‘Nigel Farage feels real’: why young British men are drawn to Reform

Josh is 24 years old and works as a carer. It’s not easy work, but he prefers it to his old job in a supermarket: most of his clients are elderly and “just want someone there with them, because they’re lonely”. In his spare time Josh used to be into boxing. But lately he’s got into politics instead.Like many of his gen Z contemporaries, he’s thoroughly disillusioned with the mainstream kind

Britain’s biggest unions call for much closer UK-EU ties amid ‘volatile’ global economy

The UK should forge much closer ties with Europe amid an increasingly “volatile and unpredictable” global economy, Britain’s biggest trade unions will argue as they push for new workers’ rights across the continent.In its first major intervention on Europe in five years, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) will call for a “much-needed” closer relationship with the EU, in a joint statement with European counterparts.Ahead of Keir Starmer’s reset talks with Brussels, the union umbrella body will say negotiations must cover new opportunities for quality jobs for UK workers in the EU and for EU workers in the UK, though it will stop short of calling for a return to freedom of movement.Starmer has spent his first six months in power laying the groundwork for a better relationship with Brussels, with the UK hoping for better defence cooperation and smoother trade, and the EU seeking a mobility scheme allowing for greater travel by young people in return.Cooperation between the UK and the rest of Europe has recently intensified after the return to power of Donald Trump in the US, with European leaders agreeing to higher military spending to counter the threat of Russia in a world where they will have to rely less on US backing

Divided Reform UK reports own MP to police amid bullying claims

Reform UK has erupted into open civil war after the party said its MP Rupert Lowe had received complaints about bullying and had made threats against the party chair, a day after Lowe criticised Nigel Farage for being “messianic”.Lowe responded with anger, saying there was no evidence to back up the bullying claims, and that it was “entirely untrue” that he had made threats. He again criticised Farage, saying Reform was “our party as much as it is Nigel’s”.He also explicitly linked the allegations to his decision to criticise Farage, saying that the day after he had done this, he had received “a knife in my back over false allegations”.In a joint statement by the chair, Zia Yusuf, and Reform’s chief whip, Lee Anderson, they said they were “obligated to disclose that the party received complaints from two female employees about serious bullying” in Lowe’s offices

‘Don’t punish the vulnerable’: Labour MPs uneasy over planned welfare cuts

Dozens of backbench Labour MPs are unhappy with plans to cut billions from the rising welfare bill, with ministers holding meetings to convince them that the changes to disability benefits are necessary.Labour MPs told the Guardian there were deep concerns within the parliamentary party that the changes would take money from the poorest, which was not what they had entered government to do.No 10 is preparing to make the case for welfare cuts before Rachel Reeves’s spring statement, with Keir Starmer’s spokesperson saying on Friday that there had been an “unsustainable rise in welfare spending”.“Our broken social security system is holding our people back, our economy back,” he said. “We’ve got 3 million people out of work for health reasons, one in eight young people [are] not currently in work, education or training, and that is a shocking situation to be in

The Ukraine crisis has accelerated a reset of UK-EU relations – but will it last?

Barely a day passes, it seems, without Keir Starmer talking to another European leader or preparing for a continental summit. The crisis over Ukraine has very much pushed the UK closer towards the centre stage than at any point since Brexit. But is this a new era or a false dawn?One thing is certain: the optics of engagement have changed. Starmer never shared Boris Johnson’s almost active pride in stoking a row with Brussels, but particularly before the election his advisers were wary of reminding voters about his past as a diehard remainer.With support for Ukraine about as close as the UK gets to an all-party consensus, things are very different

Minister ridicules Reform claims Labour is ‘terrified’ of party – as it happened

Labour is “not terrified” of Reform UK, Scottish secretary Ian Murray has said. The minister ridiculed the party’s deputy leader Richard Tice, who on Thursday appeared not to know the names of two council defectors during a visit to Glasgow.Under questioning from journalists, Tice appeared to have forgotten or not known the surnames of councillors James Gray and Ross Lambie, who had left the Tories to join his party, only using their first names.Earlier in the day the deputy of the Nigel Farage-led party said both Scottish Labour and the SNP were “terrified” of them.Speaking to the PA news agency after a speech in Edinburgh, Murray said:We’re certainly not terrified of a party (whose deputy leader) doesn’t know the name of his own councillors