NPR

Rhubarb & Custard wrote: Wed May 28, 2025 8:28 am The 2 child benefit cap is interesting. Okay along with various other things Reform are promising they can't afford it but are channelling their inner Corbyn/Truss decision making on that front, but putting that to one side there's no real support to scrap the cap among the electorate, and there's especially not much support among Labour voters who typically like the cap and in broad terms associate those with 5 kids wanting benefits for them all as scroungers, so it doesn't really seem to gain votes for Reform. Is it then just about stirring up Labour MPs? One of the few groups in the UK who really don't like the cap

Police are looking into threats made to an MP after an AI-edited video appearing to show him calling Nigel Farage a “c**t” was published by a Reform UK social media account.

The clip was posted by a local Reform Party account on X and viewed almost 100,000 times before being deleted.

Liberal Democrat MP Max Wilkinson said he and his office were inundated with abusive messages, threats of violent attacks and claims he would be tracked down near Parliament.

Media regulator Ofcom has said it is “concerned” by the incident.

tabascoboy wrote: Mon Jun 02, 2025 4:34 pm MP falsely accused of calling Farage a 'c**t' in AI-edited video shared by Reform

https://inews.co.uk/news/mp-falsely-acc ... rm-3721861

Article is paywalled but the gist of it is

Police are looking into threats made to an MP after an AI-edited video appearing to show him calling Nigel Farage a “c**t” was published by a Reform UK social media account.

The clip was posted by a local Reform Party account on X and viewed almost 100,000 times before being deleted.

Liberal Democrat MP Max Wilkinson said he and his office were inundated with abusive messages, threats of violent attacks and claims he would be tracked down near Parliament.

Media regulator Ofcom has said it is “concerned” by the incident.

Zia Yusuf has resigned as the chairman of Reform UK, saying "I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time".
In a post on social media, external, Yusuf did not expand further on his reasons for stepping down.
However, it comes after he said it was "dumb" for the party's newest MP to call on Sir Keir Starmer to ban the burka.
In a post on X, Yusuf wrote: "11 months ago I became chairman of Reform. I've worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30% [in national polls], quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.
"I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office."

SaintK wrote: Thu Jun 05, 2025 4:45 pm That didn't last long and just in time for the evening news
He appeared to the only real "pro" in their set up. Don't thing anyone can work with Frogface

Zia Yusuf has resigned as the chairman of Reform UK, saying "I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time".
In a post on social media, external, Yusuf did not expand further on his reasons for stepping down.
However, it comes after he said it was "dumb" for the party's newest MP to call on Sir Keir Starmer to ban the burka.
In a post on X, Yusuf wrote: "11 months ago I became chairman of Reform. I've worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30% [in national polls], quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.
"I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office."

tabascoboy wrote: Thu Jun 05, 2025 4:56 pm

SaintK wrote: Thu Jun 05, 2025 4:45 pm That didn't last long and just in time for the evening news
He appeared to the only real "pro" in their set up. Don't thing anyone can work with Frogface

Zia Yusuf has resigned as the chairman of Reform UK, saying "I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time".
In a post on social media, external, Yusuf did not expand further on his reasons for stepping down.
However, it comes after he said it was "dumb" for the party's newest MP to call on Sir Keir Starmer to ban the burka.
In a post on X, Yusuf wrote: "11 months ago I became chairman of Reform. I've worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30% [in national polls], quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.
"I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office."

Took him this long to realise he was the chairman of a party consisting of dubious people that despise his religion?

Rhubarb & Custard wrote: Fri Jun 06, 2025 9:43 am

tabascoboy wrote: Thu Jun 05, 2025 4:56 pm

SaintK wrote: Thu Jun 05, 2025 4:45 pm That didn't last long and just in time for the evening news
He appeared to the only real "pro" in their set up. Don't thing anyone can work with Frogface

Took him this long to realise he was the chairman of a party consisting of dubious people that despise his religion?

Luckily that's it for useful idiots enticed by the limelight, no one else will be happy to sell their soul to join FagRage

dpedin wrote: Fri Jun 06, 2025 10:33 am

Rhubarb & Custard wrote: Fri Jun 06, 2025 9:43 am

tabascoboy wrote: Thu Jun 05, 2025 4:56 pm

Took him this long to realise he was the chairman of a party consisting of dubious people that despise his religion?

Luckily that's it for useful idiots enticed by the limelight, no one else will be happy to sell their soul to join FagRage

I wonder if Yusuf got a refund of his membership fee from Refund 2025 Ltd?

Rhubarb & Custard wrote: Fri Jun 06, 2025 10:42 am

dpedin wrote: Fri Jun 06, 2025 10:33 am

Rhubarb & Custard wrote: Fri Jun 06, 2025 9:43 am

Luckily that's it for useful idiots enticed by the limelight, no one else will be happy to sell their soul to join FagRage

I wonder if Yusuf got a refund of his membership fee from Refund 2025 Ltd?

I think this is where one simply notes 'thoughts and prayers'

Slick wrote: Fri Jun 06, 2025 10:59 am

Rhubarb & Custard wrote: Fri Jun 06, 2025 10:42 am

dpedin wrote: Fri Jun 06, 2025 10:33 am

I wonder if Yusuf got a refund of his membership fee from Refund 2025 Ltd?

I think this is where one simply notes 'thoughts and prayers'

But not that type of prayers

Firefighters threaten strikes in 10 Reform council areas in pensions row
Union vows to 'fiercely resist' Reform UK's plans while demanding a wealth tax to 'properly fund public services and increase pay for all workers'

Firefighters are threatening to strike in areas where Reform UK has taken control of councils in a row over pensions being stripped back.

Richard Tice last week said the 10 councils Reform UK now controls would reduce the generosity of pensions for recruits and give existing staff lower pay rises to cover the cost of funding their retirement, in a bid to find Doge-like cost savings.

But the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) told The i Paper it would “fiercely resist” the plans, which it described as “an assault on the pensions of firefighters and council workers”.

Their intervention signals they may ultimately go on strike in a bid to overturn Tice’s proposals, The i Paper understands.

FBU general secretary Steve Wright said: “It’s outrageous that the multi-millionaire deputy leader of Reform UK has declared war on firefighters who pay into council workers’ pension schemes.

“Firefighters put their lives and health on the line day in and day out to protect the public.

“Now Richard Tice says that councils run by Reform UK intend to cut the final salary pension schemes that firefighters have already paid into.”

Paywalled item https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/firef ... ns-3732512

Playground politics, Pride flags and prayer - Reform's first Derbyshire County Council meeting

...Among the changes rolled out by the new Reform administration was the introduction of prayer at the beginning of full council meetings. Numerous new Reform councillors, including group whip Cllr Dan Price, have made reference to the “undermining and mocking of British and Christian culture” and that “we are a Christian nation”.

Meanwhile, Cllr Paul Oxberry, Reform member for Swadlincote South, had said building a church in Church Gresley, in southern Derbyshire, was among his key priorities. Cllr Alex Dale, Conservative Group leader, told the meeting that Cllr Graves had only won the Reform leadership contest “by a whisker” and questioned how long his time at the helm would last.

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/l ... r-10206505

tabascoboy wrote: Sat Jun 07, 2025 11:56 am

Playground politics, Pride flags and prayer - Reform's first Derbyshire County Council meeting

...Among the changes rolled out by the new Reform administration was the introduction of prayer at the beginning of full council meetings. Numerous new Reform councillors, including group whip Cllr Dan Price, have made reference to the “undermining and mocking of British and Christian culture” and that “we are a Christian nation”.

Meanwhile, Cllr Paul Oxberry, Reform member for Swadlincote South, had said building a church in Church Gresley, in southern Derbyshire, was among his key priorities. Cllr Alex Dale, Conservative Group leader, told the meeting that Cllr Graves had only won the Reform leadership contest “by a whisker” and questioned how long his time at the helm would last.

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/l ... r-10206505

Reform UK councils in ‘shambles’ as newly elected councillors fail to show up

Reform UK gained control of nine councils and minority control in three more in May's local elections, but opposition councillors claim the party's organisation and productivity have been a "shambles" since.

Across the 12 Reform-controlled councils, 33 meetings have been cancelled or postponed in the first nine weeks since the election, and at least 21 Reform councillors have missed their first meetings.

In Kent, nine out of 22 scheduled meetings have been cancelled since the election, including legally required meetings like the governance and audit committee.

An opposition councillor in Kent, Rich Lehmann, said the cancellations were "shocking" and questioned Reform's ability to lead the council, while Sam Smith, leader of the Conservatives in Nottinghamshire, called the start "shambolic."

Reform UK councillors have reportedly cancelled meetings to reschedule them when more prepared, while Nottinghamshire Council’s new Reform leader Mick Barton dismissed the criticisms as "political rhetoric from the opposition."

https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/ ... 65359.html

Rhubarb & Custard wrote: Sat Jun 07, 2025 5:12 pm So it turns out there was a useful idiot willing to sell their soul, who knew

tabascoboy wrote: Sat Jun 07, 2025 8:02 pm

Rhubarb & Custard wrote: Sat Jun 07, 2025 5:12 pm So it turns out there was a useful idiot willing to sell their soul, who knew

He'd just had a really bad day, is all

Reform councillors aged 19 and 22 in charge of children’s and adult services at local authority
Social workers raise questions over clash of values and lack of experience of new lead members at Leicestershire County Council

Concerns are mounting over the appointment of two Reform councillors as political leads for children’s and adults services in Leicestershire.

Joseph Boam, 22, now heads up adult social care at Leicestershire County Council (LCC), and Charles Pugsley, 19, who is still at university, has been made cabinet member for children and family services.

The pair were appointed following the local elections in May, and are responsible for multi-million pound budgets.

Cllr Deborah Taylor, leader of the opposition at LCC and previous cabinet member for children and families, told PSW magazine: “My concern regarding the appointment of Mr Boam and Mr Pugsley is whether they possess the necessary business, organisational, or life experience to manage complex portfolios.

“Adult social care and children’s services account for approximately 75 per cent of the council’s £616 million budget.”

Cllr Boam was recently exposed by Hope Not Hate – a group opposing far-right extremism – as appearing to show support for misogynist Andrew Tate in posts from a now-deleted X account.



https://web1.basw.co.uk/about-social-wo ... ldrens-and

Nigel Farage’s pitch for Welsh elections: bring back coalmining
Reform leader says steel and coal industries can be revived but does not say how beyond ‘scrapping net zero’

Nigel Farage has demanded the reopening of domestic coalmines to provide fuel for new blast furnaces, arguing that Welsh people would happily return to mining if the pay was sufficiently high.

Speaking at an event in Port Talbot, the south Wales town traditionally associated with the steel industry, the Reform UK leader said it was in the “national interest” to have a guaranteed supply of steel, as well as UK-produced fuel for the furnaces, a close echo of Donald Trump’s repeated pledges to return heavy industry to the US.

Pressed on whether this was a realistic plan, particularly given that even if Wales did elect a Reform-run Senedd next May it could be blocked by Westminster, Farage conceded that the idea was most likely only realistic if done in conjunction with the national government.

“Our belief is that for what uses coal still has, we should produce our own coal,” he told the event, intended to boost Reform’s prominence in Wales in the run-up to next year’s elections.

“I’m not saying, let’s open up all the pits. What I am saying is there is coal, specific types of coal for certain uses, that we still need in this country, and we certainly will need for the blast furnaces here, that we should produce ourselves rather than importing.

“We are going to be using more steel over the next few years than we probably ever used, as we increase military spending and as we attempt a housebuilding programme … We are going to need a lot of steel. Our belief is we should be producing our own steel.”

Asked during a media Q&A how long it would take to reopen defunct blast furnaces such as the Tata steel plant in Port Talbot which shut last year, and if this was even possible, Farage accepted it would be difficult, needing “a change of mindset”.

He said: “Nothing’s impossible, but it might be difficult. It might be easier to build a new one.”

Quizzed on what evidence he had that young Welsh people would want to go down coalmines, Farage replied: “If you offer people well-paying jobs, you’d be surprised. Many will take them, even though you have to accept that mining is dangerous.”

Pressed then on whether even a Reform-run Welsh government could not achieve this alone, Farage accepted this was probably the case: “It’s difficult to know just how much leverage the Welsh government can have over these things. It probably needs to work in conjunction with a national government. It needs a complete change of philosophy. It needs a scrapping of net zero.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... ng-revived

Rhubarb & Custard wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 10:02 am If it holds we should produce our own coal for our own pig iron, where pray does Nigel stand on us importing iron ore? Logically there's a problematic solution to that query around imports, but no doubt FagRage is on the case

Reform UK are to offer wealthy foreigners and returning British expats a bespoke tax regime in exchange for a one-off payment of £250,000 with all funds collected redistributed to Britain’s lowest-paid workers, the party claims.

The proposal, dubbed the Britannia Card, is due to be unveiled by party leader Nigel Farage later this week. It promises a 10-year residence permit and a return to the controversial “remittance basis” of taxation, allowing cardholders to shield overseas income from UK tax and avoid inheritance tax entirely.

In return, high-net-worth applicants would pay an upfront “entry contribution” of £250,000, which Reform UK said would be distributed in full to the bottom 10% of UK earners.

Reform estimates this “Britannia workers’ dividend” could provide a tax-free annual payout of £600-£1,000 to roughly 2.5 million low-paid full-time workers, depending on uptake. The money would be delivered directly by HMRC at the end of each tax year.

Under the plan, foreign nationals and wealthy British returnees would gain access to the UK through a tax-light regime that exempts all overseas income and assets from UK taxation for a decade. Inheritance tax would also scrapped entirely.

In effect, Reform is proposing to sell exemption from the UK tax system – reinstating the abolished non-dom privileges in a simplified form but with a cash price attached. The party says the fee is not a “golden visa” but a way of ensuring wealthy newcomers “immediately contribute to British society”.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... -newcomers

tabascoboy wrote: Mon Jun 23, 2025 8:52 am And the latest brainwave from them, a British remix of the "Trump Card" and the "DOGE Refund Dividend".

Reform UK are to offer wealthy foreigners and returning British expats a bespoke tax regime in exchange for a one-off payment of £250,000 with all funds collected redistributed to Britain’s lowest-paid workers, the party claims.

The proposal, dubbed the Britannia Card, is due to be unveiled by party leader Nigel Farage later this week. It promises a 10-year residence permit and a return to the controversial “remittance basis” of taxation, allowing cardholders to shield overseas income from UK tax and avoid inheritance tax entirely.

In return, high-net-worth applicants would pay an upfront “entry contribution” of £250,000, which Reform UK said would be distributed in full to the bottom 10% of UK earners.

Reform estimates this “Britannia workers’ dividend” could provide a tax-free annual payout of £600-£1,000 to roughly 2.5 million low-paid full-time workers, depending on uptake. The money would be delivered directly by HMRC at the end of each tax year.

Under the plan, foreign nationals and wealthy British returnees would gain access to the UK through a tax-light regime that exempts all overseas income and assets from UK taxation for a decade. Inheritance tax would also scrapped entirely.

In effect, Reform is proposing to sell exemption from the UK tax system – reinstating the abolished non-dom privileges in a simplified form but with a cash price attached. The party says the fee is not a “golden visa” but a way of ensuring wealthy newcomers “immediately contribute to British society”.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... -newcomers

Nigel Farage’s plans to introduce a ‘Robin Hood tax’ to attract the wealthy back to the UK would cost the economy £34bn a year, a leading tax expert has warned.
Dan Neidle of Tax Policy Associates has hit out at the Britannia card scheme proposal, which would allow wealthy people to pay a one-off fee of £250,000 and replace the former non-dom scheme scrapped by Tory chancellor Jeremy Hunt and current Labour chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Rhubarb & Custard wrote: Mon Jun 23, 2025 10:31 am FagRage wants to copy a fascist? colour me surprised

Hugo wrote: Mon Jun 23, 2025 2:01 pm Farage is a lot like Trump in that he doesn't have the stamina or attention span to get to grips with anything before he bounces to the latest flavour of the month issue.

Nothing is ever fleshed out beyond the bare bones and he never sees anything through to completion. He spoke about grooming gangs and said he was going to press for a Reform led enquiry, nothing came of it. He always talks about the boat crossings but you'll never see him come up with any substantive policy to make you think he would be able to address the issue.

I maintain that he doesn't have the work ethic or the attention to detail to be considered a serious politician. He is able to upset the status quo effectively but solving problems is far outside his capability or where he likes to operate. He is a grenade thrower.

shaggy wrote: Mon Jun 23, 2025 3:23 pm Farage was an MEP for over 20 years. That is quite some stamina to reach his goal of Britains exit from the European Union.