Latest news with #Nigel Farage
Telegraph
a day ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
The Daily T: Reform's crime crackdown - Can Farage really fly prisoners to El Salvador?
Nigel Farage is pledging to halve crime in Britain if Reform UK gets into the government. In a speech in central London this morning, the Reform leader unveiled plans for a sweeping overhaul of Britain's justice system, including 30,000 new prison places and 30,000 new police officers on the streets. It comes as a new J L Partners survey puts Reform six points ahead of Labour and a staggering 12 points ahead of the Tories. He's promising that no violent criminal or sex offender will be released early under his watch, and that foreign offenders will be sent back to their countries - or even jailed overseas in countries like El Salvador. Camilla and Tim were there to witness the announcement as Farage says it's time to end 'two-tier justice' in Britain. But will it actually work and how much will it all cost? And as Labour announces a massive overhaul of the water industry, including scrapping Ofwat the regulator, Camilla grills the environment secretary Steve Reed on our rising water bills.
Telegraph
a day ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Reform reveal plan to send criminals to El Salvador - watch Nigel Farage live
Nigel Farage will pledge to halve crime in Britain if Reform UK enters government. The Reform leader will give a speech in central London this morning to unveil his plans to tackle crime and overhaul the justice system. He is expected to announce a raft of policies that include a new prison building programme to deliver 30,000 new places and 30,000 police officers. Mr Farage has also said that no violent criminal or sex offender will be released early if he becomes prime minister. Foreign offenders will be sent back to their country of origin, and some of the most serious offenders could be forced to serve jailtime overseas, including El Salvador. He will also vow to bring in regulations to stop 'two-tier justice', where criminals get different jail sentences depending on their backgrounds. It comes as a survey by J L Partners found that Reform has a six-point lead over Labour and is 12 percentage points ahead of the Tories in current opinion polling. If the results were replicated at the 2029 general election, Mr Farage would get a slim majority in Parliament.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- 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 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Farage repeats ‘no idea' six times over Reform mayor's 600% allowance hike
Nigel Farage has responded that he has 'no idea' six times in an interview with the BBC 's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. The Reform UK leader was asked about Scarborough Town Council increasing its mayor's allowance by 600 per cent, despite his party promising to cut costs for taxpayers. Asked about the rise, from £500 to £3,500, Mr Farage said: 'I have no idea… whether what you say is true or not, I have no idea.' Asked whether it is the right thing to do, Mr Farage again said he has 'no idea', before saying he has 'no idea' whether Thomas Murray, Reform's mayor of Scarborough Town Council, does the role as a full-time job. He went on to say he has 'no idea' how much humans have contributed towards climate change.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Environment Secretary Steve Reed to face questions on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg
Update: Date: 08:59 BST Title: And we're off! Content: The guests have all arrived, Kuenssberg is in the studio, and the show is about to begin. We'll bring you the key lines and moments throughout the morning right here, and you can follow along and Watch Live at the top of this page. Update: Date: 08:54 BST Title: Who's on today's show? Content: As we approach 09:00, let's look at today's full guestlist. It's Environment Secretary Steve Reed in the hot seat. He's likely to face questions on water pollution, after the Environment Agency released data showing serious incidents had risen by 60% in the past year - find more details on that in our previous post. Shadow Housing Secretary Kevin Hollinrake, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage will also be on the programme. As always, we'll also be hearing from the panel, which today features: Update: Date: 08:41 BST Title: 'Underinvestment and weak regulation' in England's waterways - environment secretary Content: Environment Secretary Steve Reed is likely to be grilled on the state of England's waterways after he pledged to halve the number of times sewage is discharged by water companies by 2030. It comes after data published by the Environment Agency showed 2,801 pollution incidents in England last year, the highest on record. Of these, 75 were considered to pose "serious or persistent" harm to fisheries, drinking water and human health. Reed said families had "watched their local rivers, coastlines and lakes suffer from record levels of pollution". Every year, the Environment Agency records the number of times pollution such as untreated sewage is released from water company sites such as treatment works into the country's waterways. Just three companies – Thames Water, Southern Water and Yorkshire Water – were responsible for the vast majority of the most serious examples in 2024. The data comes ahead of a landmark review of the water industry, due to be published tomorrow. Update: Date: 08:32 BST Title: The prime minister's authority is in question again Content: Laura KuenssbergPresenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg Who is in charge? You might think the answer should be obvious. "This government should be walking on water, there should be nothing it can't do," a Whitehall insider suggests, given the rows and rows and rows - and yes, rows - of Labour MPs who line up behind the prime minister every Wednesday. But, by booting out a small band of backbenchers this week, Sir Keir Starmer's put the question of his authority back on the table. Answering the question of who is in charge isn't so simple after all. This government has a "backbench they - and we - are surprised to discover they can't control," says one senior official. The financial markets are breathing down its neck, with the country's debts sky high, and for good measure, what a No 10 source describes as a "deep current of instability" around the world. Starmer's next one-to-one meeting with President Donald Trump is a case in point – who knows what he will or won't say alongside the prime minister on Scottish soil next week? No-one in government can be sure how that is going to shake down, although I was very definitively told we will not be seeing Starmer swinging a club with his transatlantic pal. It is, of course, impossible for any administration to be the master of all it surveys. But convincingly displaying authority, inhabiting its power, is a different task. And neither all of Starmer's MPs, nor all of the people inside the government are sure it's being met. Update: Date: 08:21 BST Title: Labour suspends Diane Abbott for second time in two years Content: Labour MP Diane Abbott, the longest-serving female MP in Parliament, has also been suspended from the party this week over comments she made about racism. Labour has launched an investigation into Abbott's defence of a 2023 letter to a newspaper, , externalin which she said people of colour experienced racism "all their lives", which was different from the "prejudice" experienced by Jewish people, Irish people and Travellers. She apologised for those remarks at the time following criticism from Jewish and Traveller groups and was readmitted to the party after a one-year suspension. Asked by the BBC's James Naughtie if she looked back on the whole incident with regret, she said: "No, not at all." In a brief statement issued to BBC Newsnight, Abbott said: "My comments in the interview with James Naughtie were factually correct, as any fair-minded person would accept." Update: Date: 08:12 BST Title: Why did Keir Starmer suspend four Labour MPs this week? Content: Earlier this week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer suspended four MPs from Labour over repeated breaches of party discipline. Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliff and Rachael Maskell have had the party whip removed, meaning they will sit as independents in the House of Commons. This comes after dozens of Labour MPs - including the now suspended MPs - rebelled against Downing Street's proposed cuts to welfare earlier in the year, forcing the government to pass a watered-down version of its plans this month. The MP for York Central, Maskell, was a key figure in organising the rebellion against the welfare bill - calling them "Dickensian cuts" - and said this was behind her suspension. She told the BBC she had a duty to speak up for those who elected her. "I don't see myself as a rebel," she said. "But I'm not afraid to speak up about whatever is in my constituents' interests." Update: Date: 08:05 BST Title: A busy week in Westminster: A brief overview of the main headlines Content: Update: Date: 08:00 BST Title: Environment secretary to be grilled in jam-packed last show Content: Welcome to our live coverage of this week's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. It is a jam-packed programme - the last before the summer break - with Environment Secretary Steve Reed, shadow housing secretary Kevin Hollinrake, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, and Reform UK's Nigel Farage on the show. It's been a busy week in politics so we can expect lively debate on some of these topics: You can watch the show here by clicking Watch Live at the top of the page from 09:00 BST. We'll also be bringing you text updates throughout the programme - so stick with us.
