Latest news with #BenHabib
The Herald Scotland
04-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Pensioners living on their own owed £4k State Pension boost
This means older people on a low income making a new claim this month, especially those living on their own, could receive their first payment and any arrears by mid-September. Welfare, benefits and pensions spending in the UK now exceeds £300 billion a year, over a quarter of all government expenditure. We've become a nation addicted to wealth redistribution, while abandoning wealth creation. With 7.7 million on benefits, 3 million not even seeking… — Ben Habib (@BackBrexitBen) July 2, 2025 Despite the full New State Pension now worth £230.25 per week and the full Basic State Pension worth £176.45, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that in 2021, some 3.3 million people aged 65 years and over were living alone in England and Wales, with around 337,000 single pensioner households recorded in Scotland. All older people - single, married or cohabiting - must make sure they are claiming all the additional financial support they are entitled to this year to help boost their income and offset the ongoing impact of the cost of living. Who can claim Pension Credit? There are two types of Pension Credit - Guarantee Credit and Savings Credit. To qualify for Guarantee Pension Credit, you must be State Pension age (66). Your weekly income will need to be less than the minimum amount the UK Government says you need to live on. This is £227.10 for a single person and £346.60 for a couple - this amount could be higher if you're disabled, a carer or have certain housing costs. Pension Credit is the most under-claimed benefit and is specifically aimed at providing additional financial support for older people on a low income, singles and couples. Recommended reading: Nearly 1.4 million older people across Great Britain, including more than 125,000 living in Scotland, are currently receiving the means-tested benefit that could provide an average of £4,300 in extra support during the coming months. Some older people think that because they have savings or own their home, they would not be eligible for the means-tested benefit, which can also provide access to help with housing costs, heating bills and Council Tax. An award of just £1 per week is enough to unlock other support.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Critics Say There's Only 1 Word To Sum Up Nigel Farage's Attack On Rival Politicians
Nigel Farage just attacked his rival politicians who he described as 'one-man bands' with large egos. The trouble his, his critics think this description sounds rather familiar. The Reform UK leader told LBC: 'All one-man bands, all led by people whose egos are much bigger than the reality of the impact they can ever have.' He even said there were as many as 15 centre-right political parties to rival his own. It came after he was reminded that former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe, who now sits as an independent after a major spat with the party leadership, has set up Restore Britain, while former co-deputy leader Ben Habib is building Advance UK. Farage, once part of the Conservative Party, used to lead Ukip but left in 2018 to set up the Brexit Party – which has since been renamed as Reform UK. He has run for parliament eight times over the years and was only successful on his 2024 attempt. When Farage announced he was going to be taking over the leadership and standing for the election last June, Reform jumped in the polls from 15% to 17%, according to YouGov. The party then won five MPs in July 2024, and won another seat in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, overturning a 14,700 Labour majority. YouGov also found last month that Reform is now on track to win the most seats at the next general election. The turnaround is staggering, considering the party had just one MP in the last parliament – Lee Anderson, who was elected in 2019 as a Tory but defected in early 2024. So the public could not help but point out there was a certain irony to Farage's criticisms of his rivals.... I'm not sure irony gets much bigger and better than this! — John (@john_notabot) July 3, 2025 The man is describing himself, the irony🤣🤣 — Paul Upton (@Puptonogood) July 3, 2025 Serious case of projection here from Farage. — David Patrikarakos (@dpatrikarakos) July 3, 2025 Irony alert. 🚨 — Matt Alexander 🏴🇬🇧 (@DOTR94) July 3, 2025 'All one-man bands, all led by people whose egos are much bigger than the reality of the impact they can ever have.' Nigel Farage describes Nigel Farage and Reform? — Matt Alexander 🏴🇬🇧 (@DOTR94) July 3, 2025 Beyond ironic for Farage to talk about ego though. Bigger than everyone else's combined. — Matt Alexander 🏴🇬🇧 (@DOTR94) July 3, 2025 Nigel - who's a one man band - takes on the others — The Accidental Disruptor (@The_A_Disruptor) July 3, 2025 Rod Stewart Faces Backlash After Voicing Support For Nigel Farage In Run-Up To Glastonbury Exclusive 'Will It Be Children Up Chimneys Next?' Minister Blasts Nigel Farage's Plan To Ditch Net Zero Nigel Farage Slammed By Albanian Prime Minister Over 'Bonkers' Prisoner Numbers Claim
The Independent
30-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
How does Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain differ from Reform UK?
Just when you thought politics couldn't fragment any further, along come two new political movements on the far right, both spawned from Reform UK like replicating amoebae. The very newest is 'Restore Britain', which proclaims it is not a party but a 'movement'. That one is led by former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe. The other is the creation of former Reform UK deputy leader Ben Habib, and is a party, albeit a slightly peculiar one. Habib was sacked from his Reform role by Nigel Farage after the general election last year, and left what he called 'the cult' soon afterwards. Although Reform UK is still arguably the main force on the right of British politics, with a comfortable polling lead over the Conservatives, it has many smaller competitors, and has itself – including in its previous incarnations (Ukip, Brexit Party) – shown a distinct tendency to splinter at the first sign of success. After all, its chair, Zia Yusuf, recently resigned and un-resigned in one day. They're a volatile lot. Hasn't Habib got a party already? Well, he did have. 'Integrity' was its name. It actually never registered with the Electoral Commission, and as a corporate entity it has now been renamed Advance UK Party Limited, according to the records at Companies House. Integrity Party Limited was originally incorporated on 19 November 2024. Its directors were Habib himself; Christian Russell (resigned 11 April 2025); Richard Shaw (also resigned on 11 April); and Mohammad Sohail (resigned 13 December 2024). So Habib is apparently now its sole director, and he is the only 'person with significant control', holding, directly or indirectly, 75 per cent or more of the shares in the company. So is it democratic? That remains to be seen. It's curious, because one of the reasons Habib gave for leaving Reform UK was the personal control Farage exerted on Reform UK Limited – but this has now altered significantly (albeit Farage would still be practically impossible for the membership to depose). For what it's worth, Advance UK seems to have an extremely complex, opaque and unworkable system of governance, as part private company and part conventional political party. So: the board of directors (currently just Habib) approves policy and 'oversees' what is referred to as 'the leadership', while party members elect 'the college', which elects the leader and can remove him or her. (Habib is officially 'leader in waiting'.) The college is overseen by its chair, who is also the chair of the board of directors (Habib, presumably). It's almost as if Habib deliberately created a structure guaranteed to create internal friction and splits because he enjoys a ruckus, and likes things done his way or not at all. Not unlike Farage, Yusuf, Lee Anderson, and Lowe, in fact. Is it extremist? Quite possibly. Habib got into some bother last year when, as a Reform UK spokesperson, he advocated leaving migrants to drown in the sea if they refused the offer of a boat that would return them to France: 'We could, as an idea, provide them with another dinghy into which to climb and then go back to France. If they choose to scupper that dinghy, then yes, they have to suffer the consequences of their actions.' Challenged by the Talk TV host Julia Hartley-Brewer on whether he would leave them to die, he added: 'Absolutely: they cannot be infantalised to the point that we become hostage to fortune.' Sadly, some agree with him. It's a crowded field, though? Indeed, as the far-right fringe tends to be (mirroring the far left, as it happens). There's also the remains of Ukip, now run militantly by street politician Nick Tenconi (after the previous leader defected to Reform); Reclaim, led by Laurence Fox, though it's electorally inactive; and the 'SDP', which it's fair to say is unrecognisable to those who recall the 1981 Roy Jenkins version. There's also the Heritage Party, English Democrats, BNP and Britain First. Plus others. Could it work? Maybe if it got massive financial support from Elon Musk – he's no fan of Farage, and favours Rupert Lowe, but Lowe is not leading Advance UK. What of Rupert Lowe and Restore Britain? Aside from the Farage factor, an even more extreme 'mass deportation' stance, and an obsession with grooming gangs, it is hard to see how Restore Britain really differs that much from Reform UK, Advance UK, or various of the other organisations. In fact, eccentric as ever – or maybe cunningly – Lowe has thrown his movement open to people in any party 'if they share our values and want to be part of a bottom-up movement that has the potential to transform Britain'. Indeed, Habib, on the day he launched his own party, also joined Restore Britain; Lowe, however, shows no sign of joining Advance UK. Habib claims to be in constant touch with the maverick anti-burqa MP. Will they split the right-wing vote? Not to any noticeable degree. Advance, Ukip, Reclaim and the others will probably continue to have negligible electoral impact, generally lacking resources, mass membership, well-known personalities, local organisations, sympathetic coverage in the right-wing press, or their own television station – all advantages enjoyed by Reform UK, which of course also now has a significant body of elected representatives (though these are inexperienced at best). The scrap between the Conservatives and Reform remains the more significant one, bearing in mind that closer links between those two would also alienate moderate pro-Europe Tories who would then back the Lib Dems or Labour instead, basically out of fear and loathing of Farage. 'Unite the right' sounds appealing, but it would mean the end of the Tories, so it won't happen at national level. Under first-past-the-post, the next election could be quite chaotic. Anyone else on the extreme-right populist bandwagon? The cynically minded might add Keir Starmer and the Labour Party, who, at least in their 'island of strangers' moments, seem to have the attitude that 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'. Joking aside, some centre-left and centre-right parties in Europe have become increasingly hardline on immigration, albeit none want to leave the EU. They're not that mad.
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
JD Vance's warning on Europe's future shines spotlight on continent's growing list of problems
Following Vice President JD Vance's warning that Europe was at risk of 'engaging in civilizational suicide,' the continent has come under the microscope for largely failing to deal with mass migration from mostly Third World countries. Associated with that has been a massive rise in violent crime and a failing economy. Freedom of speech is under attack as many complain of a two-tier justice system and, making things even more problematic, Europe's economy is not performing as expected. The U.K.'s economy has remained stagnant for the last three years with no growth in per capita income. "The country has pathetic performance, says Ben Habib, chairman of the Great British Political Action Committee, and former co-deputy leader of Reform UK. "The U.K. has become even worse than Europe." Toddler Kicked Out Of Nursery School For Being Transphobic: 'This Is Totalitarian Insanity' Migration is now a national talking point. Immigration increased to between 1.2 and 1.3 million in 2022 and 2023, up from around 800,000 before the pandemic. It's causing friction. "National togetherness is now being torn to shreds as unprecedented levels of mass migration transform parts of our country beyond recognition," observed Conservative Party Member of Parliament Robert Jenrick in a column for the UK Conservative & Reformer Post. "We have imported ethnic and religious tensions, meaning that conflicts on the other side of the world play out on Britain's streets." Read On The Fox News App Earlier this week, the State Department said it was monitoring the case of a woman in Britain who was put on trial for holding a sign offering counseling to women outside an abortion facility in the United Kingdom. Fox News Digital reported the woman said, "Great Britain is supposed to be a free country, yet I've been dragged through court merely for offering consensual conversation … peaceful expression is a fundamental right—no one should be criminalized for harmless offers to converse." Violent assaults have also marred many parts of the U.K., when compared to other members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD.) Scotland topped the list with 1,487 assaults per 100,000 people, according to data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. England and Wales ranked number three on the list with 730 violent assaults per 100,000 residents. Fox News Digital previously reported that Britain was facing a free speech crisis due to the new left-leaning government, overzealous policing and courts cracking down on freedom of expression. Last August, the government warned its citizens to be mindful of posting content deemed offensive and threatened imprisonment. The Crown Prosecution Service posted a warning to social media platform X, which was amplified by the government's official social media accounts, warning citizens, "Think before you post!" United Kingdom Could Be Only G7 Nation Not To Produce Its Own Steel; Chinese Owner Blames Trump Tariffs France's economy has expanded in each of the last four years, but the rate of growth slowed dramatically. France also has a high debt level that will make it hard for the economy to grow fast, Venetis says. Migration is a continuing problem in France with an influx of 317, 000 immigrants from outside the EU in 2022, up from 222,000 in 2013. Reporter's Notebook: Aftershock From A Political 'Earthquake' As Le Pen Barred From Presidential Run In 2027 Right-wing politicians, such as those in the National Rally, are highlighting the friction that the influx of people who don't want to integrate into French society. National Rally leader Marine Le Pen, who up until this week was a leading candidate for the country's 2027 presidential election, was just given a two-year prison sentence by a French court, which found her and other party colleagues guilty of embezzling public funds. Le Pen called the sentence a 'death sentence,' and said she felt they were "only interested" in preventing her from running for president. Violent assaults in France ranked near the middle of the OECD list with 310 cases per 100,000 in the population. Germany's economy has been in a recession for the last two years. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate increased to 6.3% in March, from 5.9% last April. That's partly due to soaring energy prices and competition from China. "People are not happy about the fact that unemployment is picking up," says Konstantinos Venetis, an economist at TS Lombard. He also says the statistics mask many workers' reduced paid hours on the job. "The amount of people on this status has gone up considerably." Trump Celebrates Conservative Party Win In Germany Migration surged to 1.6 million non-EU immigrants in 2022, up from less than half a million in right-wing populist AfD party has pushed to deport migrants seeking asylum, and its message gained traction with voters during February's national election, where it came in second with 20.7% of the vote. The winning conservative Christian Democrats party was forced to adopt stronger immigration policies as a result of AfD's success with voters. The country had a relatively high number of violent assaults, ranking sixth in the OECD list with 630 cases per 100,000 people. The third-largest economy in the EU has grown every quarter since the end of the pandemic, although, like many countries, the rate of growth has slowed. At the same time, the debt level as a percentage of GDP dropped to 135% last year versus 138% in 2022 when Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni took over. Meloni has been credited with her hard stance on illegal migrants. In 2024, the number of migrants totaled 67,317, down almost 60% from 157,651 the previous year. The drop is at least partly due a deal between Italy and Albania to enhance border controls, creating legal ways to immigrate and deterring illegal entry to the country. Violent assaults were low at 110 per 100,000 residents. Europe's Best Kept Secret: Poland, The Region's Economic Tiger Poland's economy grew by 2.9% last year, slightly more than the estimated 2.8% growth in the U.S., all while beefing up its defense sector and housing an influx of Ukrainians due to the Russian-Ukrainian war."Poland is a powerhouse and has national pride," Habib says. "It's a phenomenal country." The country also has a low level of asylum requests of 9,513 and 17,038 in 2023 and 2024, respectively. That compares to 237,314 in neighboring Germany. Levels of asylum claims in Poland are likely to remain low as Prime Minister Donald Tusk doubled down on illegal immigration. Late last month (March) he temporarily suspended the rights of immigrants to claim asylum. "I believe that it is necessary to strengthen the security of our borders and the security of Poles," said Poland's President Andrzej Duda, who signed off on the bill, as reported by Euro News. Hungary Says It Is Withdrawing From International Criminal Court As Israeli Pm Netanyahu Visits Country Poland had the lowest violent assault ranking in the OECD list at two cases per 100,000 Hungary's economy suffered a setback in 2023 but is now recovering, with growth of 0.4% in the fourth quarter of last year. Analysts at Trading Economics project that the country will grow by 2.7% next year and 3.6% in 2027. Migration from outside Europe has remained low at 57,000 in 2022 versus 45,000 in 2023. Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban recently tweeted: "Don't be afraid to stand alone. When 26 others accepted mass migration, we built a fence and said no. Now, more and more PMs are saying exactly what Hungary said ten years ago—they've realized we were right." Violent assaults in Hungary ranked low with 124 cases per 100,000 people. Fox News Digital's Kristine Parks contributed to this article. Original article source: JD Vance's warning on Europe's future shines spotlight on continent's growing list of problems
Fox News
06-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
JD Vance's warning on Europe's future shines spotlight on continent's growing list of problems
Following Vice President JD Vance's warning that Europe was at risk of 'engaging in civilizational suicide,' the continent has come under the microscope for largely failing to deal with mass migration from mostly Third World countries. Associated with that has been a massive rise in violent crime and a failing economy. Freedom of speech is under attack as many complain of a two-tier justice system and, making things even more problematic, Europe's economy is not performing as expected. The U.K.'s economy has remained stagnant for the last three years with no growth in per capita income. "The country has pathetic performance, says Ben Habib, chairman of the Great British Political Action Committee, and former co-deputy leader of Reform UK. "The U.K. has become even worse than Europe." Migration is now a national talking point. Immigration increased to between 1.2 and 1.3 million in 2022 and 2023, up from around 800,000 before the pandemic. It's causing friction. "National togetherness is now being torn to shreds as unprecedented levels of mass migration transform parts of our country beyond recognition," observed Conservative Party Member of Parliament Robert Jenrick in a column for the UK Conservative & Reformer Post. "We have imported ethnic and religious tensions, meaning that conflicts on the other side of the world play out on Britain's streets." Earlier this week, the State Department said it was monitoring the case of a woman in Britain who was put on trial for holding a sign offering counseling to women outside an abortion facility in the United Kingdom. Fox News Digital reported the woman said, "Great Britain is supposed to be a free country, yet I've been dragged through court merely for offering consensual conversation … peaceful expression is a fundamental right—no one should be criminalized for harmless offers to converse." Violent assaults have also marred many parts of the U.K., when compared to other members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD.) Scotland topped the list with 1,487 assaults per 100,000 people, according to data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. England and Wales ranked number three on the list with 730 violent assaults per 100,000 residents. Fox News Digital previously reported that Britain was facing a free speech crisis due to the new left-leaning government, overzealous policing and courts cracking down on freedom of expression. Last August, the government warned its citizens to be mindful of posting content deemed offensive and threatened imprisonment. The Crown Prosecution Service posted a warning to social media platform X, which was amplified by the government's official social media accounts, warning citizens, "Think before you post!" UNITED KINGDOM COULD BE ONLY G7 NATION NOT TO PRODUCE ITS OWN STEEL; CHINESE OWNER BLAMES TRUMP TARIFFS France's economy has expanded in each of the last four years, but the rate of growth slowed dramatically. France also has a high debt level that will make it hard for the economy to grow fast, Venetis says. Migration is a continuing problem in France with an influx of 317, 000 immigrants from outside the EU in 2022, up from 222,000 in 2013. Right-wing politicians, such as those in the National Rally, are highlighting the friction that the influx of people who don't want to integrate into French society. National Rally leader Marine Le Pen, who up until this week was a leading candidate for the country's 2027 presidential election, was just given a two-year prison sentence by a French court, which found her and other party colleagues guilty of embezzling public funds. Le Pen called the sentence a 'death sentence,' and said she felt they were "only interested" in preventing her from running for president. Violent assaults in France ranked near the middle of the OECD list with 310 cases per 100,000 in the population. Germany's economy has been in a recession for the last two years. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate increased to 6.3% in March, from 5.9% last April. That's partly due to soaring energy prices and competition from China. "People are not happy about the fact that unemployment is picking up," says Konstantinos Venetis, an economist at TS Lombard. He also says the statistics mask many workers' reduced paid hours on the job. "The amount of people on this status has gone up considerably." Migration surged to 1.6 million non-EU immigrants in 2022, up from less than half a million in right-wing populist AfD party has pushed to deport migrants seeking asylum, and its message gained traction with voters during February's national election, where it came in second with 20.7% of the vote. The winning conservative Christian Democrats party was forced to adopt stronger immigration policies as a result of AfD's success with voters. The country had a relatively high number of violent assaults, ranking sixth in the OECD list with 630 cases per 100,000 people. The third-largest economy in the EU has grown every quarter since the end of the pandemic, although, like many countries, the rate of growth has slowed. At the same time, the debt level as a percentage of GDP dropped to 135% last year versus 138% in 2022 when Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni took over. Meloni has been credited with her hard stance on illegal migrants. In 2024, the number of migrants totaled 67,317, down almost 60% from 157,651 the previous year. The drop is at least partly due a deal between Italy and Albania to enhance border controls, creating legal ways to immigrate and deterring illegal entry to the country. Violent assaults were low at 110 per 100,000 residents. Poland's economy grew by 2.9% last year, slightly more than the estimated 2.8% growth in the U.S., all while beefing up its defense sector and housing an influx of Ukrainians due to the Russian-Ukrainian war."Poland is a powerhouse and has national pride," Habib says. "It's a phenomenal country." The country also has a low level of asylum requests of 9,513 and 17,038 in 2023 and 2024, respectively. That compares to 237,314 in neighboring Germany. Levels of asylum claims in Poland are likely to remain low as Prime Minister Donald Tusk doubled down on illegal immigration. Late last month (March) he temporarily suspended the rights of immigrants to claim asylum. "I believe that it is necessary to strengthen the security of our borders and the security of Poles," said Poland's President Andrzej Duda, who signed off on the bill, as reported by Euro News. Poland had the lowest violent assault ranking in the OECD list at two cases per 100,000 Hungary's economy suffered a setback in 2023 but is now recovering, with growth of 0.4% in the fourth quarter of last year. Analysts at Trading Economics project that the country will grow by 2.7% next year and 3.6% in 2027. Migration from outside Europe has remained low at 57,000 in 2022 versus 45,000 in 2023. Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban recently tweeted: "Don't be afraid to stand alone. When 26 others accepted mass migration, we built a fence and said no. Now, more and more PMs are saying exactly what Hungary said ten years ago—they've realized we were right." Violent assaults in Hungary ranked low with 124 cases per 100,000 people. Fox News Digital's Kristine Parks contributed to this article.
