Reform makes big gains in Worcestershire
Going into Thursday's vote, the Tories held 45 seats on the authority - those have been whittled down to 12.
Reform - which already had two seats on the council, thanks to Tory defectors - now have 27, two short of an overall majority.
Their success mirrors the picture across England, where Reform has gained control of several councils.
Reform's first win was the first seat to be announced in Worcesteshire, when Kidderminster gym owner Mark Crosby took St Georges in Wyre Forest.
He said he was "absolutely elated" for himself and the party - adding that the main takeaway from his campaigning was that people were ready for change.
Reform went on to win eight of the 10 seats in Wyre Forest, where the Tories only managed to keep hold of two.
Bill Hopkins, a former Conservative councillor who defected to Reform 18 months ago, kept hold of St Chads.
"The Conservatives have let us down; Labour are seemingly letting us down," he said. "People are so fed up. They want change, and we are the only party that can deliver change."
Reform picked up wins in each division - including, notably, Redditch, where every single one of the eight previously Conservative seats now belong to Nigel Farage's party.
It was a better picture for the Tories in Wychavon.
They remain the majority party in the division, despite losing seats to Reform, the Lib Dems, and the Greens.
Reform might have had one more, had it not been for a dead heat between its candidate and the Greens' prospective councillor in Littleton.
The outcome came down to drawing both candidates' names out of a box at random, with fortune smiling on the Greens' Hannah Robson.
"[It was] really terrifying," she said. "I thank the universe for letting my ballot paper come out the box."
In Worcester, council leader Simon Geraghty lost his Riverside seat after nearly ten years.
Conceding it had been "a difficult day" both for him and the Tories, Geraghty said, adding he had been "incredibly proud" to lead the authority.
But he said he was unclear as to what the county council would look like under Reform.
"They will have to have a set of policies - we don't know what they will be - to govern Worcestershire.
"We had a clear manifesto; we had a six-point plan for Worcestershire. I'm not sure what Reform will do.
And they will be faced with the same difficulties that we've faced."
Geraghty's seat went to Tor Pingree - one of eight which are now in the hands of the Greens.
She said people were growing "disheartened" with the two main parties.
"They want actual change in Worcester, and they haven't seen that," she said.
Describing her party as "snowballing", Pingree said she was confident the Greens could make a difference on the council.
"There's quite a lot of us now, and we have quite loud voices. So I'm hoping we can really make some change and switch things up."
Labour started the day with three seats on the council; that has been reduced to two.
Worcester's Labour MP Tom Collins suggested that was as much a reflection of people's dissatisfaction with the Tories as anything else - although he conceded that they were also likely frustrated with the pace of change since Labour's general election win.
He said it was now down to Reform to prove its worth.
"We've had some very simple answers proposed to very complex problems," he said of the party. "And now it's for them to demonstrate what they can actually do when they're given the opportunity."
Reform UK has delivered a seismic shock to the county's political scene, far exceeding their own expectations.
With 27 seats they are now the largest party on the council, although agonisingly for them, two seats short of an outright majority.
Together with gains made by the Greens, Reform's success is a sign many voters in Worcestershire want change and are now looking outside Labour and the Conservatives.
All eyes are on whether Reform can put together an administration, most likely a minority. During the campaign, Reform kept its key priorities relatively simple: an audit of the county council's finances to cut waste and ensure value for money, and a pledge to put any "spare" money into roads.
While some of its councillors are former Tories, many are making their first entry into local politics. While this freshness may have been part of the party's appeal, it may mean it takes them time to get to grips with running a local authority.
Additional reporting by Alistair Binney and Tom Edwards.
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Starvation in Gaza divides many Jewish Americans
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Yahoo
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Sen. John Braun to take on MGP for seat in Congress
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Andy Billig and Sen. John Braun in Olympia from the Capitol on Friday, Feb. 15, 2024. Ridley Hudson — ridley@ Competition While Braun is a hotly awaited and highly competitive candidate for the race, he is relatively late to the party and becomes the third Washingtonian to announce their intention to run for the Third Congressional District spot. Brent Hennrich, a Vancouver-based Democrat, declared his candidacy for the seat in the beginning of May. Hennrich originally planned to run in the 2022 race but pulled out of the race to support Gluesenkamp Perez's candidacy. In his announcement, he called out Gluesenkamp Perez for failing to deliver on Democratic issues. Antony Baron, a Republican from Willapa Bay, has also announced his candidacy. The coastal Washingtonian is a career business man who has not yet served in political office. On his campaign website, he describes himself as an entrepreneur, father and citizen candidate separating himself from career politicians. 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A U.S. Navy veteran and president of Braun Northwest, a family-owned manufacturer of emergency vehicles that provides 350 jobs in the region, Braun brings decades of leadership experience in business, the military, and public service. "Whether in the Navy, running a small business, or serving in the state legislature, I've always focused on solving tough problems, clearing roadblocks, and helping others succeed," said Braun. "In Congress, I'll bring that same approach—working to lower costs for families, support American manufacturing, and expand opportunities for family-wage jobs here at home." Braun served in the U.S. Navy for 31 years, including both active and reserve duty, rising from Ensign to the rank of Captain. His last assignment was as the Director of the U.S. Navy Submarine Force Reserve Component. "Members of Congress take an oath to defend our country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I take that oath seriously. I'll work to secure our borders and maintain a strong national defense—because peace is best preserved through strength." Braun has served as a part-time citizen legislator in the Washington State Senate since 2013. In 2017, he wrote a bipartisan, balanced state budget that provided essential services without raising taxes. In 2020, he was chosen by his peers to serve as Senate Republican Leader, where he led efforts to promote fiscal responsibility, improve education, and support working families. "I know how to fight bad policy—and how to craft good policy that makes a difference for people here in Southwest Washington. I look forward to working with President Trump on a positive agenda that gets America back on the right track." Braun's campaign is already off to a fast start, having secured the endorsements of both Congressman Michael Baumgartner (R-Spokane) and former Clark County state Senator and Clark County Republican Party Chair Lynda Wilson (R-Vancouver). "I know John Braun well from our time working together in the state Senate," said Baumgartner. "He is a highly intelligent, strong conservative who would make an outstanding member of Congress. I'm proud to endorse him." "John Braun is a man of unwavering honesty and integrity," said Lynda Wilson. "He understands the unique character of Southwest Washington and the values we hold dear. I trust him to fight for us and lead with principle. He has my full and enthusiastic endorsement." Braun and his wife, Marlo, have been married for 37 years and live on a small farm outside Centralia. They have four successful adult children, three of whom have served or are serving as officers in the U.S. Navy or Marine Corps.
Yahoo
a day ago
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There is 'good doubt' about Trump's BLS head nominee EJ Antoni
President Trump has nominated the Heritage Foundation's chief economist EJ Antoni to be the new commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Antoni will face the Senate before being appointed as commissioner. New Century Advisors chief economist and former Fed economist Claudia Sahm, RSM chief economist Joe Brusuelas, and Schwab Center for Financial Research fixed income strategist Collin Martin join Morning Brief with Julie Hyman to discuss the nomination and the future of the BLS. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Morning Brief. President Trump has now nominated EJ Antoni. He's the chief economist currently at the Conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation. He's nominated him as the next commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There has been a lot of commentary about that nomination, which still has to face the Senate to get through. So I want to bring you guys back in to to talk about this as well. Claudia, let me get your take first, you know, given what we were just talking about, um, what does Antoni do, you know, what does that nomination say? Does it get through? Does it, is does this guy have the chops to to have that job? Right. Well, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that is the one political figure at the BLS. And that it's always the case, the president, you know, nominates, the Senate confirms for that position. I think my biggest concern is that BLS is facing a lot of challenges. It is legitimately hard to run surveys, construct statistics, communicate them to the public, get them out in a timely manner. And frankly, this nominee just doesn't have a lot of experience and background in measurement and statistics. So I'll be really interested to hear what ideas he has on how to fix the problems that he's been a very vocal critic of. Uh, but that's, you know, the BLS needs leadership and they need resources. So, you know, if he's able to, you know, get them those resources and provide that leadership, that'd be excellent. I just, I don't, I don't see it in the record, but you know, we will be surprised there too. As as we all know from probably daily experience in all of our jobs and lives, it's very easy to criticize. It's another thing to fix. Um, Joe, what's your take on Antoni and and what he might bring to the BLS? When his Senate confirmation hearings happen, he should prepare for a withering set of criticism based on his credibility and his qualifications. We all know who EJ is. We all see his work. And there's good doubt around his, his, his background and whether he's able to do this. Let me give you a sense of what's going on, like just with the inflation data, right? Obviously, there's been three big areas where the Feds, excuse me, the BLS has had to impute statistics, because they're no longer collecting because investment in data collection is just not where it needs to be. BLS went back and did a 77-month study. You know what they found was that 18% of the months inflation was uh, revised upward 1/10 of 1%, and in 14% of the months it was revised downward by 1/10 of 1%. You know what that's like? That's like watching the paint dry. You're, if you're expecting major revisions in a granular uh, time series like the consumer price index, you're not going to get it. And that's the problem though, because there But in labor, the revisions have been much larger. Okay. Sure. That's right. But I was using this, we can go to labor, right? Again, you need to invest more. In general, right, in general, it does seem like there is an issue with data collection. Because we haven't been investing in it, right? And the survey response rates following the pandemic, when lots of businesses were wiped out, have dropped to 60% or below. So the way to fix that is to invest in data collection, invest in new methodologies, and then ride with it. But I gotta tell you, even in the big numbers, right, when you take, take a step back and look at the long period of the revisions, I mean, 99% of it's right, right? It's just right now this has been so politicized, right? Because we have a different president with a different point of view, who just clearly is going to be uncomfortable with what the data implies about his own policies. Colin, when it comes to what the market's going to key off of, you know, let's say Antoni gets confirmed, goes in there, does whatever he's going to do. I mean, the market doesn't have a lot of choice in terms of the data that it moves off of, unless we turn to alternative sources of data. I mean, what how do you think this plays out? Yeah, it's going to be difficult because a lot of the BLS data is, is, you know, really good. I mean, not just in the US, but globally, we rely on that data. And I think there, if there was a concern that it was being politicized or manipulated, I'm not saying that's going to happen, but I think there's probably concerns out there. There's a difference between updating methodologies and making sure we're getting the right data, but also making sure that it's not then politicized to get a certain outcome. I think that's going to be really important. There could be a push and pull between what we're getting from data, if it does seem like the methodologies and the processes are changing, when we do have other private services. A lot of times though we kind of disregard those and focus on the government ones. I think ADP is a really good one. ADP comes out up or down, people look at it, they don't really care too much, because they say, well, we're going to look at the BLS data. The real numbers coming out on Friday. We're going to look at the real data. So I think trust is really important. I don't know how we solve for that if there's a lack of trust. Yeah. Joe, real quick. Okay. So we're going to be looking at private label data, ADP, indeed, the Billion Prices Project over at Harvard. There's a plethora of data out there that we're all going to start turning to. And this is going to get different in a way I don't think those who make these criticisms have thought through. Related Videos What July CPI data means for the Fed & what's next for BLS Fed cut isn't the 'easy layup' Trump says it is, CPI data shows Inflation report, BLS pick, China trade extension: 3 Things Why bonds matter now for every investor Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
