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Councils face revolt over cancelled elections

Government accused of ‘running scared of voters’ as councillors step down in protest over delays Daily Telegraph 29/01/26 Councillors have launched a revolt after Labour cancelled local elections for 4.6 million people. Norfolk, one of Britain’s biggest councils, has been hit by a string of resignations in protest over the delays, which have been branded a “democratic outrage”. Meanwhile, the leader of Welwyn Hatfield council stood down after a backlash over cancelled voting drove its ruling coalition to the brink of collapse. Essex, another major council that was thought to have been considering cancellations, formally announced on Thursday that it would hold a vote after all. The Telegraph understands a string of other councillors across Britain are also considering whether to stand down, potentially forcing local authorities to hold dozens of by-elections. Labour announced plans earlier this month to deny millions of people the vote, leaving some with no say over who contro...
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Reform reports Labour to police over ‘misleading’ video

Matt Goodwin, the Reform candidate for Gorton and Denton by-election, says his comments on Manchester deliberately taken out of context Daily Telegraph 28/07/26 Reform UK has reported Labour to the police over a “misleading” video that attacked its candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election. Matt Goodwin, who is contesting the by-election for Reform, claimed that Labour breached the Representation of the People’s Act 1983 which bans any “false statement of fact” against a candidate. His complaint to Greater Manchester Police centres on the way the Labour party used a video posted previously on X by Mr Goodwin. In the video, the Reform candidate says: “I was lucky enough or unfortunate enough to be in Manchester a few days ago and the energy in this room is 10 times what it was in Manchester so congratulations.” The Labour Party account captioned the clip: “This is what Reform’s latest candidate thinks about where he’s standing to represent.” But Mr Goodwin, a former Univer...
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Starmer’s not fit to tie bootlaces of veterans he hounded

The fact that our Prime Minister offered his service for free to prosecute troops who served this country is shocking, even to me Daily Telegraph 27/01/25 In my efforts to dismantle their approach over the past 10 years, I have often tried to understand what drives politicians who continually advocate for the endless hounding of troops who serve this country on operations. They can’t claim to represent the British public. Unfortunately for politicians, the public are not stupid. They understand the fog of war, that things go wrong, and that nothing is black and white. They want those egregious cases of serious wrongdoing prosecuted – we run professional Armed Forces, have built our country on their legacy and are deeply proud of their service. But the public cannot understand this almost insatiable desire from some quarters to harass British soldiers. That The Telegraph – which I have worked with for more than 10 years on this subject now – revealed that Sir Keir Starmer, our Pr...
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Reverse Burnham ban, Gorton’s Labour activists tell Starmer

Party members say blocking Mayor of Greater Manchester from running will hand seat to Reform Daily Telegraph 27/01/26 Labour activists in Gorton and Denton have demanded Sir Keir Starmer reverse the decision to block Andy Burnham from standing for Parliament. Sir Keir and his allies have prevented Mr Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, from running in a by-election in the seat on Feb 26. Seventeen members of Gorton and Denton’s local Labour party have written a letter to the Prime Minister accusing him of “playing” with their future and handing the seat to Reform UK. The letter, which will be sent on Tuesday, tells Sir Keir that the National Executive Committee (NEC), Labour’s ruling body, “should reverse the decision to block Andy Burnham and allow him and anyone else to stand”. The Gorton activists said their “future has been played by party figures in Westminster”. They write: Dear Keir Starmer MP, Leader of the Labour Party, and Shabana Mahmood MP, Chair of the NEC,...
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Suella Braverman defects to Reform

Former home secretary is latest Tory MP to join Nigel Farage’s party, just days after Robert Jenrick Daily Telegraph 26/01/26 Suella Braverman has become the latest senior Conservative to defect to Reform UK. The former home secretary’s decision to leave the Tories two weeks after Robert Jenrick and Nadhim Zahawi will pile further pressure on Kemi Badenoch. Mrs Braverman became the 27th current or former Conservative MP to defect to Nigel Farage’s party and brought the number of Reform seats in the Commons to eight. The latest defection will likely be touted as a major coup by Reform after Mr Farage said he was looking to gain more ministerial and policy expertise in the party. Unveiling his newest MP at a press conference on Monday, he said it was “about time” Mrs Braverman defected, describing her as “somebody who’s reached high office in the Cabinet”. In a scathing attack on her former colleagues, Mrs Braverman said: “I’m calling time on Tory betrayal. I’m calling time on...
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Labour row erupts after Andy Burnham blocked from byelection race

Allies of Greater Manchester mayor say No 10 has ‘chosen factionalism’ as decision leads to a furious backlash The Guardian 25/01/26 Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) has blocked Andy Burnham’s request to seek selection for the Gorton and Denton byelection, setting off an immediate and furious row within the party. A Labour statement said that under party rules, sitting mayors or police and crime commissioners must seek permission to stand for parliament. “The NEC has decided not to grant Andy Burnham permission to stand,” it said. “The NEC believes that causing an unnecessary election for the position of Greater Manchester mayor would have a substantial and disproportionate impact on party campaign resources ahead of the local elections and elections to the Scottish parliament and Welsh Senedd in May. Although the party would be confident of retaining the mayoralty, the NEC could not put Labour’s control of Greater Manchester at any risk. It added: “Andy Burnham is doing...
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Let Burnham stand or face revolt, Starmer told

Concerns grow within Labour that party chiefs could block the Greater Manchester mayor’s return to Parliament Daily Telegraph 24/01/26 Sir Keir Starmer has been warned not to block Andy Burnham’s potential return to Parliament as a Labour MP or risk reprisals from his own backbenchers. The Prime Minister’s supporters fear that Mr Burnham, who is considered to be one of the most popular figures in the Labour Party, could pose a future challenge to his leadership. Andrew Gwynne, the suspended Labour MP, has confirmed he will step down from his Gordon and Denton seat, opening the door for the Greater Manchester mayor to seek a return to Westminster. There is growing concern within Labour that the party’s National Executive Committee [NEC], which must approve candidates and is widely seen as supportive of Sir Keir’s leadership, could attempt to block Mr Burnham from standing. In anticipation of Number 10’s plans to block the move, several high-profile Labour MPs have urged the NEC n...
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