‘He used to say things like “Hitler was right”’: Farage faces more allegations of racist behaviour at school

It had been a fun sleepover at Nigel Farage’s house and Jean-Pierre Lihou, a teenager with an appetite, was delighted with his schoolfriend’s mother’s hospitality. “I remember the fantastic cooked English breakfast, as opposed to what you get at a boarding house on a morning,” Lihou recalled. “I was a boarder and he was a day boy,” he said of their education at Dulwich college in south-east London.Farage was a great mimic, and funny with it, Lihou said. But over time he found there was a darker side to his 14-year-old friend

Uk politics: Streeting defends asylum policy, but says he’s not ‘comfortable’ with forced removal of children – as it happened

Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has defended the government’s new asylum policy – while admitting that he would not be “comfortable” about seeing families with small children deported.One feature of the plan is to increase the number of removals involving children. The Home Office says there has been too much “hesitancy” in this regard in the past.In an interview with LBC, asked if he would be happy to see families with young children forcibly removed from the country, Streeting said that the plan also involved encouraging people to leave voluntarily, and so the number of forced removals should be “low”.Streeting said that he supported forced removals because there was no point having a policy that was not enforced

Ask young Reform voters their views | Brief letters

The Guardian may get a better idea of why some young people support Reform UK by asking actual Reform voters who work in shops, offices and factories in “red wall” towns and cities such as Mansfield, Grimsby and Derby what they think, rather than three students, an environmental activist and a youth equality organiser (How should we tackle Reform and the rise of the far right? Our gen Z panel has some ideas, 13 November).Nigel ScollinBreaston, Derbyshire Back in 1984, my driving test examiner in Lampeter, Wales, was called Mr A Lane (‘You get more attention than you would choose’: how an unusual name can shape your life – for better or worse, 13 November). I passed the test first time and never drove again. Do I get brownie points for using the buses all these years?Nicholas Q GoughSwindon, Wiltshire Is it missing the point to suggest that Great Western Railway should invest its money in improving the speed and efficiency of rail journeys rather than the ease of using the internet (Report, 17 November)?Leigh HughesSaltash, Cornwall Why was Mohammed bin Salman not wearing a suit (Trump shrugs off Khashoggi murder during Saudi prince’s White House visit, 18 November)?Philip RobinsAddingham, West Yorkshire Don’t forget the almond slivers for ears on your blancmange rabbit (Letters, 16 November).Catriona Graham Methven, Perth and Kinross How come your article on narcissism didn’t mention me (How to build a better life, 17 November)?Pete BibbySheffield Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section

Reform UK councillor suspended over WhatsApp group featuring extremist posts

A Reform UK councillor has been suspended for participating in a WhatsApp group where members allegedly called for a “mass Islam genocide”.Tom Pickup, who was elected to Lancashire county council in May, confirmed to the Guardian he was a member of the group set up by a rightwing activist.In one exchange, one person said Keir Starmer “needs a fucking bullet”, to which another replied: “He’s a DICKtator.”Pickup responded by calling the prime minister a “dicktaker”.In other messages, he called a government minister a “Ukrainian boy penetrator” and said he agreed with “mass deportations”

‘I thought the grownups were back in charge!’: John Crace on how Labour shattered his expectations

After 14 years of Tory rule, the Guardian’s parliamentary sketch writer thought he had seen it all. Westminster would surely tick along nicely once Keir Starmer’s party took over. How wrong he was ..

‘Out of touch’ hereditary peers criticised for voting against workers’ rights

Dozens of hereditary peers – including the Duke of Wellington, landed aristocrats and millionaire business leaders – have been criticised for battling to unpick Labour’s plans to boost workers’ rights.The Lords voted to support a string of Conservative-backed amendments to the employment rights bill late on Monday for the third time running.In a protracted showdown with the upper chamber, the Lords vote aims to curtail a Labour manifesto promise to give workers the right to a guaranteed hours contract, and day-one protections against unfair dismissal.Those who supported efforts to water down the plan included 47 hereditary peers, 93 barons, 16 earls and seven viscounts.They included Charles Wellesley, the ninth Duke of Wellington, who sits as a crossbench hereditary peer