A former Reform councillor has explained why defecting to the party was the ‘biggest mistake of his life’, saying that Nigel Farage’s outfit are ‘very good at spin, but struggle with good governance.’...

A government spokesman tells the BBC that the current offer "does not do enough to protect consumers or the environment".

In speech on Tuesday, Tory leader will claim obligation to consider equality being used to advance ‘divisive agendas’ Kemi Badenoch will vow to scrap the duty on public bodies to consider how they can promote equality as she seeks to head off the challenge from Reform UK by presenting her party as responsible but also in tune with populist anger. Badenoch, who was Conservative minister for equalities between 2020 and 2022, will commit to scrapping the public sector equality duty (PSED), a legal requirement obliging those bodies to think how they can improve society and promote equality in their day-to-day business. Continue reading...

Officers review claims that the Reform MP’s 2024 Conservative leadership campaign received an illegal foreign contribution

The downsizing comes after 152 science jobs were axed in an earlier restructure when several agencies formed to create the Bioeconomy Science Institute.