Kemi Badenoch has said she is sad that a former neo-Nazi has withdrawn his candidacy for a Conservative council election in Somerset. Presumably he'll stand for Reform. www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/new...

Badenoch reacts after former neo-Nazi withdraws as Tory candidate in local election

independent.co.uk

Good to hear that new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is considering a public inquiry into the actions of convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein on UK soil, having already been in close contact with victims. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

Burnham considering public inquiry into Epstein claims

The new PM is also ‘looking into’ a separate public inquiry into Mohamed Al Fayed

independent.co.uk

Trump’s incoherent, arrogant ramblings are more extreme and more excruciating than ever. If any part of the US state still worked properly, he'd be forced from office.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2d ago

Trump: "I know Europe better than anybody. Better than the people that run it."

Campaigners want a windfall tax on UK banks that could raise £19bn towards Andy Burnham’s cost of living agenda, after HSBC raked in £7.5bn in profits in the second quarter of the year. Banks say they drive the economy. They don't. And should be taxed more. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Calls for UK bank tax to fund cost of living help as HSBC profits hit £7.5bn

Levy could raise £19bn to help pay for Andy Burnham’s support for those struggling with bills, say campaigners

theguardian.com

Desperate not to be forgotten, yet also wanting to avoid all scrutiny, Nigel Farage has popped up to spout nonsense about small boats. But it won't distract from the £5 million gift he's being investigated for. Or his and Tice's other scandals. www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

'Farage's navy plan may divert attention for now but sleaze rows won't go away'

"Nigel Farage broke his cover to face a Q&A session with journalists after being unusually quiet - but his effort to get on the front foot may not land as he hoped it would"

mirror.co.uk

If you are a Unite member and want more climate action (not less), look out for the ballot paper which should arrive in the next couple of days. Sharon Graham has argued for more drilling in the North Sea and briefed against Ed Miliband because of his work on net zero. Time to dump Sharon!

Rupert Lowe has accused Nigel Farage of lying, potentially scuppering talks about a political pact between their far right parties before they have even begun. Reform and Restore, rivals yet still part of the same toxic cesspit. www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

Restore leader accuses Farage of ‘outright lying’ over pact offer but says his party ‘remains open’ – UK politics live

Rupert Lowe says no talks have taken place after the Reform UK leader said he was ‘open to conversation’ on some sort of electoral deal

theguardian.com

A Reform UK proposal to use the military to stop small boats lacks substance, a former Royal Navy officer has said, suggesting the UK’s warships would be better used countering actual military threats. He also noted it's a re-hash of a recent Tory policy. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Former navy officer criticises Reform plan to use military to stop small boats

Retired commander says policy lacks substance as party accused of trying to distract from Nigel Farage’s scandals

theguardian.com

‘The market’ didn’t decide that AI would be our future. Capital did. And when the devastating consequences of their decisions become clear, capital must be made to pay. graceblakeley.substack.com/p/data-centr...

Data Centres and Democracy

The AI boom was planned by capital. When it collapses, capital must be made to pay.

graceblakeley.substack.com

We should never forget how the BBC has changed this country by giving endless airtime to Nigel Farage and other rightwing extremists, while shutting out progressive voices.

Nicolas Chinardet@zefrog.eu · 3d ago

And why is #r4today giving (yet again) such prominence to a hair-brained scheme that has little chance to ever be implemented? A GE is unlikely soon and the threat of Reform winning it is apparently receding. What is the justification for legitimising it?

1/3 Strip away the theatre and Reform UK is a billionaire-backed project to dismantle the public realm, shred regulatory protections and hand what remains of state power to capital. It’s plain to see – just follow the money.

Small boats may still be a hot political issue but numbers of arrivals are down 13%. Of people who make it, 62% are granted asylum. We need safe and legal routes for refugees. That's the way to tackle small boats. #r4today migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/br...

People crossing the English Channel in small boats - Migration Observatory

This briefing examines the phenomenon of people crossing the English Channel in small boats.

migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk

British trip-hop band Massive Attack has been barred from performing in Singapore after two members unfurled a Palestinian flag during a concert. The authorities weren't happy but the flag received loud, prolonged cheers from the audience. www.theguardian.com/music/2026/a...

Singapore bans Massive Attack for showing Palestinian flag, breaching ban on foreign emblems

Two members given ‘stern warnings’ after concert and barred from returning, with band also excluded from performing in Singapore again, say authorities

theguardian.com

The sudden influx of 60,000 migrants into Ceuta has caused panic. Some say the mass movement was caused by criminal gangs. That makes sense. But it's worth noting that Putin, Trump and Netanyahu all want to undermine Europe. For them, this was very convenient. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/e...

Spain accuses EU leaders of ‘selfish’ response to Ceuta migrant crisis as deaths rise

Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez lashed out at the EU ahead of emergency meeting, just as Donald Trump waded into the row by branding the border breach a ‘catastrophe’

independent.co.uk

So good to see the size of Labour's win in the Greater Manchester mayoral by-election. Reform may have been second but its vote was so much less. Hopefully Farage has finally had his day. #r4today www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

Bev Craig secures win over Reform in key Greater Manchester mayoral by-election

Labour holds on to Greater Manchester mayoralty as party’s ‘Burnham bounce’ sees off threat of Reform

independent.co.uk

Fifa has scrapped it's highly controversial plans to effectively sell off the World Cup after an immediate and immense backlash. Now Fifa president and Trump toady Gianni Infantino must go. www.independent.co.uk/sport/footba...

Fifa scraps plans to sell World Cup stake after boycott threat and immense backlash

Fifa president Gianni Infantino is facing considerable pressure after his controversial plan collapsed

independent.co.uk

Next stop: Reform UK makes sincere apology for 'genuine mistake' of accepting £millions in bribes in exchange for anti-worker rights, anti-migrant racism, anti-women misogyny, climate denial, make the rich richer and poor poorer policies

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said Gianni Infantino is "the wrong man" to lead Fifa. He's right. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

Gianni Infantino 'wrong man' to lead Fifa says Prime Minister Andy Burnham

Prime Minister Andy Burnham says Gianni Infantino is "the wrong man" to lead Fifa as criticism grows of the controversial investment plan.

bbc.co.uk

Nigel Farage’s response to all the scandals coming out about him and Reform was to resign as a (rarely-seen) MP but re-stand, saying only the people of Clacton should judge him. Not parliamentary rules or the law, as they might find him guilty. He's falling in the polls and running scared.

Reform Party UK Exposed@reformexposed.bsky.social · 6d ago

Reform UK and Nigel Farage are now so knee deep in scandal and investigations, their attempts to deflect and divert are failing. They’re running out of faux outrage.

Left: Robert Jenrick says Zack Polanski should have resigned for sharing a collab post, adding a decent person would apologise Right: When a Reform councillor shared a death threat against a Labour MP, Starmer asked Nigel to apologise, he refused Using Jenrick's logic, Farage isn't a decent person

Paul McCartney has been shortlisted for the Mercury Prize for his latest album, The Boys Of Dungeon Lane. Amongst other nominees are Olivia Dean and Suede, who also released great records. www.independent.co.uk/arts-enterta...

Paul McCartney receives first-ever Mercury Prize nomination as shortlist revealed

Last year's coveted prize was awarded to Geordie singer Sam Fender, who joined an esteemed list of previous winners

independent.co.uk

After an emergency meeting, Uefa and its 55 member associations will boycott the World Cup and all Fifa competitions if Gianni Infantino’s controversial and dreadful plans are voted through. Europe says "The World Cup is not for sale." #bbcpm www.independent.co.uk/sport/footba...

World Cup boycott latest: Uefa agree emergency boycott after Infantino sell-off plan

Uefa have agreed to boycott the World Cup and all Fifa tournaments if Infantino’s proposals to privatise its competitions are voted through

independent.co.uk

Donald Trump says new UK PM Andy Burnham is ready to 'Drill, baby, drill' in the North Sea. But it's pointed out that Trump also isn't sure who Andy Burnham is, makes stupid comments about Britain and is generally confused. So, no one should take what he says seriously. Sounds right.

Ian Dunt@iandunt.bsky.social · 7d ago

Trump is not sane and nothing is gained by pretending that he is

Nigel Farage’s approval rating has hit its lowest level since the 2024 election, in the latest evidence that Reform UK is on the verge of seeing its support collapse. Just hoping Greater Manchester will confirm the trend. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

Nigel Farage plummets to lowest approval level since election in new poll

A More in Common poll has revealed that Mr Farage’s approval rating has hit an all time low of -32 per cent as new prime minister Andy Burnham soars into the lead with +19

independent.co.uk

I know it's not news Kemi Badenoch is not across the detail, but this is an absolute shocker. She says the UK's net zero plans are 'perversely increasing carbon emissions'. In 2019 when net zero targets were adopted emissions were 45% below 1990 levels. Last year they were 54% below 1990 levels.

++BREAKING++ The UK and Spanish governments have issued a joint statement overnight: "[We] agreed that this summer’s wildfires demonstrated that climate change was now a national security emergency facing Europe and threatening our way of life." www.gov.uk/government/n...

Reform UK is desperate to win Clacton again, keeping Nigel Farage as an MP, despite the fact he literally doesn't do the job. Rarely in Westminster, never in Clacton and unwilling to do surgeries, Farage focuses on his other, more lucrative jobs. But still takes the £100,000 a year salary.

Josiah Mortimer@josiahmortimer.bsky.social · last wk.

New campaign leaflet from Reform UK in Clacton. Weirdly, Farage's 'promises to Clacton' don't appear to contain any, umm, actual promises...

Andy Burnham seems serious about transforming social care. For those of us who remember him when Labour was last in government, it's no surprise. But still very welcome. It's not the most obvious vote winner; but it is critical for the UK, not least in terms of the NHS. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Andy Burnham to address social care, youth unemployment and devolution

A No 10 source says it is an attempt by the prime minister to show he is "hitting the ground running".

bbc.co.uk

Paul Brand@paulbrand.bsky.social · last wk.

Burnham announces: 1. Casey will bring forward her review by a year to summer 2027. He wants it to focus on creating a National Care Service that is ‘highly integrated’ with the NHS. 2. He will look at improving pay and progression of social care workforce. 3. Cross party talks to begin today.

👇🏼Newspapers exposing Tice and Farage using tax havens to avoid paying tax like you or me.. as they’re multimillionaire so money is tight 😡 And Farage posting yesterday👇🏼that millionaires “the biggest tax payers” are leaving UK which is factually wrong there’s no net exodus Plus many avoid tax so..🤷🏼‍♂️