Home Secretary defends PM’s immigration speech after backlash May 13, 2025 The Home Secretary has defended the Prime Minister’s choice of language after he received criticism for claiming that the UK risked becoming “an island of strangers” without major reform to the immigration system. Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, who was suspended from Labour after voting against welfare reforms, posted on X: “Talk of an “island [...]
Reform surge has reshaped the political landscape May 7, 2025 Reform successfully capitalised on voter frustration to achieve success at the local elections. How they handle the levers of power – and how the Conservatives respond – will define politics for years to come, says Brandon Lewis A few months ago I wrote about how Reform UK’s rise would reshape the political landscape. At the [...]
Reform’s local election sweep puts Starmer and Badenoch in hot seat May 3, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch face pressure to reverse their parties’ fortunes after the local elections saw Reform UK make major gains across England. Nigel Farage hailed the results as “the end of two-party politics” and “the death of the Conservative Party” as Reform picked up 10 councils and more than 600 seats in [...]
Live results: Reform takes ten county councils in local elections landslide May 2, 2025 Reform is set to pick up hundreds of council seats around the country both from the Conservatives and Labour, in a significant electoral breakthrough. So far, the party has gained more than 500 seats, with the vast majority still to be counted and formally announced. In a major coup for Reform, it has taken control [...]
Reform picks up new MP and first ever mayoralty May 2, 2025 Reform UK has crystallised months of strong polling data into substantial gains at the local elections, winning a knife-edge by-election and securing its first mayoralty. Nigel Farage’s party won in Runcorn and Helsby by just six votes, with Sarah Pochin elected as its new MP – replacing former Labour MP Mike Amesbury, who was convicted [...]
CityAM readers: Join the fight for the centre right March 26, 2025 Simon Clarke is calling on CityAM readers to play their part in a once-in-a-lifetime battle for the survival of the centre right. Unless Conservatives can renew their arguments, they will be replaced by populists who only offer anger an no ideas “Strategy is an overworked and thus devalued word, and strategic thinking can be [...]
Reform UK pledge to stand candidates at all council elections in May March 17, 2025 Reform UK has promised to stand candidates in all the council elections in May. Chairman Zia Yusuf has pledged the party will stand candidates in all council seats at the local elections on May 1. Speaking at a press conference in central London, Yusuf said: “Last May, Reform failed to stand in 88 per cent [...]
Is Kemi Badenoch up for the fight? February 27, 2025 What is Kemi Badenoch for? If you’re now asking yourself “who’s Kemi Badenoch?” then she really is in trouble. In the four months since being elected leader of the Conservative Party, she has attempted to make a virtue out of vagueness. She explains, not unreasonably, that her party has to reflect on what went wrong [...]
Next: Lord Wolfson warns Budget will make it ‘harder’ to enter workforce January 17, 2025 The boss of retail giant Next has warned that tax rises announced in the Budget will make it “harder and harder for people to enter the workforce”. Lord Wolfson told the BBC that the government’s move to hike national insurance (NI) would disproportionately hit entry-level jobs. “The axe has fallen particularly hard on those entry-level, [...]
Letting go of the dream of mass membership political parties December 27, 2024 The existing model of political supporter engagement – mass membership – is over. Parties who want to survive must look to the future, says Frances Lasok Less than 140,000 people decided the new leader of the Conservative Party this year. They’re participants in a niche pursuit: across parties, across Europe, membership has plummeted since the [...]