UK Politics

Four Reform UK councillors have been suspended after a video was leaked to the press showing the leader of the party’s flagship local authority telling council members to “suck it up”.Reform UK took control of Kent County Council (KCC) after winning 57 of the 81 seats at the local elections in May, overturning a 30-year Tory majority.Footage of an online meeting in which KCC leader Linden Kemkaran could be seen berating backbench councillors when they questioned her was leaked to the press on Saturday.A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Cllrs Paul Thomas, Oliver Bradshaw, Bill Barrett and Maxine Fothergill have had the whip suspended pending investigation, following evidence that they brought the party into disrepute.” Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaran pictured with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage earlier this year More

Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper is being urged to maintain the UK’s contribution to the global fight against HIV, TB and malaria, with expected cuts potentially costing hundreds of thousands of lives. Anti-poverty charity, the ONE Campaign, put out the plea ahead of a summit to raise £13.5 billion for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria – the world’s largest funder of treatments for these diseases. The charity cited figures suggesting the British public overwhelmingly supports the government investing in the fight against the biggest killer infectious diseases.Polling by More in Common commissioned by the ONE Campaign found two-thirds of Brits, when told about the work of the Global Fund, said the UK should increase or maintain its support for the fund. The Global Fund pays for a quarter of all international HIV treatment and prevention programmes, more than half of malaria programmes and three-quarters of TB programmes. It is estimated to have saved 70 million lives in the past 20 years. It is mostly funded by contributions from more than 80 governments, as well as by private industry and philanthropy. Currently, the UK is its third-largest donor, having pledged £1bn in 2022. But, amid swingeing cuts to the overall spend on overseas aid, the UK is widely expected to reduce its contribution to the fund – despite co-hosting the fundraising event taking place in November on the fringes of the G20 summit. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is expected to announce the UK’s contribution to the Global Fund in the coming month (Jonathan Brady/PA) More

Piers Morgan, the journalist and presenter, has hinted at a potential run for prime minister, suggesting he would adopt a “tough” approach to national leadership. The 60-year-old host of the Uncensored YouTube show made comments in an interview with Saga Magazine.He said: “There has been talk about ‘PM for PM’, Piers Morgan for prime minister, why not? “Right now, there are a lot of people in this country who feel betrayed by successive governments, whether it’s over the NHS, stopping the boats or the state of the roads.”Mr Morgan said a 1 per cent tax on income that would go “straight to the NHS” would be among the items in his manifesto.“Taking a leaf out of (US President Donald) Trump’s book, I would call (French) President (Emmanuel) Macron and tell him that unless he did something about the boats, we would tax French imports by 1,000 per cent. “It’s time to get tough.”Piers Morgan says he’d ‘get tough’ on Channel crossings More

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced a new V-Level qualification, set to overhaul the education system for 16- to 19-year-olds. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said that vocational education has been “an afterthought for too long”. This new qualification will form a third route alongside A-levels and T-levels, with full plans detailed in a white paper on post-16 education and skills, due Monday. The DfE confirmed that V-Levels will replace 900 existing vocational qualifications for this age group, aiming to streamline the “confusing landscape” of current options.The department said the move would also offer pupils more flexibility and let them explore key sectors – which could include engineering, agriculture or digital – before deciding where to specialise.It said that the V-Levels will offer more choice as pupils will be able to sit them alongside A-Levels, unlike T-Levels – which are equivalent to three A-Levels.Teens will be able to sit the V-Levels alongside A-Levels More

The warning to one of her fellow councillors by Linden Kemkaran, Reform’s leader on Kent County Council (KCC), may well be one which voters will have to get used to if Nigel Farage becomes prime minister.“I’m afraid if you don’t like it you are just going to have to f***ing suck it up,” she said in a rather chaotic Zoom meeting.During the tape of the video conference, first published by The Guardian, Cllr Kemkaran also made a very pertinent point and one which should worry Mr Farage and other senior figures in Reform.“Let’s not forget, we are the shop window in KCC. People are looking at us, they are judging us every single minute of every single day. Nigel knows that. He is super aware that we are the flagship council.”Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaran with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage earlier this year More

Reform has been accused of “importing divisive and dangerous ideas” from Maga politics in the US after a right-wing theologian who opposes abortion in all cases joined the party as Nigel Farage’s adviser.Cambridge University professor James Orr, who heads the Centre for a Better Britain think tank, is an influential figure in Donald Trump’s administration and is admired by vice-president JD Vance.His arrival comes soon after the defection from the Tories of right-wing MP Danny Kruger, who holds similar views to Professor Orr.James Orr More