UK Politics

Nigel Farage’s tax affairs are “irrelevant” to voters, according to Reform UK MP Richard Tice.Mr Tice, the party’s deputy leader, was asked whether the Reform UK leader would address questions over his partner buying his constituency home in Clacton.He told Times Radio: “I’m pleased to confirm I’m not his tax adviser. You’ll have to speak to them.”It’s irrelevant to what voters are concentrating on, which is our messaging, which is the message of hope. We can get out of this nightmare that we’re in.”Farage and Tice have both faced questions over tax affairs More

This year’s Reform UK conference has all the hallmarks of many of the party’s other events that came before it. Bold promises, a heavily utilised bar that serves booze from 10am, expensive merchandise that members go wild for, and – of course – pyrotechnics. But there was something different about this year’s conference. There was a palpable sense that Nigel Farage really could be Britain’s next prime minister. It helped Reform that the conference took place on a day where the government looked even more chaotic than normal, with Angela Rayner’s resignation and the ensuing government reshuffle. Nigel Farage immediately seized on the drama, bringing his speech forward by three hours to make sure he could respond to the news on the front foot. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage waves to the audience after his speech at the party’s annual conference (Jacob King/PA) More

Among those nearest to Angela Rayner there is genuine anger, even though they admit she made a mistake that cost her badly. A source close to the now former deputy prime minister, who resigned amid a scandal over her tax affairs, told The Independent: “Keir [Starmer], Morgan [McSweeney] and the whole cabal will regret what they did to her.“They won a battle today, but this is going to hurt them. They are actually an existential problem for the Labour Party.”While the prime minister had outwardly supported Rayner when she admitted to not having paid £40,000 of stamp duty on a flat in Brighton, there was a feeling that he was just waiting for the ethics adviser “to give him an excuse” to wield the knife.Keir Starmer has outwardly supported Angela Rayner but there is a feeling among some that he was waiting for an excuse to wield the knife More

Angela Rayner resigns after report reveals she broke ministerial code on stamp dutySir Keir Starmer moved quickly to appoint David Lammy deputy prime minister as the PM embarked on a major cabinet reshuffle followingAngela Rayner’s resignation after an investigation into her tax affairs.Yvette Cooper has been moved from home secretary to take up a new role as foreign secretary, with justice secretary Shabana Mahmood replacing her at the Home Office.Mr Lammy also becomes justice secretary as well as deputy PM. Lucy Powell, the leader of the House of Commons, and Scottish secretary Ian Murray have been sacked from their roles. In total, a dozen cabinet positions were changed during the reshuffle.The prime minister’s reshuffle comes after Ms Rayner stepped down after ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus found that she had breached the ministerial code over her underpayment of stamp duty on her £800,000 flat in Hove, East Sussex.She told the prime minister in a letter that “I deeply regret my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice” and took “full responsibility for this error”.But former deputy Labour leader Baroness Harman told Sky News she believed there was a way back for Ms Rayner.She said: “She’s still got in the bank all that commitment from the Labour Party. So, I would say there is a way back for her – and I strongly believe that.”How did Angela Rayner manage to underpay stamp duty? A legal expert explainsTom Watling6 September 2025 03:07Farage predicts 2027 general election in warning over Labour ‘rift’Farage predicts 2027 general election in warning over Labour ‘rift’Nigel Farage said he thinks there is “every chance now of a general election happening in 2027” as he addressed Reform UK’s party conference in Birmingham shortly after Angela Rayner resigned on Friday, 5 September. The Reform leader warned of a “big rift” in Labour and told attendees in a keynote speech: “Before long, there’ll be Labour MPs that reckon they’ve got a better chance on the Jeremy Corbyn sectarian ticket … they’ve got a better chance of being re-elected under that ticket, under Corbyn, than they do under Sir Keir.” His comments came following the deputy prime minister’s announcement that she would step down after ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus found that she had breached the ministerial code over her underpayment of stamp duty on her £800,000 flat in Hove, East Sussex.Tom Watling6 September 2025 02:01Andrea Jenkyns belts out own song in bizarre Reform conference entranceAndrea Jenkyns belts out own song in bizarre Reform conference entranceDame Andrea Jenkyns walked onstage at the Reform UK conference, belting out a song entitled “Insomniac” that she said she wrote. The mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, walked onstage at the party’s two-day conference at Birmingham’s NEC on Friday (5 September) in a sparkly jumpsuit before breaking into song. She said: “Are this awful Labour government giving you sleepless nights as well?,” adding that she co-wrote the song 20 years ago with a friend. Dame Andrea’s website says she is a soprano who has been singing since her childhood.Tom Watling6 September 2025 01:04Rayner’s resignation shows this government is worse than the last, Farage declares in Reform conference speechTom Watling6 September 2025 00:00Scottish Labour leader thanks Murray for ‘service’ Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has thanked the outgoing Scotland minister Ian Murray for his “service”. Tom Watling5 September 2025 23:15Jones speaks out after new cabinet appointment Tom Watling5 September 2025 22:44Reform football shirts go on sale at party’s 2025 conferenceReform football shirts go on sale at party’s 2025 conferenceTom Watling5 September 2025 22:16Mahmood to deliver ‘tough message’ on immigration, report claims Home secretary Shabana Mahmood will deliver a “tough message” on immigration as she looks to regain control of the narrative following a summer of unrest, sources have claimed. The former justice minister took over from Yvette Cooper today after the resignation of deputy prime minister Angela Rayner triggered a major cabinet reshuffle from Sir Keir Starmer. Sources have told The Telegraph that Ms Mahmood is expected to take a more hardline approach to the small boat crossings than her predecessor. “She has coped with the prison crisis pretty well without a drastic kind of backlash. Now it’s about getting Shabana in that position to try to claw back some of the ground that Labour has lost on immigration,” said a source.“She will be able to deliver some tough messages around immigration because of her Pakistani heritage, which Yvette Cooper might have found much harder.”Tom Watling5 September 2025 22:06Reform UK council leader George Finch, 19, says sixth form is a ‘complete joke’A teenage Reform UK council leader has called sixth form a “complete joke” and said it only helps young people develop a “woke mindset”.George Finch, the 19-year-old leader of Warwickshire County Council, called for more hands-on courses at the Reform UK party conference in Birmingham.“The education system is broken. I’m probably one of the closest to being in school (on this panel) and being in sixth forms and universities.“It’s a joke. It’s a complete joke. Sixth forms you’re meant to develop your learning from GCSEs – you don’t develop anything.“The only thing you do develop is a woke mindset.“You’re not allowed to question what’s going on. You’re not allowed to question the way you think. You’re just told to think a certain way.“So in our politics classes, it was why I always asked – it was very simple – why so accepting? Why are we so accepting of the things that are happening?”Tom Watling5 September 2025 21:46Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf praises Tommy Robinson for grooming gang campaigningReform UK’s newly-appointed head of policy has praised Tommy Robinson’s campaigning on grooming gangs, but has repeated that he will not be allowed to join the party.Zia Yusuf, Reform’s former chairman, told a fringe event at the party’s conference at the NEC in Birmingham that he recognised Mr Robinson’s activism.Mr Yusuf was announced as the party’s new head of policy by Nigel Farage on the first day of the two-day conference on Friday.Mr Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who founded the English Defence League (EDL) has previously been jailed for contempt of court after repeating false allegations about a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him for libel.In 2019, he also served time in prison for putting grooming trials in Huddersfield at risk by breaking reporting restrictions that were in place to ensure the proceedings were fair.Speaking to Spectator editor and former education secretary Michael Gove at an event on Friday, Mr Yusuf was asked who was worse, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn or Mr Robinson.Mr Yusuf said Mr Corbyn was worse as he said he would not use the nuclear deterrent, “rendering our entire Trident programme null and void”.He went on to say: “I would say this too. Tommy Robinson has said things about the rape gangs, and was making those arguments for years, and was disparaged and has been proven to be correct on those matters and deserves some credit for that.”The answer was applauded by some members of the audience.He was asked by Mr Gove whether Mr Robinson would be allowed to join Reform, with Mr Yusuf immediately saying “No”.(James Manning/PA) More

Sir Keir Starmer has been forced to conduct a major reshuffle of his top team after Angela Rayner sensationally quit as both housing secretary and deputy prime minister, after admitting she failed to pay £40,000 in tax when purchasing a property.The resignation comes as a hammer blow to the prime minister and piles further pressure on his government, which is significantly lagging behind Reform UK in the polls and has faced mounting criticism for not achieving enough in its first year in power. It followed 48 hours of Ms Rayner trying to hold on to her job before she was told the game was up on Thursday night, before the publication of a report by ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus.Angela Rayner said she had believed, on legal advice, that she was liable for the standard rate of stamp duty More

The debate over former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner’s tax arrangements demonstrated that there are few topics more complex than the law of trusts. It was politically awkward, to say the least, when a deputy PM and housing secretary had to admit getting it wrong and underpaying £40,000 in stamp duty.Rayner has resigned after being found to have breached the ministerial code in the wake of the stamp duty row. That erupted after she was said to have put her share of her constituency home in Greater Manchester in trust for her son, and to have bought another home in Hove, East Sussex, paying a lower rate of stamp duty than should be owed by a second homeowner.In Rayner’s case, a probable oversight and a trust created with legitimate intentions got caught up in legislation designed to discourage tax avoidance and ownership of a second home. Of course, it also left her open to accusations of hypocrisy, as a member of a government that championed higher taxes for second homeowners.Earlier in the week, Rayner had said she took legal advice on the purchase. But her conveyancers then claimed not to have advised her on any additional tax liabilities that might have arisen due to the existence of a trust for her child.So what is a trust – and why are they controversial for tax purposes?Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner More

Angela Rayner resigns after report reveals she broke ministerial code on stamp dutyHome secretary Yvette Cooper is reportedly set to lose her job as Sir Keir Starmer embarks on a major cabinet reshuffle followingAngela Rayner stepping down as deputy prime minister after an investigation into her tax affairs.Lucy Powell, the Leader of the House of Commons, and Scottish Secretary Ian Murray have already been sacked this afternoon, while Ms Cooper could be moved from the Home Office and become foreign secretary, The Telegraph reported. The prime minister’s reshuffle comes after Ms Rayner stepped down after ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus found that she had breached the ministerial code over her underpayment of stamp duty on her £800,000 flat in Hove, East Sussex.She told the prime minister in a letter that “I deeply regret my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice” and took “full responsibility for this error”.In a letter responding to her resignation, the prime minister said he was “very sad” that her time in government had come to an end and that he had “nothing but admiration” for her.Yvette Cooper ‘to be sacked from Home Office’Yvette Cooper is set to be sacked from her job as home secretary, according to reports.Sir Keir Starmer has embarked upon a major reshuffle after Angela Rayner stepped down as deputy prime minister following an investigation into her tax affairs.The Telegraph is reporting that Ms Cooper could be moved to foreign secretary.There is speculation that justice secretary Shabana Mahmood, is in prime position to take Ms Cooper’s job at the Home Office.Joe Middleton5 September 2025 15:47Watch: Andrea Jenkyns belts out own song in bizarre Reform conference entranceAndrea Jenkyns belts out own song in bizarre Reform conference entranceJoe Middleton5 September 2025 15:38Starmer cabinet reshuffle: Who is in and who is out as PM overhauls his top teamThe Independent’s Archie Mitchell reportsSir Keir Starmer has launched a major cabinet reshuffle after Angela Rayner’s resignation as housing secretary and deputy prime minister.The prime minister is seeking to relaunch his government as it lags behind Reform UK in the polls and struggles to deliver on key promises.Ms Rayner resigned after Sir Keir’s ethics advisor concluded she had breached the ministerial code by failing to pay the correct amount of stamp duty on the purchase of an £800,000 flat in Hove.Joe Middleton5 September 2025 15:20Scottish secretary Ian Murray sacked by StarmerIan Murray has been sacked as Scottish Secretary in Sir Keir Starmer’s reshuffle, sources said.Mr Murray has represented Edinburgh South since 2010 – and was the only Scottish Labour MP left in Westminster after the party’s 2019 general election defeat.A critic of former leader Jeremy Corbyn, Mr Murray has campaigned against Scottish independence and won the backing of Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown during an unsuccessful bid for the Labour deputy leadership in 2020.In a statement on X he said it was a “privilege” to play a role in bringing Labour back to power.Joe Middleton5 September 2025 15:12Lucy Powell said it was an ‘an honour’ to serve in government and confirms sackingLucy Powell, the Leader of the House of Commons, has said it has been “an honour to serve in the first Labour Government in 15 years” as the Manchester Central MP confirmed she had been sacked in a post on X.In a statement she said: “I spoke to the Prime Minister earlier today and he informed me of his intention to appoint a new Leader of the House of Commons.”It has been an honour to serve in the first Labour Government in 15 years, particularly as Leader of the House. It’s been a role I’ve really enjoyed – overseeing the first Labour King’s Speech in a generation with such an ambitious and transformative legislative programme, taking on vested interests in the service of ordinary people.”I’ve also had a big agenda of modernising the Commons – I’ve tightened the rules on MPs’ second jobs – with more to come, standing up for the different voices in the House, family-friendly measures and have been embarking on improved accessibility and inclusion. These are the changes a Labour Government can and should be making.”This has not been an easy time for the Government. People want to see change and improvements to their difficult lives. Nor in politics more generally, not least with the rise of abuse, misrepresentation, social media echo chambers and the call for easy answers. As women in public life, we experience this all the more. The future of our democracy looks uncertain and Parliament and representational politics has an important role to play.”Living and raising my children in my home city of Manchester has always given me a different perspective of politics. My first job has always been to represent the residents of Manchester Central, and I look forward to using my voice and my role on in Parliament to ensure they see the change they long for.”Joe Middleton5 September 2025 14:58Nigel Farage football shirts on sale at Reform conference as supporters gather in BirminghamThe shirts, which are flying off the shelves, are being sold for £40 – or particularly keen activists can buy two for £75.For those who wanted something cheaper there were £15 caps or football terrace themed scarves to cheer on their top team.Joe Middleton5 September 2025 14:45’Mixed feelings’ in Hove around Rayner’s resignation Locals gathered outside Angela Rayner’s seaside flat in Hove discussed “mixed feelings” about the outgoing deputy prime minister.“She was very busy and when you are busy you don’t always use common sense,” said Ann, who is from Australia but lives in the UK.The group echoed that it was a “shame” but agreed with Ann that “£40,000 is an awful lot of money for some people”.( More