NEW: Reform UK volunteer George Jones who left Farage's campaign in 2024 after undercover reporters showed him calling the Pride flag “degenerate” and suggesting LGBT people are paedophiles has quietly returned to run its Patrons’ Club www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmkM...
Undercover Inside Reform’s Campaign - evidence of homophobia and canvasser's racismYouTube video by Channel 4 Newswww.youtube.comWe’ve been working on a series to help you understand Nigel Farage's insurgent party. The first introduces six Reform (or Reform-curious) voters from across the country in the run-up to crucial elections on May 7, showing just how broad the party’s coalition has become. as.ft.com/r/9c1432fe-1...
Who are Reform UK’s voters?Six Britons tell the FT about what attracts them to Nigel Farage’s populist party, which is ahead in opinion pollsas.ft.comNEW: Wes Streeting has issued a private ultimatum to pharmaceutical companies to accept the government’s latest offer on drug pricing by Friday or he will publicly end the talks, raising the stakes in negotiations over how much the NHS should pay for treatments. With @hannahkuchler.bsky.social
Wes Streeting issues private ultimatum to pharma groups in NHS pricing talksUK health secretary has warned sector he will publicly walk away from negotiations if his offer is not acceptedwww.ft.comNEW: Several councils run by Reform UK have resisted efforts by the party’s Elon Musk-style “Doge” unit to access personal and commercially sensitive data, slowing the progress of the highly controversial cost-cutting drive. www.ft.com/content/2019...
Reform UK’s ‘Doge’ unit battles councils for access to sensitive dataSenior lawyers and data handlers at some councils have so far blocked access to restricted informationwww.ft.comSCOOP: A supercomputer at Edinburgh university is set to receive £750mn as part of Wednesday’s spending review, reversing a contentious decision to suspend funding made in the early days of Sir Keir Starmer’s government. www.ft.com/content/b1e9...
Edinburgh supercomputer to get £750mn in spending reviewFunding comes after Labour initially pulled money for the project last Julywww.ft.comNEW: England’s drug approval body has resisted pressure from pharmaceutical companies to loosen its process for recommending drugs and is pressing instead for the NHS to speed up the rollout of approved medicines. W/ @hannahkuchler.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/4aa1...
England’s drug approval body resists pharma pressure to loosen processesNice urges NHS to speed up distribution of approved medicines, showing economic benefits of efficient rolloutwww.ft.comNEW: Border security tsar Martin Hewitt told me slashing small boat crossings by half over the next three years would count as a success. He said "there will always be people who seek to move" but denied that cracking down on people smuggling was as futile as the War on Drugs.
UK border security chief aims to cut small boat crossings by halfMartin Hewitt says there is ‘no quick answer’ to problems of irregular migration to Britainwww.ft.comIt was great to chat about welfare, the NHS and whether Keir Starmer has betrayed the left on this episode of Political Fix!
Lucy Fisher🎙️ Starmer’s ‘Project Chainsaw’: the NHS, Whitehall & welfare On Political Fix this week, we discuss the PM’s reforms to the health service, civil service and benefits Plus: where does Reform go next? @robertshrimsley.bsky.social, @stephenkb.bsky.social & @annasophiegross.bsky.social on the pod 📻🎧
NEW: Nigel Farage’s personal media company made £1.25mn in profits last year bolstered by his lucrative gig on I'm a Celebrity. The MPs' register of interests shows that Farage has been paid £265,000 for his work presenting on GB News since July, roughly £38,000 a month. www.ft.com/content/42c5...
Nigel Farage’s media company records £1.25mn profitReform UK leader’s earnings boosted by reality show appearance in late 2023www.ft.comNEW: Wes Streeting plans to ask employers to invest in vaccinations and medical check-ups for staff as he looks to reduce ballooning government spending on hospital care. Full story : www.ft.com/content/8acd...
Wes Streeting to ask employers to pay for more staff medical checksUK government wants to boost workplace preventive health measures to cut spending on hospital carewww.ft.comNEW: Nigel Farage has given up ownership of Reform UK and created a new structure for his rightwing political outfit, according to corporate filings, as he seeks to professionalise the party ahead of local elections in May. Full story here: www.ft.com/content/527b...
Nigel Farage relinquishes ownership of Reform UKExisting rightwing political outfit will be taken over by a newly registered business called Reform 2025 Ltdwww.ft.comNEW: Two former employees of Reform UK party have filed legal complaints against the party in a row over money they say the party owes them. Reform flatly denies the money is owed, claiming the contracts were 'forged'. Full story here: www.ft.com/content/072e...
Ex-Reform UK employees issue claims for alleged unpaid wagesReform says claims brought by former workers — who say they were dismissed after the election — are ‘fraudulent’www.ft.comNEW: Steve Reed will spend an extra £200mn on England’s flood defences to shore up crumbling infrastructure. The move follows intense wrangling last year over funding allocated to flood defences in the October budget w/ @pickardje.bsky.social @pmdfoster.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/4d8a...
Government to spend extra £200mn on flood defences in EnglandEnvironment secretary Steve Reed tells FT previous Tory administration committed a ‘dereliction of duty’www.ft.comNEW: Ofsted is pressing ahead with plans for a colour-coded scorecard to assess school performance that critics have compared to a Nando’s spice chart. Single-word judgments will be replaced with one- or two-word judgments across eight main areas. 1/2 www.ft.com/content/32e4...
Ofsted to press ahead with ‘Nando’s-style’ scorecard for schoolsProposed assessment of 8 core areas would replace regulator’s controversial single-word judgmentswww.ft.comNEW: AstraZeneca has ditched plans to build a new vaccine manufacturing plant in Merseyside, less than a year after it was first announced by Jeremy Hunt. The pharma giant blamed a low offer of state support from the new gov. W/ @hannahkuchler.bsky.social on.ft.com/4hDRdPv
AstraZeneca ditches plan to build new UK vaccine plant[FREE TO READ] Officials had put forward increased financial support after initially lowering offeron.ft.com