Latest news with #Reform UK
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on standards in politics: a golden reform opportunity squandered
A year ago, following Labour's election win and the Conservative rout, the new government's standing could hardly have been higher or its opportunities greater. The political field lay open, in ways that it only does after an election, for serious political reform. One of the most trenchant sections of Sir Keir Starmer's election manifesto had pinpointed 'a crisis of confidence in our political system'. Labour had accordingly promised 'a reset in our public life'. Twelve months ago, the voters gave permission to Sir Keir to do just that. Fatally, he failed to seize the opportunity. Instead, the chance to make radical change to Britain's government and politics has largely been squandered. As a result, the work of rebuilding confidence has become harder than ever, as the continuing rise of Reform UK makes clear. The government's new ethics and integrity commission, a manifesto promise, should have been launched decisively last year on a tide of post-election reforming commitment and goodwill. Instead, momentum was lost by the freebie furore and wider policy failures. Long overdue, the commission was quietly announced on Monday in a written parliamentary statement to MPs, which few of them are likely to have read, on the eve of the summer recess. It is false to claim, as the Conservatives did this week, that this was a Labour attempt to bury bad news. The Tories are in no position to talk, having so often trashed the existing standards regimes in recent years. But Labour should be ashamed. It should not have left things unaddressed for so long, so that the impetus for post-Tory reform and for rebuilt trust were wasted. The statement, published by the Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden, is fine as far as it goes. Uncertainty over whether the commission would be an oversight body for standards regulation, or would bundle up the work of established committees and regulators, has been resolved. It will mainly be the former, beefing up and replacing the committee on standards in public life (as advocated by Sir John Major) while leaving individual cases to a reduced number of regulatory bodies. The current advisory committee on business appointments will also be scrapped, with its ministerial and civil service arms enforced by separate bodies. As a tidying-up exercise, this all makes sense. The real problem is that a golden chance to reform the system in a watertight way has been passed up. The McFadden statement implies ministers want to avoid legislation to set up the commission. The result is that enforcement is not properly addressed or strengthened. The role of independent scrutiny, essential for public confidence, is left hanging. The statement leaves enforcement sanctions too vague. It is good that ex-ministers should 'be expected' to lose their severance pay if they take post-ministerial jobs that raise conflicts of interest. But what if that expectation is not fulfilled? Or if the rewards of such jobs are so high that the loss of severance pay is treated as a price worth paying? The system risks looking toothless. Cleaning up politics is not an optional priority. It is a compulsory one. These steps don't go far enough. Nor do they suggest a ruthless culture of ethical behaviour, led from the top, of the kind required. Mr McFadden's statement accepts that the changes will depend on the public's wider view of the work of politicians and government. That is indeed the problem. But there is not enough here to shift that dial.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Could Jeremy Corbyn's new party shake up politics?
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed he is launching a new political party, promising to "build a democratic movement that can take on the rich and powerful".It doesn't have a name yet but the MP for Islington North says the plan is for the group to fight May's local elections ahead of the next general election, which is likely to take place in four years' new venture has the potential to shake-up the political landscape, with Labour and the Greens appearing to be the most at risk of losing votes. Polling of around 2,000 Britons by More In Common last month - on whether they would vote for a hypothetical Corbyn-led party - suggested it could pick up 10% of the vote. This would potentially take three points off Labour's vote share and extend Reform UK's lead in the polls by the same pollster's UK director, Luke Tryl, says that if this plays out at a general election Labour risks losing seats outright to Corbyn's party, while a splintering of the left-wing vote could also allow Reform UK or the Conservatives to make gains."In an era of very fragmented politics, small shares could make the difference across the board, and it is totally conceivable that the performance of this left-wing party could be the difference between a Labour-led government and a Nigel Farage Reform-led government on current polling," adds Mr party could gain support in parts of the country where pro-Gaza independents have performed strongly such as Birmingham, parts of east and north London and north-west England. More In Common's research suggests a Corbyn-led party would be most popular with those aged under 26 so inner-city student areas could also be key of these urban areas are holding local elections in May, which will mark the first real test for the new party. However, polling suggests the Green Party - where many disgruntled former Labour voters have already turned - stands to lose the most support from a Corbyn-led Greens were second to Labour in 40 constituencies at last year's general election but an insurgent left-wing party could eat into their depends on whether the Greens form electoral pacts with the new party, with both sides agreeing to stand down in seats where the other has a stronger chance of winning. The four pro-Gaza MPs who formed an independent alliance with Corbyn after the general election are expected to make up the core of the new party, along with former Labour MP Zarah Sultana. But how could they work with the Greens?Corbyn has suggested he will cooperate with the Greens but whether they will agree a formal deal remains to be Schneider, a close ally of Corbyn who is involved in the new group, tells the BBC it would make "perfect sense for our new party to have some form of pact with the Greens".Green Party leadership candidate Zack Polanski has also said he will "work with anyone who wants to take on Reform and this government". However, his rival, Green MP Adrian Ramsay, warned his party must not become "a Jeremy Corbyn support act" and maintain its "distinct" identity and broad appeal beyond the traditional Ford, a professor of political science at the University of Manchester, says a Corbyn-led party is a big threat to the Greens."Corbyn has a level of name recognition, a level of celebrity, that no one in the Green Party can possibly match," he tells BBC Radio 4's PM programme."Now, they have one big advantage which is that they have a core issue, the environment, which is one that Corbyn doesn't necessarily seem particularly interested in."So there is a world in which they could divide up the pie, so to speak, but they're going to need to think hard about that or they risk being pushed aside." Another poll of more than 2,500 Britons by YouGov earlier this month found that while 18% say they are open to voting for a new left-wing party led by Corbyn, just 9% of these would not consider voting for any of the five existing significant national the fractious and unpredictable state of politics, 11% of this group were also open to voting for Reform UK.A lot could change in the four years there is likely to be before the next general Tryl argues that if Labour presents that election as a choice between Sir Keir Starmer and Reform UK's Nigel Farage as prime minister, many on the left may choose to vote tactically. In this scenario, voters who are sympathetic to Corbyn's party could hold their nose and back Labour to stop a Reform candidate winning in their has also been a chaotic start for the party, with confusion over the name and who will lead it, after Sultana appeared to jump the gun by announcing her intention to form a new party with Corbyn earlier this sources have dismissed their former leader's latest venture, saying "the electorate has twice given their verdict on a Jeremy Corbyn-led party" at the 2017 and 2019 cabinet minister Peter Kyle went on the attack on Times Radio, accusing Corbyn of "posturing" and of not being "a serious politician". Mr Schneider argues the impact of the new party will not be limited by how many MPs it manages to claims more than 200,000 people have already signed up to get involved in less than 24 hours. There's no guarantee all of them will go on to join the party but it suggests some enthusiasm for the idea amongst sections of the public."We're going to be having a huge outside influence on the political debate in this country," Mr Schneider says."Of course the long-term goal is to win elections and enter office and be really in power. "But in order to have real sustainable power you need to have people coming with you and have your foundations in the society you want to be building up." Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Teenage Warwickshire council leader George Finch 'wanted to teach'
George Finch had planned to be at university studying to become a history at the of 19, he has become the youngest council leader in the UK, running Warwickshire County Council with a budget of £ Reform UK councillor still lives at his family home and cannot yet drive. Facts which have led to jibes in public and private from some opposition became the largest party on the previously Conservative-led authority with 23 seats in May's local elections. Speaking exclusively to the BBC, he hit back at criticism about his lack of life and professional experience – labelling those turning their noses up at his appointment as "ageist" and "not relevant".Sitting down in the leader's office, shortly after scraping through a leadership vote at the council's Shire Hall headquarters, Finch called out his said: "All I see is age… I don't care about my age. Would people be questioning if there was a 70-year-old at the helm? Probably not."Joe Biden, Donald Trump, presidents that are older – no-one questions it. But they're questioning someone who is 19." But leading a £2bn organisation is not a typical job for a 19-year-old, and Finch admitted he had had other plans."I wanted to be a history teacher. I loved history and I loved teaching but the problem was the curriculum, especially history. Universities and colleges are a conveyor belt for socialist wokeism."Finch said he had been inspired by Reform and former Conservative MP Lee Anderson, who has previously criticised educational establishments for what he perceives as teachers pushing "dog whistle divisive politics" on April, National Education Union members called for funds to be used to help campaign against Reform UK candidates. The organisation, Britain's biggest teaching union, branded Reform UK "a racist and far right" party. In his time as interim leader, Finch said he had used his new "influence" over education by calling Anjit Samra, CEO of Stowe Valley Multi-Academy Trust, to his office after a row over a union jack dress at Bilton School, in Rugby."I don't have the power to tell him what to do as he's an academy, but I do have that influence. "I asked him simple, I said 'I would like to see, and I think it's in your best interests, if you have a school assembly on the importance of British culture'."Asked what his friends made of his new job, he said: "They love it, when I have to go to the pub I don't have to buy a pint." But why did Reform appeal to him and why is it gaining momentum with some young people?"People can't afford homes, they can't have a car, postgraduate jobs are decreasing. It's getting harder for us to see a good future, a better future. And with Reform UK, that's what gives people that hope."He said he thought his appointment would probably help attract people to the party."It shows that anyone can do anything in this party, if you're up to the task. If you've got that merit-based system - and that's where we've gone wrong for far too long in the private and public sector."He added: "It's 'oh, here's a job because of your skin colour or your creed or your religion'. No, you get the job because you're good at it." A keen rugby player, Finch is used to battling on the pitch. But it was in the corridors of power where he faced his first public fight, in a row with the council's chief executive Monica Fogarty, after he asked for a Progress Pride Flag to be removed from outside Shire Hall in UK leader Nigel Farage even waded into the row calling out what he perceived as "obstructionism" by council officials saying "Warwickshire is a very, very good example".Asked if he could work with the council chief executive and other officers, Finch said: "We have done. We have to have that professional working relationship."Pushed on whether it was professional to publicly call out the council's chief executive, he said: "We're working together, the council is running. I think you're looking too deep into this." Talking about his priorities for Warwickshire over the coming months and years, Finch said having a sister with special educational needs and disabilities meant he had a keen interest in the area which has been labelled a financial threat to the future of the has pledged to cut wasteful spending and improve the efficiency of the councils it runs. But some of its spending decisions have faced criticism, while opponents say there has been little concrete action to reduce Warwickshire, opposition parties have criticised Finch and his party for planning to hire political assistants at a cost of up to £190,000 a year, saying the money should be spent on front-line services contentious area is the potential scrapping of lower-level councils as part of the Labour government's devolution said he wanted to look at these ideas in his county and he would like to see areas such as Nuneaton and Bedworth given their own town councils.
BBC News
22-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Battle of Naseby site could become park as part of new plan
A council could create a new park at the site of a historic battle as part of its new strategy aimed at improving green Northamptonshire Council has suggested the park would be situated where Oliver Cromwell defeated the king's men during the Battle of Naseby in are also suggestions of creating a Brackley Country (Linear) Park, Houghton Linear Park and an Eastern Northampton council also wants to add better toilet facilities at its parks, new cafes and offer more activities such as boat hire and an alpine coaster in certain locations. Marefair Heritage Park would be the first project delivered under the will see the Chalk Lane car park turned into a green space later this suggested parks will need to go through feasibility studies to assess funding, demand and what facilities are Stansfield, Reform UK cabinet member for environment, recycling and waste, said: "Let me be clear, we may not achieve everything in this strategy."If we don't aim high, we risk achieving nothing at all."The previous Conservative administration had also created a strategy for parks in the district, which suggested the country park at Naseby. In 2026, the council also hopes to explore options to install cycling and mobility aid hires for the cabinet meeting on Wednesday the leader of the Labour group, Sally Keeble, raised concerns around a lack of prioritisation for parks in urban to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Stansfield said he agreed certain parks had been neglected and that it needed to be continued: "We're very lucky we have 153 parks in west Northamptonshire and we couldn't name every single park within the strategy."I'm very much about spreading what money we can through all our areas."With having a proper strategy, we will be able to get investment into the parks - without the strategy, it's very hard." Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Bloomberg
21-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Rivals Labour and Reform UK Open Door to Raising Retirement Age
The ruling Labour party and upstart rival Reform UK separately opened the door to a potential increase in the retirement age, a move that would help cut the government's costs but almost certainly draw a backlash from the public. Launching a new pension commission, Work and Pensions secretary Liz Kendall on Monday announced the start of the next statutory review into the age at which Britons can collect government pension benefits, which is now set at 66. While the government is required to review the state pension every six years, the last one was in 2023, making this announcement three years early.
