u/coffeewalnut08

The winners of Nigel Farage’s energy bill giveaway were two “staunch” members of Reform’s Wigan branch.

Last month, Reform pledged to scrap VAT and green levies on household energy bills, in a move that the party says would save the average family £200 per year.

To promote the policy, Reform ran a prize draw for the winner and neighbours on their street to have their energy bills, up to a cost of £3,500 per household, paid for a year.

It appears that the competition winners, Ray and June, are not only “staunch” party members but they were pictured with Farage at a Brexit Party event seven years ago.

On X, freelance journalist Don McGowan shared a photo of Ray and June pictured with Farage at a Brexit Party rally in 2019.

One X user commented: “Wigan is one of the councils up for election in May. Is this legal?”.

Petition’s rationale: “Along with 60% of the British public, according to some data, I believe it is time to change the voting system for the Westminster Parliament and review alternatives. I believe that too many people feel their votes do not count, and that under the First Past the Post system millions of votes are wasted and representation bears little resemblance to votes cast. In my view, a more proportional voting system would help ensure that representation reflected votes cast and that voters would be treated with respect.”

When Erin Sharkey had miscarriages, they brought devastation and uncertainty - not least when it came to her and her partner deciding how much time they should take off work to help to process their loss.

But now, for her and others in Northern Ireland, there is an answer in extra support as it has become the first part of the UK where a woman and her partner are entitled to two weeks of paid leave if they experience a miscarriage at any stage of pregnancy.

For Erin, a volunteer with the Miscarriage Association, the move will "give people the validation for their feelings, and time to process the loss together".

She said her employer had been supportive but "societally" she felt pressure to go back to work.

Her miscarriages, she said, were like having "all your dreams for gorgeous happy moments come crashing down" - from planning to a future with a child to total loss.

What miscarriage leave is available in Northern Ireland?

The two weeks of leave for a woman and her partner is paid at the statutory level of just more than £194 per week, or 90% of weekly pay if that's lower.

It can be taken as one continuous period, or as two separate weeks, within 56 weeks of miscarriage and parents do not have to provide medical evidence - they only have to tell their employer what happened.

Before the change, parents in Northern Ireland were only entitled to two weeks' paid bereavement leave following a stillbirth after at least 24 weeks of pregnancy, if they had been in their job for 26 weeks.

That remains the law in the rest of the UK.

However, the Westminster government is planning to bring in a change for England, Scotland and Wales in 2027 – to provide parents with a right to take unpaid leave for a minimum of one week following a miscarriage at any stage of pregnancy.

Across the UK, parents are also entitled to paid statutory maternity and paternity leave after a stillbirth at 24 weeks or later.

(More details in article)

On 23 June 2016, the British voter changed. Before that day, they picked a party, usually red or blue. By that morning, only two tribes mattered: remain or leave. And they kept mattering long, long after the result was declared. Rather than bin those short-lived and now stale allegiances, voters made them their personas.

No longer a “Labour man” or a “Conservative family”, they became instead “remoaners” or “Brexiters”. Even today, 60% of Britons still identify themselves by where they scrawled a single cross in a one-off poll 10 years ago

Ask about the difference Brexit has made and the answer normally concerns policy or high politics: how our economic trajectory has become bumpier, or how the Tories keep getting into punch-ups with each other. But it became so much bigger than Boris v Dave. The civil war blazed through the country, and recruited nearly all of us to one side or the other. The effects still ripple through our elections and media today.

Before the murder of George Floyd or the arrival of the Covid vaccine, contemporary Britain’s most powerful form of identity politics was Brexit. Before Gaza, it was the event that radicalised a generation of voters.

Without the referendum, you have no GB News and definitely no The Rest Is Politics…

… Our evidence comes from a new book by politics professors Sara Hobolt and James Tilley. In Tribal Politics: How Brexit Divided Britain, they conducted and analysed surveys of large numbers of voters over many years. Put together, the story is both simple and very different from the one told by the likes of Farage.

Listen to the co-founder of the company trading as Reform, and Brexit was a desire clutched to the breast of all right-thinking Britons. The truth is that, until the referendum, the British public hardly gave any thought to the EU. If polled, most would express some form of Euroscepticism, but no overwhelming desire for exit. When David Cameron instructed his party in 2006 to “stop banging on about Europe”, it was because the subject left voters cold. But that was years before the Tory leader capitulated to his backbenchers.

At that point, an obsession of one small fraction of the Westminster elite was made a public concern, given months of airtime and front pages. The rest of us picked one of two sides, talked about it down the pub or at family dinners. Anyone who has read a recent self-help book knows what happens next. The author of the bestseller Atomic Habits (25m copies and counting), James Clear, writes: “To change your behaviour for good, you need to start believing new things about yourself. You need to build identity-based habits.”

Your position on Brexit became an identity-based habit, reiterated over and over. Crucially, none of this stopped on polling day. The narrowness of the result, the shock it caused at Westminster and the scale of the change ahead for British politics, businesses and households meant the argument continued, became even more public…

Free ‘play and stay’ services will be offered at 12 new ‘Best Start’ family hubs to open across Lancashire including Preston, Leyland and Chorley.

Families across the North West struggling with the cost of living can save money on services including free stay and play sessions for babies and young children, as 26 new Best Start Family Hubs open nationwide, building on the legacy of Sure Start.

Parents will be able to access help with infant feeding, parenting advice and early support for children with SEND, in one place, reducing the need to pay for private classes or specialist support.

On top of savings of up to £200 a year through free stay and play sessions, many hubs will also provide access to debt advice and welfare guidance, which could help families access support they may otherwise miss and improve their financial position.

Full list of new Lancashire hubs:

- Best Start Family Hub - Burnley Wood, Burnley

- Best Start Family Hub - The Park, Hyndburn

- Best Start Family Hub - Clitheroe

- Best Start Family Hub - Brierfield, Burnley

- Best Start Family Hub - Fleetwood

- Best Start Family Hub - St. Annes

- Best Start Family Hub - Lune Park, Lancaster and Wyre

- Best Start Family Hub - Maden, Rossendale and Darwen

- Best Start Family Hub - West Paddock, Leyland

- Best Start Family Hub - Ribbleton,Preston

- Best Start Family Hub - Highfield, Chorley

- Best Start Family Hub - Eavesdale, West Lancashire

“• No more ‘no-fault’ evictions – landlords in the private rented sector won’t be able to evict tenants without a valid reason.

• Goodbye to fixed contracts – all tenancies in the private rented sector will roll on from month to month or week to week with no end date, giving renters more flexibility. Tenants can end them with two months’ notice as well.

• Fairer rent rules – landlords can only raise rent once a year, and renters can challenge unfair hikes.

• No more bidding wars – landlords must stick to no more than the advertised rent price.

• One month’s rent upfront, max – landlords can’t ask for more.

• No discrimination – it’ll be illegal to refuse tenants just because they receive benefits or have kids.

• Pets welcome – renters can now ask to live with a pet and landlords must consider it fairly.

From late 2026, more improvements will roll out:

• A Private Rented Sector Database. This is a register of all landlords and rental properties in England, so you can check who you’re renting from. The new online database will be rolled out gradually by area from late 2026, showing who is renting out homes across England. You’ll be able to check your landlord and see if they’re properly registered once it is live in the area you live.

• A free complaints service. The Private Landlord Ombudsman will be launched to help renters sort complaints against landlords quickly and fairly - without needing to go to court. It will create an independent person to resolve your complaints against your landlord quickly and fairly.

Progressing future plans - warmer and safer homes. The government is also continuing work to improve living conditions in privately rented homes. Consultations will inform their timelines.”

The UK government has published The Representation of the People Bill. The bill covers:

• introducing more automated forms of voter registration
• lowering the voting age so that 16-year-olds can vote in UK elections
• expanding the list of accepted voter ID
• strengthening political finance controls
• giving candidates more protection from abuse
• strengthening the enforcement of political finance laws.

Some key summaries (not exhaustive):

• "Research shows that as many as 8 million people are unregistered. Introducing automated registration would make participation in elections easier. The UK government is exploring options for automated forms of voter registration.
• Groups less likely to be registered to vote: people aged 18-34 (71%), ethnic minorities (77%), private renters (65%), recent movers (39%). This is compared to the national average of 86%.
• Lowering the voting age to 16 and 17-year-olds in all UK elections will give around 1.7 million people the right to vote. Young people who have just gained the right to vote are more likely to take part in elections if they understand how the voting process works and what they need to do.
• Research shows that when enfranchised, 16 and 17-year-olds tend to vote in greater numbers than those enfranchised at 18. 
• The UK government has proposed: expanding the list of ID accepted at polling stations, to include bank cards as a non-photo form of voter ID; introducing a digital voter authority certificate; introducing digital ID that will be accepted at polling stations.

Reform UK is running a “horror show” at Kent County Council, with an aggressive atmosphere, political point-scoring and no improvements for residents, The Mirror has been told.

As Nigel Farage’s party prepares to mark one year in control of the county, this newspaper spoke to residents, charities and local politicians to understand what impact the party had made.

Reform ended a nearly 30-year Tory reign at Kent County Council (KCC) at last May’s local elections. Party figures promised it would be a “shop window” for how a Reform government could govern in Westminster and Mr Farage promised a "new dawn" in British politics.

But when The Mirror last week spoke to half a dozen people on the high street in Maidstone, Kent, not a single person could say how life had improved in the area. Eileen, 88, said: “Since Reform took over Kent County Council, it’s not been so good. Nothing gets done properly. The roads don't get swept, all things like that.”

Frank, 60, who lives in the area, said: “Nothing has changed. Nothing's got worse. Nothing's got better.” Paul, 70, added: “I can’t say I’ve seen a great deal of difference between the previous council - the Conservatives - to what it is now.”

Those working in local politics in Kent said the Reform administration has been combative, unconstructive and chaotic. More than half a dozen Reform councillors have either quit or left the party since last year’s election.

One of the most notable scandals involved a damaging video leak which showed Reform’s leader in Kent Linden Kemkaran swearing and telling her colleagues to "suck it up" in relation to her decisions on local government reorganisation.

Tory councillor Dan Watkins, who was unseated by Reform at a county level but remains a councillor at Canterbury city council, said Reform's management is the “worst approach” he has seen in seven years in local politics.

He said: “Debate is being shut down. Individuals are being personally criticised in the chamber and the whole thing seems just performative for national politics and I think that's a real loss to local democracy.”

He accused local party leaders of engaging in “gesture politics” on issues like immigration - which is controlled by the national government. “What we have at County Hall in Maidstone is Reform just engaging in gesture politics and fomenting an aggressive atmosphere where the whole thing is set up to be about doing down your opponents and scoring some national political points rather than any constructive debate,” he said.

(Continued in article)

• More than a million workers gained access to statutory sick pay for the first time as new employment rights came into force on April 6.

• The TUC said 1.2 million workers - mostly low-paid women - now have access to statutory sick pay, while 8.4 million people will benefit from sick pay paid from the first day of illness.

• Tens of thousands of workers also gained access to day-one paternity leave under the Employment Rights Act. Fathers and partners now have a day-one right to paternity leave, and all parents gain the day-one right to unpaid parental leave.

• Business Secretary Peter Kyle said: "We're delivering the most significant upgrade to workers' rights in a generation."

• TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said the changes represent a "landmark day" for workers. He added: "For too long, low-paid workers – especially women – have missed out on any form of sick pay."

• The Joseph Rowntree Foundation welcomed the changes, saying they extend job security to millions of low-paid workers.

I thought I’d put this all into one resource as a common reference list. I’ll attach some sources in the comments, though it won’t be exhaustive:

• Passed the Renters Rights Act, which bans no-fault evictions, fixed-term tenancies and bidding wars, and caps rent in advance. With plans to roll out a free complaints service (the new Ombudsman scheme) and a national landlord database to verify compliance, among other things

• Passed the Employment Rights Act 2025, which limits zero-hour contracts and unfair dismissals, end fire-and-rehire, will introduce day 1 sick pay, paternity leave, and unpaid bereavement leave (incl. for pregnancy loss), and strengthens trade unions, among other things

• Started the Pride in Place programme for areas across the country. It provides 10 years of funding, designed to be used according to the needs and desires of local communities

• Introduced a child poverty strategy. This includes removing the two-child benefit cap, free breakfasts for England’s primary schools, expanding free school meals eligibility, capping school uniform costs, and rolling out Best Start family hubs

• The eco-friendly Warm Homes Plan, which currently includes the Warm Homes local grant and the Boiler Upgrade scheme. With plans to roll out low/zero-interest consumer loans for more households in future

• Introduced a £39 billion Social and Affordable homes programme, to last 10 years

• Made a deal with the EU to rejoin the Erasmus study programme from 2027

• Integrated live bus tracking into Google Maps for passengers in England, so you can see more precisely when your bus will arrive

• Made the Plan B (morning-after) pill free in England

• Introduced an Elections bill, lowering the voting age to 16. With plans for automatic voter registration, which could enfranchise 7-8 million people missing on the electoral register

• Banned cryptocurrency donations and capped political donations from overseas British donors

• Scrapped the £318 PARV order fee, protecting women from further abuse by ex-partners

• Introduced an English devolution bill, to put more powers into the hands of local authorities.

Alongside what has been mentioned in previous posts, I’d like to draw attention to some more policies under this Government. I’ll add source links in the comments:

• Started the Pride in Place programme for areas across the country. This programme provides 10 years of funding, designed to be used according to the needs and desires of local communities

• Introduced a child poverty strategy. This includes removing the two-child benefit cap, free breakfast schemes for primary schools in England, expanding free school meals eligibility, capping school uniform costs, and rolling out Best Start family hubs

• Will roll out the eco-friendly Warm Homes Plan, which currently includes the Warm Homes local grant and the Boiler Upgrade scheme, with plans to roll out low or zero-interest consumer loans for households in future

• Introduced a £39 billion Social and Affordable homes programme, to last over 10 years

• Made a deal with the EU to rejoin the Erasmus study programme from 2027

• Expanded free childcare

• Integrated live bus tracking into Google Maps for passengers across England, so you can see more precisely when your bus will arrive

• Made the Plan B (morning-after) pill free in England

• Introduced an Elections bill, lowering the voting age to 16. With plans for automatic voter registration, which could enfranchise 7-8 million people missing on the electoral register

• Banned cryptocurrency donations and capped political donations from overseas British donors

• Are doing weekend voting pilot schemes

• Scrapped the £318 PARV order fee, protecting women from further abuse by ex-partners

• Introduced an English devolution bill, to put more powers into the hands of local authorities.

On Thursday March 26, during a ‘full council’ meeting at York’s Guildhall, an 80% supermajority of City of York Council (CYC) members voted in favour of a motion titled ‘Fair votes for all’ which endorsed Proportional Representation (PR) and called for a National Commission on Electoral Reform. CYC is the first local authority to approve such a motion since the 2024 general election.

Despite their longstanding rivalry on CYC, both the governing Labour Party and opposition Liberal Democrats supported the motion, with every councillor of those parties present for the debate voting in its favour.

In her introductory remarks, Cllr Hook said the motion was about ‘whether our democracy is fair and whether people can see that fairness reflected in the results that produces’, which ‘they can’t’ under First Past the Post (FPTP).

Seconder Cllr Knight spoke about how ‘the current system feels from the perspective of the people we represent’, saying that because ‘too many people cast their vote and see it make little or no difference to the outcome [of an election]’, they end up ‘questioning the value of taking part at all’.