Latest news with #AndreaJenkyns
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Nigel leans Left and hits the bullseye
Nigel Farage is finally a contender. How do I know? The press is playing nice. Could you be prime minister, asked a newspaper? 'History suggests no,' he replied, ' circumstances suggest yes.' The optics say: happy days are here again! Nigel has a quarter of a million members; he's on 30 per cent plus in the polls. He was flanked at this swanky press conference by two new mayors, Andrea Jenkyns in a psychedelic dress and Luke Campbell, a boxer, who looked ready to thump anyone who mentioned Rupert Lowe. He's the kind of old fashioned British stud one rarely sees in this effeminate age of yoga and Tai chi. The only whiff of the orient on that stage was Hai Karate. So Nigel, standing between a frock and a hard case, launched into an act worthy of the late Jim Bowen. 'Rachel from accounts' is now 'Rachel from complaints'. Ed Miliband is 'away with the fairies'. Robert Jenrick: he's lost weight, got a new suit, 'perhaps he's even had his teeth done'. As for the PM, 'I hold no personal malice' for a man who is 'dismal, uninspiring, disconnected, unpatriotic' and 'pointless' (and apart from that, a wonderful human being). Keir's 'veering off, Left and Right', which is ironic given Reform is now accused of doing the same. Keir used to be a Corbynite; Nigel used to be a Thatcherite. Today he told us he'd lift the two child benefit cap and return the winter fuel allowance, prompting accusations of inconsistency from online intellectuals with a 2:1 in politics (worth every penny). But, said Nigel, 'there is absolutely no contradiction' between being the party 'of workers and entrepreneurs' – and you know what? He's right. OK, so his numbers don't completely add up. Neither do the Treasury's; neither do mine (every time I put on a light, that's one less child I can put through college). What he's realised is that with faith in the state gone and hope for the future lost, politics is no longer Right vs Left but plebs vs patricians, and you've got to identify yourself with the larger half. Kemi fiddles while Rome burns Kemi chose to go quiet; wait for the economy to collapse and voters to dribble back. But all the while she is fiddling with policy groups, Nigel is out there, setting fire to Rome – and it's working. Starmer has challenged Nigel to a debate: Nigel accepts! He suggests they meet in 'a working man's club' over a 'few beers with the lads'. Assuming Reform sets the rules – likely given Keir's skills at negotiation – the debate will climax in a game of darts. First prize: the keys to No10 and a Bullseye speed boat moored on the pavement. There's so much to laugh at, what's to hate? A journalist meekly asked if it's true that Reform ran an advert accusing Anas Sarwar, Labour leader in Scotland, of saying he would 'prioritise the Pakistani community'. Nigel gleefully rolled the ad to prove critics wrong – but it showed Sarwar saying nothing of the sort, confirming that his words had been distorted. In the street outside, dogs heard a whistle and began barking. Inside, the hacks politely let the subject go. I guess it's a bit 2010s to bang on about racism.
Sky News
3 days ago
- General
- Sky News
Nigel Farage says it is 'utterly ludicrous' to allow abortion up to 24 weeks
Nigel Farage has said it is "utterly ludicrous" to allow abortion up to 24 weeks and the law is "totally out of date". The Reform UK leader said he believes abortion and assisted dying are "issues of personal conscience". Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Mr Farage said: "I am pro-choice, but I think it's ludicrous, utterly ludicrous that we can allow abortion up to 24 weeks. "And yet, if a child is born prematurely at 22 weeks, your local hospital will move heaven and earth and probably succeed in that child surviving and going on and living a normal life. "So I believe there is an inconsistency in the law. I believe it is totally out of date." He also said he would leave it up to people to "agree with that or disagree with that". Mr Farage made the comments after calling for the two-child benefit cap to be scrapped and to make it easier and cheaper for people in the UK to have more children. It is not the first time Mr Farage has said the law on abortion should be looked at. 1:53 When unveiling former Tory minister Andrea Jenkyns as Reform's latest recruit in November, he said parliament should be allowed more time "to debate things that people at home talk about" when asked about the assisted dying bill, which he voted against. Unprompted, he said: "Is 24 weeks right for abortion, given that we now save babies at 22? "That to me would be worthy of a debate in parliament but should that be along party lines? I don't think so." Mr Farage has previously worked with the US-based Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), an influential group on the US Christian right and part of a global network of evangelical groups behind the repeal of Roe v Wade in the US. The US Supreme Court ruling that gave women the constitutional right to abortion was overturned in 2022. ADF's UK arm has publicly argued against decriminalising abortion. Mr Farage was quoted in a statement from the ADF in November - when he commented on abortion - as saying "the crackdown on free expression within the UK is becoming very sinister".
The National
11-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Reform UK are blaming lifeboats for the rising waterline
If the United Kingdom was once a ship built to weather rough seas collectively, too many of its supposed leaders now seem intent on scuttling that ship – only to propose building a submarine that serves the captain and officers, hides from scrutiny and leaves the crew to drown, while they fight among themselves for lifeboats. Reform UK exemplify this destructive instinct. Their recent local election victories have been marked by performative pledges to scrap diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) roles, regardless of their actual presence or cost. Andrea Jenkyns (pictured), the new Reform mayor for Greater Lincolnshire, vowed to sack DEI officers at Lincolnshire County Council, seemingly unaware that the council doesn't employ any. Nigel Farage, meanwhile, denounces DEI policies as though they were the root cause of Britain's economic woes, conveniently ignoring the legacy of austerity, Brexit disruption, underinvestment and a public sector on its knees. Blaming DEI for declining productivity is like blaming the lifeboats for the rising waterline. Reform UK didn't pioneer this model, though, they've simply weaponised it. The Conservative Party spent more than a decade normalising the dismantling of collective provision. From the privatisation of essential services to the chronic underfunding of councils, schools and the NHS, the Tories have reduced public institutions to brittle shells. The logic is always the same: shrink the state, boost efficiency and let the market work its magic. However, what we've ended up with is fragmented rail networks, sewage in our rivers and social care systems running on fumes. Far from lean and agile, the UK's infrastructure now resembles a badly patched vessel sailing into a storm with no-one to operate the pumps. Labour, meanwhile, offer little hope of repair. Under Keir Starmer, the party has retreated from ambitious structural change. There is no serious talk of rejoining the EU, no pledge to reverse privatisation in utilities or transport and no commitment to comprehensive public sector reinvestment. Instead, we get a cautiously managerial promise to steer the same leaking ship with steadier hands, but no change of course. It's a politics of low expectations, where even acknowledging the scale of the crisis is considered too risky. Amid all this, Scotland's Wellbeing Economy offers a different course, championing values like community, sustainability and social justice, framing public policy around human need rather than GDP alone. Though far from perfect, and constrained by the limits of devolution, the SNP's model represents an attempt to retrofit the ship rather than abandon it. Yet even here, Thatcherite logic bites at the hull. Budget allocations are starved, policy ambitions are trimmed to appease a hostile Treasury and the political centre of gravity continues to drift Wellbeing Economy has weathered much, but its effectiveness is being corroded by the very Westminster machinery it seeks to counterbalance. What unites the Conservatives, Labour and Reform UK is a refusal to confront the real causes of national decline: the hollowing out of public infrastructure, the haemorrhaging of skilled workers and the persistent undervaluing of care, education and community resilience. Instead of facing these head-on, we are invited to blame migrants, civil servants or equality officers. It's misdirection on an industrial scale. If we are to restore collective confidence and functionality, we need a different compass. That means negotiating a return to the EU, investing massively in infrastructure and people, and renationalising core services that meet foundational human needs like water, housing, energy, transport and health. These are not luxuries; they are the ballast that keeps society stable. They must be publicly owned and operated, not because the private sector is inherently evil, but because the stakes are too high to depend on shareholder whim. Investors are always told their holdings may go down as well as up. If they've built lifestyles around dividends drawn from essential services, it is not the state's job to underwrite that recklessness. A society that prioritises resilience over returns is one that survives the storm, stays above the waterline, in daylight, with room for all on board. We don't need submarines built for stealth; we need a seaworthy ship, openly navigated, with the hull patched, the crew properly paid and a course set by the needs of the many, not the profits of the few. Ron Lumiere via email
The Guardian
07-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Reform's green energy assault in Lincolnshire ‘puts 12,200 jobs at risk'
Reform UK's plans to obstruct green energy projects in Lincolnshire put at risk almost £1bn in local investment and more than 12,000 jobs, analysis suggests. No 10 said it would fight any attempt by the party to dismantle or block renewable investment in the area, after its deputy leader, Richard Tice, said Reform-controlled councils and its mayors would be able to block what he called 'net stupid zero' infrastructure, including solar farms, pylons and battery storage systems. In Greater Lincolnshire, net zero industries contribute about £980m to the local economy, accounting for 12,209 jobs, according to analysis by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU). Tice said: 'We will attack, we will hinder, we will delay, we will obstruct, we will put every hurdle in your way. It's going to cost you a fortune, and you're not going to win. So give up and go away.' The Reform mayor for Lincolnshire, Andrea Jenkyns, as well as the county council, which is also controlled by the rightwing party, would be able to block and delay renewable projects, experts said. Jenkyns has claimed carbon dioxide is 'not pollution', called for the 'ditching' of net zero and declared that Lincolnshire will 'not be a dumping ground for pylons', as well as campaigning against solar farms. Melanie Onn, the Labour MP for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, said: 'Reform's war on the green economy is actually a war on jobs and investment and flies in the face of what hard-working businesses and families need. Reform's dangerous plan is a threat to British jobs and British workers. 'Now Reform have a platform in Greater Lincolnshire, they must come clean on whether they're prepared to risk damaging the local economy and risk making thousands of workers unemployed.' Though larger solar farms over 100MW are classed as nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs) and therefore decided on by Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, anything below that is subject to the Town and Country Planning Act (TCPA) and goes through a local application and approval process. These can also be 'called in' by the secretary of state, but the process of refusal and calling in can add time and expense that smaller projects may not be able to weather. Battery storage systems, which Tice has also said Reform UK will block, were taken out of the NSIP programme by the previous Conservative government, meaning they are also subject to the TCPA but can be called in. However, pylon networks – which are the most controversial infrastructure locally – cannot be stopped by Reform if they are more than 2km long and carry 132,000 volts or more. Shaun Spiers, the executive director of the thinktank Green Alliance, said: 'Of course, any sensible developer will want to win local support for renewable projects, and most work hard to do so. What is really odd is Richard Tice's apparent determination to drive up energy costs and increase our dependence on imported fossil fuels. That might please Reform UK's funders, but it's unlikely to please its voters.' One possible route for Reform politicians to stop projects such as pylons and large solar farms is through the judicial review process, though the planning and infrastructure bill aims to make the challenges harder. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Legal challenges can add huge costs to projects, particularly as under the Aarhus convention it is inexpensive for the person or group bringing the court case, and there is no legal cost cover for the project if the applicant loses the case. Sam Richards, the chief executive of the campaign group Britain Remade, said the judicial review system needed to be overhauled in order to stop vexatious complaints and that the planning bill could allow ministers to go even further. 'People in Britain are fed up with the red tape that stops us from getting anything done. The last thing we need is more councils trying to block businesses from building the vital energy infrastructure we need.' Lincolnshire is the most at risk county in England from environmental damage in the built environment, according to analysis, with Tice representing the seat most at risk of severe floods. Last year, farmland across the county was hit by flooding, resulting in huge losses for farmers. The Met Office says these floods are being made more likely by climate breakdown. Contrary to what some of the party's leaders say, most Reform voters do support climate action. The majority support new wind and solar farms and policies to tackle the climate crisis, according to polling this month by the ECIU. RenewableUK's executive director of policy, Ana Musat, said: 'Any blanket ban on renewables would be costly for bill payers – the ban on onshore wind cost £5.1bn in the financial year before it was lifted – that's £182 for every UK household.' Greenpeace UK's head of politics, Ami McCarthy, said Reform had 'peddled lies and weaponised the issue in the area' and there was a risk that smaller developers and community energy projects would be hit particularly hard. Asked if central government would intervene to help green energy projects get built in Reform-run areas, Keir Starmer's spokesperson said they would. 'We will always be on the side of the builders, not the blockers. We will always be looking at decisions that are going to deliver lower energy bills, higher growth, higher living standards and more jobs around the country. That was the agenda that the government was elected to deliver on.'
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Councils hiding DEI roles behind different titles to avoid scrutiny from taxpayers
Over the weekend Nigel Farage, buoyed on his party's success in the local elections, delivered a rather blunt message to those working in Reform-controlled councils, 'if you are a DEI officer I suggest you look for another job'. Given that local authorities spent almost £23 million in 2022/23 on diversity, equality and inclusion roles - nearly twice the £12 million spent in 2020/21 - according to research carried out by the TaxPayers' Alliance, it isn't difficult to see how the proposal might seem attractive to large swathes of voters facing council tax hikes across the country. Dame Andrea Jenkyns, Reform's new Mayor for Lincolnshire, also declared her own crusade against DEI officials at Lincolnshire County Council, which is now under her party's control. The former Conservative MP and education minister in the Boris Johnson government – who was accused during the election campaign of being parachuted into her Lincolnshire constituency all the way from Yorkshire – has since been ridiculed in the media where 'Tory sources' were quoted as saying, '[s]omeone who lives in Lincolnshire would know that there aren't any DEI roles going in Lincolnshire Council.' It was also reported that there are no 'diversity officers' in Northamptonshire either, where Reform won 39 of the 66 seats, with the Conservatives in second place winning 13 seats and Labour in fourth winning four. Reform's response has been to claim that DEI officers are being given different titles to hide their existence from irate voters and campaign groups. Could that be the case? It seemed worth investigating. Lincolnshire County Council is currently seeking to recruit a Community Development Officer 'at £24,206 FTE per annum plus £480 per annum homeworking allowance', whose role would be to foster 'trust and collaboration between communities, organisations, and the Local Authority' and ensure 'that community needs are identified and effectively addressed'. They would work 'to provide continued support and resources for community initiatives' and '[e]nsure that all voices are heard, which promotes inclusivity and ensures that diverse perspectives are considered in decision-making.' The officers would also be required to '[p]roduce robust outreach plans to increase community participation and coproduction'. Back in March, the council had advertised for two other Community Development Officers with the same job description and same salary. It is absurd to class these as anything but DEI roles. Lincolnshire has a 96 per cent white population, according to data from 2021. How many taxpayer-funded roles does the Council need to build trust 'between communities', 'promote inclusivity and ensure 'diverse perspectives are considered in decision-making'? Given that the job description expressly states that the council would 'particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQIA+ candidates and candidates with disabilities because we are committed to increasing the representation of these groups', the perspectives being sought to be considered in decision-making seems to me to be of a very particular worldview, without much room for challenge. And what about Northamptonshire? In West Northamptonshire, where Reform won 42 of a possible 76 seats, a role of a Community Cohesion Officer was advertised back in January for an annual salary of up to £36,163. The Officer would work 'alongside another Community Cohesion Officer [presumably on the same salary], who will report to the Connected Communities Coordinator within the Community Engagement & Resettlement Team.' Here is the job description - I feel a large section of it is worth quoting in its entirety: 'These positions serve as a vital link between diverse communities, promoting social inclusion, harmony, and understanding within localities. The role encompasses a range of responsibilities, including organising events that celebrate cultural diversity, facilitating dialogue between different groups to address potential tensions or conflicts, and collaborating with local organisations and partners to implement initiatives that foster cohesion and integration. 'The successful candidates will act as advocates for marginalised or minority groups, working to ensure their voices are heard and their needs are addressed within the broader community framework.' The Officers will also be required to 'lead on engagement with voluntary sector partners to assess gaps in service provision in relation to refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants as well as other seldom heard groups within communities', while supporting 'the development of Strategic Equality Plans ensuring an integrated approach to embedding community cohesion work across the local authority.' Perhaps the most problematic requirement of the job is this: the duty to '[a]ctively challenge and seek to eliminate any directly or indirectly discriminatory practice or behaviours.' It assumes that discriminatory practices and behaviours exist without offering any evidence for the assumption. The council has even produced a video, 'Introduction to our Workforce Diversity, Equality & Inclusion Strategy', which boasts of diversity, equality, and inclusion being 'woven into the fabric of West Northamptonshire Council'. It is therefore undeniable that both Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire councils are spending considerable amounts of taxpayers' money on their DEI projects and roles. The fact that they have apparently chosen to do away with the controversial terms but not the functions is a sad testament to the contempt with which our political establishment – along with sections of the media – seek to treat the general public. Please share share examples of public spending in your personal and professional lives which you consider to be a waste of taxpayers' money. You can email us your stories – either in writing or as voice notes – at wastewatch@ Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
