News

Original reporting and the latest political headlines from across the UK.

Our Articles

Mainstream Headlines

Filtering by:Tag: reform×Source: The Guardian Politics×Clear all

578 headlines found — Page 12 of 49

The Guardian Politics13 Jul 2026

Mahmood offers Farage security meeting after Ann Widdecombe’s death

Home secretary insists all MPs treated equally but that security of former MPs and non-Westminster politicians is a concern Shabana Mahmood has offered Nigel Farage a personal meeting with the Home Office unit that works on security for high-profile politicians, insisting all MPs are treated equally in how they are offered protection. Addressing the Commons after the death of Ann Widdecombe, the Reform spokesperson whose body was found with serious injuries by the ambulance service at her home i

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics13 Jul 2026

The Guardian view on Shabir Ahmed: changing the law to deport one man will not win back the public’s trust | Editorial

Grooming gang victims have been treated appallingly and are rightly angry. But the loss of confidence in the criminal justice system goes wider The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, is not personally responsible for the mess that the government finds itself in with regard to the release from prison of Shabir Ahmed, who was a ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang, earlier this month. Ahmed, who has spent most of his life in the UK, was stripped of British citizenship soon after his conviction f

ReformCrimeRemigration
The Guardian Politics13 Jul 2026

Reform UK triggers row over MPs’ safety – podcast

After Ann Widdecombe’s murder, Reform UK has criticised the Commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle and suggested its MPs are not given enough security. Pippa Crerar tells Kiran Stacey what Hoyle’s team have been telling her Please keep sending your comments and questions to Pippa and Kiran at politicsweeklyuk@theguardian.com Please follow and subscribe to the Politics Weekly YouTube channel here Continue reading...

PoliticsReformCrime
The Guardian Politics13 Jul 2026

Count Binface represents the Silly Sausage Britain I know and love | Sofie Jenkinson

Mr Blobby, the Liz Truss lettuce, Boaty McBoatface … the Clacton hopeful is part of a rich tradition – and a reminder that it’s laughter that defines us, not hate Nigel Farage’s pointless byelection in Clacton, in which he will stand against Count Binface, has inadvertently pitted two versions of Britain against one another. In one corner we have those who will argue that we are divided, cynical and jaded, that Britain isn’t what it once was and there is little to celebrate. And in the other cor

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics12 Jul 2026

Police: speculation during Widdecombe murder investigation is ‘unhelpful and distressing’

Politicians should not comment before facts are established, says former chief constable, after Farage describes killing as ‘premeditated murder’ Senior police figures and politicians have warned against speculation during the murder investigation into Ann Widdecombe’s death, after detectives said there was “nothing to suggest” political motivation after an intervention from Nigel Farage. Devon and Cornwall police said on Sunday the killing investigation was not being treated as terrorism nor as

PoliticsDefenceReformCrime
The Guardian Politics12 Jul 2026

Reform would have held just 15% of last year’s donations under proposed £100,00 cap, analysis shows

Exclusive: Party’s average registered donation was £137, 496, almost six times that of Labour or Conservatives Reform UK would have held just 15% of the donations it received last year if a proposed £100,000 cap on political donations had been in force, according to analysis shared with the Guardian. The analysis by Friends of the Earth using Electoral Commission data highlights the party’s reliance on a handful of wealthy backers ahead of a showdown over political funding. Continue reading...

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics12 Jul 2026

Scrapping early release for sex offenders could leave no capacity in jails, says David Lammy

Exclusive: Deputy PM says opponents have ‘no solutions’ to possible collapse of justice system in England and Wales Drugs, drones and heat: Amber Rudd and David Lammy begin search for answers to prisons crisis Opponents of plans to release rapists and sex offenders early from prison have “no solutions” to halt the criminal justice system’s possible collapse, David Lammy has said. Under pressure from Labour MPs – including the former safeguarding minister Jess Phillips – to curb the early relea

PoliticsReformCrime
The Guardian Politics12 Jul 2026

UK must cap political donations to stop the rich buying influence | Heather Stewart

If Starmer won’t act then his successor should – by restricting the power of a small group of mega-donors Just as Nigel Farage kicks off a summer of “arguing with a bin”, as Rachel Reeves called it, Labour’s bill to clean up politics returns to the House of Commons this week. As more questions emerge about the financing of Reform and Farage’s mega-donor chums – through the brilliant reporting of Guardian colleagues – MPs should seize the opportunity to toughen it up. Continue reading...

PoliticsDefenceReform
The Guardian Politics12 Jul 2026

Nigel Farage is just one strand in the tangle of rightwing politicians and crypto investors | John Harris

These financiers want to remodel the UK into a form that suits them – one that could threaten to erode the barriers between crime and business This coming Tuesday, the government’s representation of the people bill comes back to the House of Commons for its third reading. It bundles up a multitude of measures, including an extension of the franchise to 16- and 17-year-olds and welcome changes to voter registration. But thanks to the continuing furore around Nigel Farage and his extremely wealthy

PoliticsReformCrime
The Guardian Politics11 Jul 2026

‘It’s Wizard of Oz stuff’: Clacton voters divided over Farage byelection

Voters’ views range from adulation to scepticism to outright cynicism over contest triggered by sitting MP As Nigel Farage inflicts an August byelection on the Clacton constituency in Essex, local voters are divided over whether they need, or want, to give the Reform UK leader a fresh mandate. In this self-styled battle between the “establishment and the people” views range from adulatory to sceptical to outright cynical over a contest that all mainstream parties are boycotting, leaving Count Bi

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics11 Jul 2026

‘He goes a bit funny if you use his real name’: the unstoppable rise of Count Binface

Nigel Farage foresaw a summer stroll to glory when he forced a byelection – but now risks his career being trashed The votes were being counted and the media had gathered for the moment that Andy Burnham, his sights on Downing Street, would be elected as the MP for Makerfield in greater Manchester. But Nick the Flying Brick, a candidate on numerous occasions for the Monster Raving Loony party, could not help but be distracted. How could it be that the candidate across the Edge Conference Centre

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics10 Jul 2026

Ann Widdecombe: uncompromising politician who embraced TV fame

Former Conservative minister, who later joined Reform UK and became an unlikely celebrity, was found dead at her Devon home on Thursday On Wednesday, shortly after Nigel Farage announced he would stand down from his parliamentary seat in Clacton to trigger a byelection, Ann Widdecombe appeared by video link on Talk TV to praise his decision. “This is a very decisive man,” Widdecombe told the interviewer, speaking with the same forthright conviction that had defined her controversial political ca

PoliticsReform