All posts tagged: Local elections

Nigel Farage bags huge boost ahead of Reform UK’s local elections push | Politics | News

Nigel Farage bags huge boost ahead of Reform UK’s local elections push | Politics | News

Published by Sam Flores

Reform’s five-point jump has been confirmed by a second major poll as Nigel Farage’s party gears up for big gains in May’s local elections. Following pollster YouGov recording a jump of five to 10 points for Reform in its latest two polls, Opinium has now recorded a jump from four to nine points. According to data released by Opinium, Reform jumped from 26 to 28%, the Greens (15%) and Tories (17%) stood still, while Labour declined by some margin (22 to 19%). This comes as Sir Keir’s Labour crashes out in London, Scotland and Wales. In the capital, both the Conservatives and Labour are set for big losses, with the Greens taking control of several inner London councils, while Reform looks to control three councils in outer east London. In Wales meanwhile, Reform finds itself neck and neck with Welsh nationalists, Plaid Cymru, while in Scotland Reform is vying for second place with Labour behind the SNP. My hunch is a perception of closeness between Farage and Trump – which had knocked the Reform chief’s …

Farage Urged To Sack Candidate Who Said ‘Islam Is A Cancer’

Farage Urged To Sack Candidate Who Said ‘Islam Is A Cancer’

Published by Sam Flores

Nigel Farage has been urged to sack three Reform candidates standing in the upcoming local elections after HuffPost UK unearthed their past social media posts. Voters across England are set to head to the ballot box to elect more than 4,850 councillors on May 7. Reform is expected to do well, having held onto their lead in the opinion polls for more than a year. But, amid wider concerns about the party’s vetting system, HuffPost UK has uncovered several concerning social media posts from three of Reform’s upcoming candidates. Ricky Hodges, who is standing for Reform in Hastings, Tressell, posted a Family Guy meme in October on Facebook, joking about shooting outside No.10. He also claimed “Islam is a cancer” in a Facebook post from July 2025. He wrote: “We have let sharia law into our communities, we have given Muslims priority over our own people whilst they milk our benefits system to find there [sic] mosques! We have an open border with 1000s of Islamic extremists coming in un challenged!” He added: “I for …

Starmer forced into new local elections climbdown

Starmer forced into new local elections climbdown

Published by Sam Flores

Sir Keir Starmer has made another U-turn over when local elections can be held in a further victory for The Telegraph’s Campaign for Democracy. Labour is to change the law to prevent the Government from postponing local elections for more than a year for councils undergoing local government reorganisation. The amendment has been laid to its English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, limiting any delays to a maximum of 53 weeks. The Telegraph’s Campaign for Democracy forced the Prime Minister to abandon his controversial plans to delay 30 contests across the country, denying 4.6 million people the right to vote on May 7. Opposition parties claimed Labour was cancelling the contests, some for the second year in a row, to avoid embarrassing defeats at the ballot box. Exclusive polling for The Telegraph revealed Labour majorities on 10 of the councils would be wiped out if the elections went ahead. Reform UK launched a judicial review into the delays and, in February, Steve Reed, the Local Government Secretary, reversed the decision. Ministers had argued councils could …

Lionel Jospin (1937-2026): ‘Highly respected moral and intellectual figure among left wing’ – Spotlight

Lionel Jospin (1937-2026): ‘Highly respected moral and intellectual figure among left wing’ – Spotlight

Published by Sam Flores

François Picard is pleased to welcome Damien Lecomte, political scientist and researcher at CRPS-CESSP, Paris Pantheon-Sorbonne University. According to Dr. Lecomte, there is a persistent tension between unity and fragmentation in French politics, and the legacy of Lionel Jospin illustrates this paradox: a figure of moral integrity and intellectual rigour who successfully governed a broad left-wing coalition, yet was ultimately defeated by a divided electorate on the left. Jospin died on Sunday at the age of 88. For Dr. Lecomte, what emerges from both historical reflection and recent French municipal elections is a deep structural challenge. The left remains anchored in urban strongholds, but struggles to reconcile its moderate and radical components, while the right faces similar pressures in balancing traditional conservatism with the gravitational pull of the far right. Meanwhile, the National Rally continues its steady territorial implantation, particularly outside major cities, reshaping the political landscape not through dramatic victories but through cumulative local gains. This produces a fragmented political field in which no camp easily achieves coherence. Electoral dynamics are increasingly shaped by geography, …

Marseille mayoral race narrows after hard-left withdrawal

Marseille mayoral race narrows after hard-left withdrawal

Published by Sam Flores

In France’s second city, Marseille, residents headed to polling stations to choose their new mayor among three candidates: incumbent left-wing Mayor Benoît Payan, far-right candidate Franck Allisio, and conservative Martine Vassal. Hard-left candidate Sébastien Delogu withdrew after scoring lower than expected, in an attempt to block the far right from winning. FRANCE 24’s Clovis Casali reports from Marseille. Keywords for this article Source link

French mayors: Throwing in the sash? – Entre Nous

French mayors: Throwing in the sash? – Entre Nous

Published by Sam Flores

To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. Accept Manage my choices One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Try again ENTRE NOUS © FRANCE 24 Issued on: 19/03/2026 – 16:45Modified: 19/03/2026 – 16:50 06:57 min From the show Reading time 1 min The second round of French municipal elections are taking place this coming weekend, but the vast majority of mayors – particularly in small towns – have already been elected. In this edition of Entre Nous, we take a look at what the job entails, why so many mayors say they are exhausted, why so many of them have quit in the past term… and how to properly wear a mayoral sash. By: Source link

Labour denies 4 million people the vote | UK | News

Labour denies 4 million people the vote | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

Four million people are to be denied the vote in May’s local election (Image: Getty) Four million people are set to be denied the vote in May’s local elections in what the Tories and Reform UK have slammed as a “disgraceful attack on democracy” by Labour. The Government is expected to cancel at least 27 council elections, meaning hundreds of councillors will avoid the risk of being voted out, reports The Telegraph. The Tories and Reform UK accused Sir Keir Starmer of “running scared” of the electorate at a time when polls show a collapse in support for Labour . Nigel Farage’s party will on Thursday launch a judicial review in an attempt to make the elections go ahead. According to the report, the Prime Minister is relying on an obscure clause in the 2000 Local Government Act which gives his ministers the power to delay votes. More than 20 councils have confirmed delays – three quarters of which are Labour run. Seven more Labour councils are expected to join them, leaving a total of …