REFORM UK have sparked outrage after putting forward plans which would criminalise election campaign materials in Gaelic and Scots.
Nigel Farage’s party has moved an amendment to a Westminster bill that would, if passed, criminalise all political materials that are not in English or Welsh.
If Reform’s amendment to the Representation of the People Bill is passed, those in breach of the law could be jailed for up to six months and could also face a fine.
Reform UK bid to criminalise Scottish Gaelic on election materials
Councillor deletes post linking Ann Widdecombe’s death to ‘radical left thugs’
A Restore Britain councillor has deleted a social media post in which he suggested that Ann Widdecombe’s death was linked to “radical left thugs”.
…
Cllr Clatworthy wrote: “Ann Widdecombe has been murdered.
“A straight talking patriot, fearless defender of Britain, taken out in her own home.
“Serious injuries Devon and Cornwall Police confirming murder investigation.
“What kind of a country lets radical left thugs create this climate of fear?
“A broken one. A failing one. One run by weak politicians who’ve surrendered to the mob.
“I faced threats myself. One still live with South Wales Police.
“I’m not backing down. Ann Widdecombe stood against all that. Her murder is a warning.
“Justice for Ann.”
Around half an hour after publishing the post, Cllr Clatworthy deleted it.
Councillor deletes post linking Ann Widdecombe’s death to ‘radical left thugs’, https://nation.cymru
According to the report, Owain Clatworthy defected to Rupert Lowe’s party from Reform UK in March.
Nigel Farage declined offer of taxpayer-funded security
The Reform UK leader’s spokesman told The i Paper it was a downgrade on the state-funded protection he had previously received
Nigel Farage turned down taxpayer-funded security, including a bodyguard, car and trained driver, last year, The i Paper has learned.
The Reform UK leader was offered the protection following police advice on the threats he faced.
Nigel Farage declined offer of taxpayer-funded security, inews
Lichfield District Council motion about LGBTQ+ material in libraries
A council could be set to condemn Staffordshire County Council over the controversial decision to remove LGBTQ+ materials from libraries. A motion which is set to be presented to Lichfield District Council next week will warn the decision risks fostering prejudice and restricting freedom of expression.
Last month during Pride month the Reform UK-led county council announced it would no longer feature LGBTQ+ displays. Instead the council said that libraries should focus on the core offer of reading, learning and connecting residents to wider council services.
Lichfield Distric Council motion about LGBTQ+ material in libraries, centralbylines.co.uk
Hace some Count Binface memes
Bearly Politics is reporting that Ipsos has found more people want Count Binface to win than want Nigel Farage to win
Faragian Farce Day 5: Winning Isn’t Enough Anymore
Why Nigel Farage may still win Clacton, but lose the only contest that really matters.
It appears we now have a date for the Clacton-on-Sea by-election. Tendring Council has announced that the election will be held on the thirteenth of August, which is, by my reckoning, just over a month away. I initially thought it was going to be around the sixth, but another week doesn’t really change the fundamentals. It just gives us another week or so to watch the increasingly surreal political drama that has become the Faragian farce unfolding in public.
Faragian Farce Day 5: Winning Isn’t Enough Anymore, The Bear, Bearly Politics
Stewart Lee: Move over, Nigel – it’s time for the Bin Supremacy
A comedy writer with a refuse receptacle on his head may be the only thing that stands between Britain and fascism. He’s just the man for the job
The Reform candidate for Makerfield, Robert Kenyon, said women should be denied abortions even if they had been raped by a family member; the Reform MP Sarah Pochin said there were too many black people on television; the Reform candidate for Rayleigh West, Stuart Prior, said white people were the master race and had bigger brains than black people; the Reform candidate for Bootle West, Jay Leslie Cooper, said the Holocaust was a hoax; and Nigel Farage made a wedding speech joke, after a gay man died in a celebrity’s swimming pool, about throwing your fags in the pool. He’s here all week! Try the fish!!
[…]
And it is into this fractured landscape that strides the colossus that is Count Binface, who, by absurd association, may throw Reform’s attempt to foist fascism on a public who seem to have forgotten what fascism looks like into sharp relief. Not all heroes wear capes. But Count Binface does. And he wears a bin as well. So that bit doesn’t make sense, sorry.
Stewart Lee: Move over, Nigel – it’s time for the Bin Supremacy, Stewart Lee, The Nerve
With the help of a little AI, someone made a music video staring Binface
Why it all went wrong for Reform
Then Thursday happened. Burnham strolled home with 54.8 per cent of the vote. Reform’s Robert Kenyon managed 34.5 per cent, 20 points adrift. Hardly the revolution.
Why it all went wrong for Reform, Jack Rankin, spectator.com
Badenoch attacks Farage over £5m gift and rules out Tory-Reform pact
Conservative leader says Reform UK’s poor showing in this week’s byelections leaves idea of deal ‘stone-dead’
Kemi Badenoch has attacked Nigel Farage over the £5m gift he received before the general election as she ruled out an electoral pact with Reform UK.
The Tory leader questioned Farage’s acceptance of the gift from the Thailand-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne in the months before he stood to become an MP in 2024.
Badenoch attacks Farage over £5m gift and rules out Tory-Reform pact, The Guardian
Farage blames Makerfield defeat on anti-Starmer votes
Nigel Farage says he is disappointed with Reform UK’s performance in the Makerfield by-election, as he blamed his party’s defeat on a desire among voters to eject Sir Keir Starmer from Downing Street.
The Reform leader claimed frustration with the embattled prime minister had driven Andy Burnham’s “emphatic” Labour victory over his party’s candidate, Rob Kenyon, who finished more than 9,000 votes behind.
Farage blames Makerfield defeat on anti-Starmer votes, BBC
Reform UK and Nigel Farage ‘fanned flames of race riots in Glasgow’
THE finger has been pointed at Reform UK MSPs and their leader Nigel Farage after “race riots” broke out in Glasgow and Belfast.
People in the Scottish and Northern Irish cities were targeted because of the colour of their skin, according to police, as far-right agitators led disorder which saw arson, assaults, and clashes with police officers on Tuesday evening.
Reform UK and Nigel Farage ‘fanned flames of race riots in Glasgow’, Xander Elliards, www.thenational.scot
Farage could face recall petition and byelection over £5m gift from crypto king
This one is from The Observer:
Farage could face byelection over crypto king’s £5m donation
The Reform leader faces two possible investigations over the undeclared gift from Christopher Harborne. A lengthy Commons suspension could lead to a recall petition – and end up costing him his Clacton seat
Nigel Farage’s victory celebrations could be over before his newly minted councillors have even taken up their positions, as pressure builds over his undeclared £5m donation from Christopher Harborne.
Last week, the Guardian revealed that Reform’s leader had received a seven-figure sum from the Thailand-based crypto billionaire just weeks before announcing he would stand in the 2024 general election – reversing a decision he had made shortly before.
Farage could face byelection over crypto king’s £5m donation, The Observer
How many councillors has Reform UK lost since the May 2026 elections?
Given how popular (and lengthy!) my list of Reform councillor departures after the May 2025 elections turned out to be, here is a new list, this time for councillors elected under the Reform banner on 7 May 2026, or in by-elections after that date, who have already departed the party for one reason or another.
How many councillors has Reform UK lost since the May 2026 elections?
Broken promises, rising taxes: Inside Reform UK’s first year in power
Reform has run councils for a year. As local elections near, we ask: how has the party performed in power?
Broken promises, broken roads, and broken council leadership teams – that’s the outcome of Reform UK’s first year in power, an investigation by openDemocracy reveals.
[…] Reform raised taxes in every council where it holds or shares power. Potholes continue to cause accidents and damage, and councillors’ struggles over where to make promised savings have put much-loved local services at risk of closure.
Broken promises, rising taxes: Inside Reform UK’s first year in power, Sian Norris, Open Democracy
Reform-led Lancashire county council could quit refugee resettlement scheme
Councillor announces plan to withdraw from government-funded programme on eve of local elections
The Reform-led Lancashire county council will withdraw from the government’s refugee resettlement scheme, one of its cabinet members has said.
Joshua Roberts announced plans for Lancashire to leave the scheme, which would make it the first local authority to do so. It would mean Lancashire would no longer participate in the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) and the Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP).
The authority coordinates participation in these schemes on behalf of 14 unitary and district councils in Lancashire that have responsibilities for housing.
Reform-led Lancashire county council could quit refugee resettlement scheme, The Guardian
Reform’s ‘spiteful’ immigration stunt backfires spectacularly
“A serious democracy does not punish voters for voting a certain way. That is called tyranny.”
Reform UK’s latest immigration policy – widely condemned as vindictive and divisive – has triggered a fierce backlash across the political spectrum, including from one of the party’s own former MPs.
The proposal, unveiled ahead of local elections, would see migrant detention centres deliberately placed in areas that vote for the Green Party, while sparing constituencies that back Reform. The policy forms part of a broader plan to detain and deport tens of thousands of people each year, with new facilities holding up to 24,000 migrants at any one time.
Reform’s ‘spiteful’ immigration stunt backfires spectacularly, The London Economic
James O’Brien questions tabloid silence on Farage’s £5m gift
“Sometimes you look at a story’s coverage and you wonder whether you are actually part of something truly hideous.”
James O’Brien has expressed his bafflement at the tabloid coverage – or rather, the lack of it – that Nigel Farage’s undeclared £5m gift has received.
Last week, the Guardian revealed that Farage had been given £5m from by British cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne, who is based in Thailand and has since donated millions to Reform UK.
James O’Brien questions tabloid silence on Farage’s £5m gift, London Economic
MPs demand Reform suspend candidate over claims he celebrated rape of Sikh women
West Midlands Labour MPs write to borough Reform leader after alleged posts by Stuart Prior
Labour MPs have called for a Reform UK election candidate in Essex to be suspended after he allegedly celebrated the rape of two Sikh women in the Midlands.
MPs demand Reform suspend candidate over claims he celebrated rape of Sikh women, The Guardian
Revealed: Reform’s £24 Million from Fossil Fuel Interests
Nigel Farage’s anti-climate party has received two thirds of its income from oil investors.
Reform UK has received £24 million from oil and gas interests, accounting for more than two thirds of its total income, DeSmog can reveal.
Led by Nigel Farage, the party is calling for new North Sea oil and gas drilling ahead of UK-wide elections in May on the ill-founded claim that it will cut energy bills.
DeSmog’s analysis reveals that 67 percent of Reform’s funding to date has come from donors with financial interests in fossil fuels, totalling more than £24 million.
Revealed: Reform’s £24 Million from Fossil Fuel Interests, Adam Barnett and Sam Bright, Desmog
Fife Reform candidate’s tirade against Brexit revealed
Labour defector Julie MacDougall slated the impact of Nigel Farage’s dream in a bid to play up her pro-European credentials, The Courier can reveal.
A senior Fife Reform election candidate said that Brexit left the NHS “on its knees” and warned key promises had not been delivered, The Courier can reveal.
Julie MacDougall, standing for Brexit campaign architect Nigel Farage’s party in Kirkcaldy next week, claimed the country’s exit from the EU had left Britain in a “state of disarray”.
Her anti-Brexit tirade came four years ago in an official application for an endorsement from the Labour Movement for Europe group, which have now obtained in full.
Fife Reform candidate’s tirade against Brexit revealed,Justin Bowie, thecourier.co.uk
I saw this and had to share it.
Reform-Run Kent Council Sells Off Antony Gormley Sculpture After Raising Taxes
Nigel Farage’s flagship council quietly sold Two Stones, one of the sculptor’s earliest commissions, as part of a wave of publicly owned art disposals that critics call “shameful”
Reform-run Kent County Council has sold off a work of public art by one of Britain’s most respected sculptors, Antony Gormley.
Gormley’s ‘Two Stones’ was hosted outside the Kent History and Library Centre in Maidstone until a few days ago.
The work was one of Gormley’s first commissions. The renowned artist studied and later taught at the Maidstone School of Art.
Reform-Run Kent Council Sells Off Antony Gormley Sculpture After Raising Taxes, Byline Times
Scottish Reform UK candidate backed far-right activist Tommy Robinson
A SCOTTISH Reform UK candidate has come under fire after she called for the deportation of Muslims in a series of social media posts.
In messages unearthed by ITV Border, Galloway and West Dumfries Holyrood candidate Senga Beresford has been found to have endorsed a post that called for the UK to “deport the lot of them”, in reference to Muslims.
Scottish Reform UK candidate backed far-right activist Tommy Robinson
Councillors walk out of migration emergency debate
Kent County Council has declared an “illegal migration emergency” after opposition councillors walked out of a debate in protest.
The authority passed a motion, put forward by Reform UK councillors, stating that the county was a “frontier for the influx of illegal migrants” and residents were “dealing with the consequences”.
Other parties chose to leave the chamber ahead of the vote, claiming the debate breached electoral rules ahead of a by-election for the Cliftonville ward, with Liberal Democrat group leader Antony Hook stating that the motion was “based on prejudicial, discriminatory assumptions”.
Councillors walk out of migration emergency debate, BBC
Key phrases from this article include:
- divisive fantasy debates staged during a vital pre-by-election period
- stunt for political purposes during an election
- complained to the Electoral Commission
Revealed: Reform UK Matt Goodwin’s Academic Ties to Rebranded Nazi Eugenics Front
Reform’s Gorton and Denton candidate, who has said that genetics will expose the “inherent differences between groups” has links to multiple organisations tied to discredited racist pseudoscience
Matthew Goodwin, Reform UK’s candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election in Greater Manchester, holds a visiting professorship at a university centre whose network includes the front publication for a reconstituted Nazi eugenics foundation. Byline Times can reveal that Goodwin has actively defended, promoted and cited key figures within the network, which encompasses at least five organisations tied to discredited racist pseudoscience.
Revealed: Reform UK Matt Goodwin’s Academic Ties to Rebranded Nazi Eugenics Front, bylinetimes.com
Reform UK would reimpose two-child benefit cap
Reform UK has said it would reintroduce the two-child benefit cap in full if the party wins power, in a shift away from scrapping the limit.
The policy, introduced under the Conservatives in 2017, means parents can only claim universal credit or tax credits for their first two children.
Reform UK would reimpose two-child benefit cap, BBC
Councillor quits ‘sinister’ Restore Britain after just two days
A North Northamptonshire local councillor has quit Restore Britain just two days day after defecting to it from Reform, describing Rupert Lowe’s new party “far more sinister than I first thought”.
Cllr Darren Rance, who represents Brickhill and Queensway, announced on Wednesday that he and fellow councillor Jack Goncalvez were leaving Reform to join Restore Britain, the hard‑right party announced by Rupert Lowe last week.
Councillor quits ‘sinister’ Restore Britain after just two days, searchlightmagazine.com
Kent county councillor from Margate jailed over years of controlling abuse of wife
A Kent county councillor has been jailed for 12 months after admitting to subjecting his wife to years of controlling and coercive behaviour.
Daniel Taylor, 35, from Margate, was sentenced at Margate Magistrates’ Court today after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing.
Kent county councillor from Margate jailed over years of controlling abuse of wife
Thanet deserved better than Reform’s Daniel Taylor
For nearly ten months now, the residents of Cliftonville have been throwing away hard earned taxes, on an elected representative that deceived them from the start.
Reform UK relentlessly sold Taylor to Cliftonville as a ‘devoted family man’ without bothering to properly look into his background. But as we all know now, this is no isolated incident.
Thanet deserved better than Reform’s Daniel Taylor, thanetlibdems.uk
Lib Dems win by-election after Reform controversy
The Liberal Democrats have won a council by-election which saw Reform withdraw support for its candidate over offensive social media posts.
Zetland ward voters elected Alison Barnes to Teesside’s Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council on Thursday, following the resignation of Independent councillor Jonny Neal.
Lib Dems win by-election after Reform controversy, BBC
Reform UK councillor defects to Restore Britain
A Reform UK councillor in Leicestershire has defected to a new party recently launched by MP Rupert Lowe.
Charles Whitford, previously a member of Leicestershire County Council’s cabinet, announced he had moved to Restore Britain on Thursday.
Reform UK councillor defects to Restore Britain, BBC
Reform wants to put public unions ‘under review’, by-election candidate has said
Comments late last year indicate challenges Farage faces in courting working-class voters
Reform UK’s candidate for the Gorton and Denton by-election has said the party would put public sector unions “under review” if it came to power, in a sign of the challenges Nigel Farage faces as he seeks to court working-class voters.
“[Reform] will place public sector trade unions under review,” Matthew Goodwin said during a speech in early December, before the by-election had been called, at which he set out a wide-ranging policy vision for a Reform government to “fix broken Britain”.
Reform wants to put public unions ‘under review’, by-election candidate has said, ft.com
Two Northants Reform UK councillors quit party to join new rival
More musical chairs as two North unitary councillors quit Reform UK to join Restore Britain
Two Reform UK councillors on North Northamptonshire Council have sensationally quit the party today to join a newly formed rival.
Cllr Jack Goncalvez (Rushden Lakes ward) and Darren Rance (Brickhill & Queensway ward) have been announced as new councillors by the Restore Britain party, which was launched on Friday evening by former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe.
They follow a number of other councillors from Kent County Council in joining the new party, with Cllr Goncalvez accusing his former party of ‘courting the establishment it claims to oppose’.
Two Northants Reform UK councillors quit party to join new rival, NN Journal
‘I wouldn’t touch a Jewish woman’: Meet the Reform team in Gorton and Denton
Earlier this week, the anti-fascist campaign group Hope Not Hate passed us their research into Goodwin’s fellow campaigners. They had identified five separate individuals who had been out campaigning with Goodwin who had shared racist content online or expressed support for far-right groups. In some cases, there is little grey area: Goodwin’s campaigners have expressed clear support for the far-right group Britain First, baselessly suggested that 60-70% of transgender people are paedophiles or posted online that Muslims are only in the UK because they wish to “conquer” it.
‘I wouldn’t touch a Jewish woman’: Meet the Reform team in Gorton and Denton, manchestermill.co.uk
Reform faces police investigation over ‘concerned neighbour’ byelection letters
Material distributed in Gorton and Denton did not have legally required imprint stating it was funded by party
Reform UK will face a police investigation in Gorton and Denton after admitting it sent out letters from a “concerned neighbour” which did not state they had been funded and distributed by the party.
Greater Manchester police confirmed it had received a report about the breach of electoral law and said it would investigate. The Electoral Commission said the omission was a matter for the police, stressing that failing “to include an imprint in candidate election material is an offence”.
Dozens of voters in the Gorton and Denton constituency reported receiving letters from a pensioner written in a handwriting-style font on Friday. The letters do not include an imprint saying who they have been funded and distributed by, as required by electoral law.
Reform faces police investigation over ‘concerned neighbour’ byelection letters, The Guardian
Reform UK just broke electoral law in Gorton and Denton
People across the constituency thought they were getting a letter from a concerned pensioner, they didn’t know she was working for Reform
Every letter is addressed, both on the envelope and at the head of the letter, to the residents of the property, by name, suggesting whoever sent them has access to the electoral register. One recipient of the letter who wrote in, told us that the name on her letter was indeed her real name – but not the name that any of her friends (or neighbours) know her by. This same recipient has opted out of the Open Register, meaning that her name should only be accessible to political parties or their agents for legitimate campaigning purposes. Crucially, not one person we spoke to knew of a Patricia Clegg in the area. “Just to be clear, I have no idea who she is and if she is even real,” wrote one recipient.
Exclusive: Reform UK just broke electoral law in Gorton and Denton, The Mill
Analysis of Reform UK proposal for income tax cuts in Scotland
The biggest direct beneficiaries of such a change would be the high-income taxpayers who currently pay substantially more in income tax than in the rest of the UK
…
But this does not properly confront the challenges they would face in finding £2 billion or more of spending cuts in the coming parliament.
Analysis of Reform UK proposal for income tax cuts in Scotland, ifs.org.uk
White supremacist dating site profiles linked to Tory and Reform councillors
[…]
People found by The Observer in the database appear to include an ex-member of the British National Party, activists with the neo-Nazi group Patriotic Alternative, and a man who ran for political office for Britain First.
[…]
A user called Gavin Beales also appeared in the database. An email associated with the profile, set up in 2019, shares a name with a Reform councillor elected in November and also appears to be from the same part of Northamptonshire.
White supremacist dating site profiles linked to Tory and Reform councillors, The Observer
Police assess claims Reform UK breached electoral law during Farage campaign
Party denies ex-councillor’s claim it falsely reported expenses during Farage’s run to become Clacton MP last year
[…]
Richard Everett, a former Reform UK councillor and member of Farage’s campaign team, reportedly submitted documents to police showing the party spent more than the £20,660 limit in the Essex constituency.
Police assess claims Reform UK breached electoral law during Farage campaign, The Guardian
Reform UK Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaran breaks silence over leaked video with ‘obnoxious’ message
Embattled Reform UK council leader Linden Kemkaran has broken her silence over a leaked video of her swearing and shouting at members which has plunged her administration into crisis.
Reform UK Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaran breaks silence over leaked video with ‘obnoxious’ message, Kent Online
What we get wrong about unpaid carers
It’s worth thinking about this pre-NHS landscape of health care in Britain, as we weigh up the dire state of social care and support for family carers today. Although health spending takes up an increasing amount of public spending – it was the main beneficiary of last year’s unpopular tax rises – few would openly call for the restoration of the pre-NHS insurance system (though read between the lines of Reform UK’s manifesto, and it’s a different matter).
What we get wrong about unpaid carers, www.transformingsociety.co.uk