Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has said that his party can take power at the next election if it works fast at becoming more professional. Speaking at the Reform UK conference in Birmingham, Mr Farage pledged to work at “breakneck speed” to build up the party. He told supporters: “We can win the next general election just with the numbers of people that agree with our principles. What we have to do is to be credible. What we have to do is be on the ground everywhere. What we have to do is show that we can bring success after success… If we do those things, we genuinely can.” Mr Farage admitted that “amateurism” let down the party at the general election. He added: “At that stage of our development, we weren’t big enough, wealthy enough, professional enough to vet general election candidates properly, and that amateurism let us down.”
Politics UK – live: Farage says Reform can take power at next election as Starmer pledges no free clothes
Farage says there’s some truth in Trump’s claim Haitian migrants are eating pets
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Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has said that his party can take power at the next election if it works fast at becoming more professional.
Speaking at the Reform UK conference in Birmingham, Mr Farage pledged to work at “breakneck speed” to build up the party.
He told supporters: “We can win the next general election just with the numbers of people that agree with our principles. What we have to do is to be credible. What we have to do is be on the ground everywhere. What we have to do is show that we can bring success after success… If we do those things, we genuinely can.”
Mr Farage admitted that “amateurism” let down the party at the general election. He added: “At that stage of our development, we weren’t big enough, wealthy enough, professional enough to vet general election candidates properly, and that amateurism let us down.”
Meanwhile senior Labour leaders have pledged not to take any further donations for clothing after a freebies row. Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, his deputy Angela Rayner and chancellor Rachel Reeves will no longer accept money for clothes, it was reported on Friday.
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We don’t want news to be dominated by conversations about clothes, Nandy says
The public commentary around clothing donations is not what Labour wants to focus on as the party goes into its conference, culture secretary Lisa Nandy has suggested.
She told Sky News: “We certainly don’t want the news and the commentary to be dominated by conversations about clothes when we have a really positive agenda for this country.
“But I think these have always been very difficult issues in British politics. We rightly have a system, I think, where the taxpayer doesn’t fund these things, we don’t claim on expenses for them so MPs will always take donations, will always take gifts in kind, MPs of all political parties have historically done that and that is the system that we have.”
She said she had not received any clothing gifts from donors, but added: “I don’t make any judgment about what other Members of Parliament do.
“The only judgment I would make is, if they are breaking the rules and they are trying to hide what they are doing, that is when problems arise.”
(Getty Images)
Holly Bancroft21 September 2024 09:55
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Labour leaders ‘don’t want people to believe’ that they are living different lives from the public, minister says
Senior government figures’ decision to stop accepting donations of clothes is aimed at ending the perception they are living “very different lives” from the public amid ongoing cost-of-living pressures, Lisa Nandy suggested.
Asked about the reasoning behind the decision, the culture secretary told BBC Breakfast: “For exactly the reason that you just said, that people are really struggling in this country, and we don’t want people to believe that we are living very different lives from them.
“Most people who go into politics, of all political parties, are ordinary people who want to make people’s lives better.
“It is important to us that people know that that is what we are as a government and that we have their priorities absolutely up front and centre of ours.
“The country’s priorities are our priorities.”
Ms Nandy said the most important thing the government had done since coming to office was being “open and transparent about what we are doing”.
Sir Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves will stop taking donations for clothing after a row over freebies.
Holly Bancroft21 September 2024 09:34
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Eminem, fireworks, and the cult of Nigel Farage: Inside Reform UK’s party conference
Political correspondent Millie Cooke is at the Reform UK conference this weekend.
Here is part of her dispatch from the first day on Friday:
“Reform UK’s conference had the buzz of a party punching well above its weight. And that is exactly what the party’s leadership is attempting to do. Nigel Farage and other senior figures spent today’s conference – the largest it has ever held – trying to persuade its members, and the wider public, that it is a credible electoral force.
They even went so far as to suggest Mr Farage could be the next prime minister.
With just five sitting MPs, the most the party has ever secured in its short history, it’s certainly a bold ambition.
Telling members “the sky is the limit”, Mr Farage also laid down some serious policy changes that he said would help get them there.
Speaking without notes on the main stage, after walking in to the sound of Eminem’s ‘Without Me’ accompanied by a selection of pyrotechnics, Mr Farage – perhaps underwhelmingly to some watchers – said the party needs to emulate… the Liberal Democrats.”
Holly Bancroft21 September 2024 09:19
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Chancellor reportedly considering increasing alcohol duty
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is reportedly considering increasing alcohol duties in next month’s Budget.
Ms Reeves has not ruled out putting up tax on beer, wine and spirits as part of a plan to restore public finances, according to a report in The Telegraph.
She has been presented with forecasts that show that putting up alcohol duty would raise an extra £800m next year.
However drinks industry bosses warned that tax takings could actually go down if customers baulk at higher prices and buy less.
(REUTERS)
Holly Bancroft21 September 2024 09:02
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Starmer, Rayner and Reeves will no longer accept donations for clothes
Sir Keir Starmer, deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and chancellor Rachel Reeves will no longer accept donations for clothing after a political row over freebies, it has been reported.
The prime minister was facing questions over taking thousands of pounds of donations for work clothing and spectacles. Sir Keir said he had always followed the rules on donations.
Labour is trying to draw a line under the row ahead of their party conference, which starts on Sunday.
(Getty Images)
Holly Bancroft21 September 2024 08:37
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Reform UK leader Nigel Farage says party can win next election
Nigel Farage has told his supporters that the Reform party can win the next election if it becomes more professional.
Speaking at the party’s conference in Birmingham, Mr Farage told attendees on Friday: “We can win the next general election just with the numbers of people that agree with our principles. What we have to do is be credible. What we have to do is be on the ground everywhere. What we have to do is to show that we can bring success after success after success. If we do those things, we genuinely can.”
Mr Farage said the support was already out there for Reform UK ideas, adding: “I don’t believe we actually have to convert anybody. I think it’s out there, I think among existing Labour and Conservative voters and among non voters.”
However he warned the party needed to get serious if they were going to grow their supporter base. “We have to work at breakneck speed to build branches, to find candidates, to vet them and achieve what I think we can.”
(Getty Images)
Holly Bancroft21 September 2024 08:32
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Analysis: Will Labour conference be joyous occasion or mood-killer?
Labour’s conference in Liverpool will be the first such gathering since 2009 to be held while the party is in government, and the first post-election victory celebration since 2005. Sean O’Grady looks forward to the sticky – and interesting – bits:
Jane Dalton21 September 2024 07:00
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Farage says Reform UK needs to model itself on Lib Dems
Jane Dalton21 September 2024 05:15
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Reeves will spare crumbling hospitals from spending review, minister suggests
Hospitals built from crumbling concrete will be replaced as a priority and spared from a spending review Rachel Reeves has vowed to undertake, a letter to MPs suggests.
The Chancellor announced in July that all projects in the New Hospitals Programme promised by the previous Conservative government would be reviewed.
But seven hospitals built with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) across England will not be subject to this, a letter sent by health secretary Wes Streeting to MPs has now suggested.
The lightweight concrete, used in public buildings including schools and hospitals between the 1950s and 1990s, has started to deteriorate.
“Central to the review is the understanding that the hospitals built primarily from Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (Raac) need to be replaced as a priority, to protect patient and staff safety,” Mr Streeting’s letter said.
Jane Dalton21 September 2024 03:30
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Reeves under pressure to axe winter fuel cut after £10bn windfall
Rachel Reeves is under increasing pressure to scrap her plan to cut winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners after being handed a £10bn budget boost by the Bank of England (BoE):
Jane Dalton21 September 2024 01:44
Read the full story on www.independent.co.uk
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/farage-reform-conference-starmer-labour-uk-politics-news-b2616050.html