can't blame them for reining her in. Keir leads a stable government, a disciplined party, and knows what he wants. Ange would be woefully out of her depth as PM. She's not up to it and MPs know it.' But Rayner is indifferent to the barbs. She thinks she's on a roll and, judging by the mood of her party guests, they think the same.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Three union leaders included in King's Birthday Honours
Three trade union leaders have been included in the King's Birthday Honours for services to areas including education and green jobs. Dave Ward, long-serving general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) is made a CBE for services to trade unions, and Dr Patrick Roach, who recently retired as general secretary of the NASUWT teachers' union is made a CBE for services to education. Sue Ferns, deputy general secretary of the civil service union Prospect, is made an OBE for services to green jobs and workplace transition. Mr Ward has been general secretary of the CWU for a decade, leading the union through the privatisation of Royal Mail and recent sale of the postal giant to Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. He started work as a messenger boy at Tooting delivery office in south London before becoming a union rep, holding several positions before succeeding Billy Hayes as general secretary in 2015. He is married with four children, supports Chelsea and is a keen blues guitarist. He told the PA news agency: 'The New Deal for Workers campaign was founded and led by the CWU. 'At a time when society has never been more unequal the trade union movement pushing Labour to turn this campaign into a new Employment Rights Bill could not have been more important. 'This honour is recognition of our union's work in this area and for the way we stand up for postal, telecom, financial services and tech workers across the UK. 'I joined the GPO as a telegram boy in 1976 and it is a privilege to now be the general secretary of a union that campaigns for our members in and out of the workplace. 'We now need employers and the Government to go even further in rebalancing workplaces and society. We will continue to lead this.' Dr Roach stepped down as NASUWT general secretary in April after five years. The son of Jamaican immigrant parents, he grew up in Walsall, West Midlands, in the 1970s, and has described how he faced racism at school on a daily basis. He is married with two children. He was a teacher of politics and sociology in further education and was a researcher and lecturer in education, social policy and equalities in higher education. He later joined NASUWT and headed the union's education and equalities work before becoming assistant general secretary and then deputy general secretary. He has served in a number of voluntary roles as a school governor and in supporting the provision of supplementary education for African Caribbean children. Dr Roach became head of the union in 2020 at the start of the first national lockdown, leading union members in uncharted territory as schools and colleges, teachers and headteachers adapted to one of the most challenging post-war periods in education. As head of the TUC's anti-racism taskforce, Dr Roach was instrumental in leading Britain's trade union movement in challenging racism and injustice at work. He told the PA news agency: 'I am humbled and incredibly proud to be granted this honour. 'It has been my privilege to have been afforded the opportunity to devote my career to education and in the service of NASUWT members, teachers and headteachers, whose commitment, work and dedication every day continues to inspire, shape lives and make a world of difference.' Sue Ferns, who has also been a member of the TUC General Council since 2005, grew up in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, and was the first member of her family to go to university, studying industrial relations at Salford University. After graduating in 1982, she started working for the TUC's economics department. She joined Prospect in 1993, becoming head of research in 2002, director of communications and research in 2013, and senior deputy general secretary in 2018. She has campaigned on issues including the gender pensions gap, workers' rights in the science, engineering and energy sectors, and clean energy. She has taken part in several government taskforces and working groups, particularly on clean energy jobs and workforce skills. She told the PA news agency: 'I am privileged to have spent my career in the trade union movement, determined to make a positive difference to the lives of working people. 'I'd like to thank the countless colleagues, trade union representatives and members within our movement, whose commitment to improving the lives of others has been an inspiration throughout my career.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
How does the British honours system work?
The release of the King's Birthday Honours provides an opportunity to celebrate individual outstanding achievements and contributions to British society. But who decides how honours are handed out, and what exactly do they recognise? Here the PA news agency takes a look at the inner workings of the honours system: – What are honours for? Honours as part of orders of chivalry have been given by monarchs since the Middle Ages. In recent times, the British honours system has recognised people who have 'made achievements in public life' and 'committed themselves to serving and helping Britain'. It acknowledges long-term volunteers, innovators, entrepreneurs, individuals displaying 'moral courage', those making a difference in their community or field of work or people improving life for others less able to help themselves. Honours are given to people involved in a range of fields, including sport, health, science and technology, education, business, and the arts and media. Gallantry awards recognising bravery can also be given to members of the armed forces and the emergency services, as well as civilians. – How are people nominated for honours? Any member of the public or an official body can nominate someone for an honour. UK nationals and citizens of 15 Commonwealth 'realms' of which the King is head of state are eligible for nomination. People living or working overseas, whose achievements were made in another country or in the UK and have a significant international element, can be nominated too. Nominations are submitted to the Cabinet Office's Honours and Appointments Secretariat, which oversees the honours system. Non-British or Commonwealth country citizens can also considered for 'honorary' awards. – Who approves nominations? Consideration of nominations can take 12 to 18 months. The suitability of nominees submitted to the Honours and Appointments Secretariat is established through 'merit' and 'probity and propriety' checks. This vetting process, to avoid bringing the system into 'disrepute', can involve the input of Government departments, regulatory bodies, professional organisations, HM Revenue and Customs and the Acro Criminal Records Office. A group of 10 independent honours committees, each covering a specialist subject area such as sport or health, consider nominations. The recommendations of these groups of independent experts and senior civil servants are passed on to the Prime Minister and, ultimately, the King for approval. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) oversees the Diplomatic Service and Overseas List. – When are honours announced? Twice a year – at new year and in June on the King's official birthday. The lists are published in the official newspaper of the Crown, The Gazette. Once all recipients have been decided and checked, the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood at St James's Palace arranges investitures for the presentation of medals. These ceremonies, held about 30 times a year at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and, occasionally, the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, and are hosted by senior royals. – What are the types of honours? Lists typically comprise knights and dames, appointments to the Order of the British Empire and gallantry awards. The most senior ranks of the Order of the British Empire are Knight or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) and Knight or Dame Commander (KBE or DBE). These ranks permit the use of the title 'Sir' for men and 'Dame' for women, with the honour given to those who have made major contributions in any field, usually at a national level. The order's ranks, after knighthood or damehood, are Commander (CBE), Officer (OBE) and Member (MBE). Other honours include: – Companion of Honour (CH) – The honour recognises significant contributions to the arts, science, medicine or government over a long period of time. It is limited to just 65 people at any one time. – British Empire Medal (BEM) – Evolved from a medal associated with the creation of the Order of the British Empire, the BEM honours local community service that has made a significant difference. Honour recipients are appointed to one of the orders of chivalry made up of different ranks, with most appointments made to the Order of the British Empire. Others include the Royal Victorian Order (RVO), to which the King personally appoints people for services to the British sovereign. The Order of the Bath is for senior civil servants and military officers, while the Order of St Michael and St George recognises service in a foreign country, or in relation to foreign and Commonwealth affairs. The Royal Red Cross (RRC), King's Police Medal (KPM), King's Fire Service Medal (KFSM) and King's Ambulance Service Medal (KAM) respectively recognise the services of nurses, police, firefighters and ambulance service workers.
