Reform UK's Farage to Vow Benefit Hikes in Attack on Starmer
The Reform UK leader is set to hold a press conference Tuesday morning during which he will claim the policies would be funded by abandoning net-zero emissions pledges, getting rid of accommodation for asylum seekers and shaving expenditures on quasi-government agencies — known as quangos — by 5%.
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24 minutes ago
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Cabinet minister calls Corbyn ‘chaotic' after new party launch
Jeremy Corbyn has been described as 'chaotic' and 'not a serious politician' by a Cabinet minister, after the ex-Labour leader announced the launch of a new political party. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said that the Islington North MP 'doesn't think about governing, he thinks about posturing' and praised the leadership of Mr Corbyn's successor Sir Keir Starmer. The ex-Labour leader promised a 'new kind of political party' when he launched the as yet unnamed project with Zarah Sultana on Thursday. Asked about the move, Mr Kyle reflected on what he called the 'chaos and instability' of Mr Corbyn's leadership. Speaking on Times Radio, Mr Kyle said: 'He's not a serious politician. He doesn't think about governing, he thinks about posturing. And we see that writ large at the moment, because all the posturing, of course, just puts him at odds with his own supporters, which is why you've got George Galloway saying he won't join it.' He later added: 'The Labour Party is now led by somebody who has the very clear interest of our country at heart. It is country first, and that's the kind of thing I think people are responding to. 'We see Keir acting incredibly well on the international stage in recent months, tackling some of the big issues facing the world and its economy and he's thrown himself into fixing our public services. I think this is the kind of leadership that people respond to, not that of the chaotic Jeremy Corbyn.' Mr Corbyn said on Friday that '200,000 people have signed up' after Thursday's launch. The movement has the website with a welcome message saying 'this is your party' – but Ms Sultana said: 'It's not called Your Party.' Mr Corbyn denied on Thursday that the launch had been 'messy'. His statement on X came after Ms Sultana said she was launching the party with Mr Corbyn earlier this month, but the former Labour leader appeared unready to formally announce the move until now. 'It's not messy at all. It's a totally coherent approach,' he told reporters. 'It's democratic, it's grassroots and it's open.' He also said that he and Coventry South MP Ms Sultana are 'working very well together'. Asked why it was him alone doing broadcast media to launch the party, and also asked where Ms Sultana was, he said: 'We're working absolutely together on this. 'She happens to be, as far as I know at this moment, in Coventry. 'I was in touch with her just a few moments ago. So it's all fine. We're working very well together, all of us.'
Yahoo
5 hours ago
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Who can afford the electric revolution? The £700m question
The UK government recently unveiled a £700 million package aimed at jumpstarting the electric vehicle (EV) transition. At the heart of the plan is a £640 million subsidy scheme to help drivers cover the upfront cost of a new electric vehicle, and an additional £63 million to expand EV charging infrastructure. Switch Auto Insurance and Save Today! Affordable Auto Insurance, Customized for You Great Rates and Award-Winning Service The Insurance Savings You Expect The message from Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is clear: electric vehicles must become more accessible to the average motorist. 'There are a lot of people out there who think that EVs are just for the very wealthiest,' she admitted to The Telegraph. And on the surface, she's not wrong. The average price of a new electric car in Britain is just shy of £50,000, more than double the cost of a typical petrol model. But the message beneath the headline is more ambiguous. Is this plan enough to truly democratise the EV market? Or is it just another patchwork attempt to meet the looming 2030 petrol and diesel car ban, without fully reckoning with the underlying economics of the transition? Too steep for the mass market Let's be blunt: for the vast majority of households in Britain, a £50,000 vehicle is simply not in the realm of possibility. Even with a government grant, rumoured to prioritise UK-made EVs like the upcoming Nissan Leaf from Sunderland, the affordability gap remains vast. The previous Conservative government scrapped EV subsidies in 2022, claiming the market had matured. Since then, demand from private buyers has plummeted, with new consumer EV enquiries dropping 65% year-on-year. It's not just the sticker price. EVs face high depreciation rates due to battery degradation, and many consumers remain wary of both their long-term reliability and resale value. Buying an EV is still perceived by many as a financial risk, not a forward-looking investment. This is the crux of the problem: net zero targets depend on mass adoption, but mass adoption depends on affordability. And the market has failed to close that gap on its own. A patch for a broken model? To be fair, the government's new package includes more than just subsidies. Councils will receive £25 million for cross-pavement gullies, allowing people in terraced houses to charge their EVs at home using cheaper electricity rates. A further £63 million will expand public charging infrastructure and improve signage, a necessary step to address so-called 'range anxiety.' Yet infrastructure is not the primary barrier, it's economics. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), EVs accounted for about 20% of new car sales in the first half of 2025. But that growth is increasingly driven by fleet and leasing schemes, not individual consumers. Motability One potentially transformative idea comes from Julian Rose of Asset Finance Policy, who argues that the government could build on the existing Motability scheme to create a fairer and more effective solution to the EV affordability crisis. Rose proposes a revised scheme focused on used EVs and hybrids, with eligibility expanded to include not just those with medical conditions, but also households on low incomes. Key to the idea is removing VAT from lease payments, as with the current Motability model, and offering a modest upfront grant — perhaps £1,000 — to reduce monthly payments. Rose also suggests capped interest rates and using the proven administrative frameworks of Clean Air Zone vehicle replacement schemes to prevent abuse. This approach, he argues, would not only 'help struggling families obtain vital mobility at an affordable monthly cost,' but would also 'strengthen the used car EV market,' reducing depreciation risk and encouraging new EV purchases. With used EV prices currently low, Rose sees this as a 'one-off opportunity' to both support families and build resilience into the second-hand EV market—complementing, not competing with, the government's newly announced subsidy programme. Leasing Meanwhile, private leasing continues to offer a critical bridge. UK-based and continental initiatives like Belgium's LIZY have made second-hand EV leasing more accessible, offering fixed monthly costs that are often lower than car loans. These platforms are proving essential for younger, urban drivers and SMEs who need flexibility and lower upfront investment. Such business models show that affordability isn't just about the purchase price, it's about the total cost of use. Leasing could help normalise EVs in the public mind and serve as a bridge to wider ownership, but these solutions are only scalable if backed by supportive policies and a competitive second-hand EV market. Risk of a two-tier transition What the government is offering now is a partial step forward, welcome, but insufficient. A £640 million grant scheme may provide short-term stimulus, especially for British-made models, but it won't fix the structural problems of price, depreciation, and market segmentation. There's a very real risk we're heading toward a two-tier EV transition: one where company fleets and wealthy households lead the charge, while ordinary drivers are left behind. That undermines both climate goals and social equity. If this revolution is truly meant for everyone, then it can't be designed around those who can already afford to participate. The electric future must be one the average person can actually buy into — literally. So yes, £700 million is a big number. But unless it translates into genuine affordability for the mass market, it won't be nearly enough. "Who can afford the electric revolution? The £700m question" was originally created and published by Motor Finance Online, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
6 hours ago
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UK fears new summer of unrest, year after Southport riots
Concern is mounting that recent violent anti-immigrant protests could herald a new summer of unrest, a year after the UK was rocked by its worst riots in decades. Police have arrested 16 people since protests flared last week outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in the town of Epping, northeast of London. In one demonstration, eight police officers were injured. The unrest was "not just a troubling one-off", said the chairwoman of the Police Federation, Tiff Lynch. "It was a signal flare. A reminder of how little it takes for tensions to erupt and how ill-prepared we remain to deal with it," she wrote in the Daily Telegraph. Protestors shouted "save our children" and "send them home", while banners called for the expulsion of "foreign criminals". Cabinet minister Jonathan Reynolds on Thursday urged people not to speculate or exaggerate the situation, saying "the government, all the key agencies, the police, they prepare for all situations. "I understand the frustrations people have," he told Sky News. The government was trying to fix the problem and that the number of hotels occupied by asylum seekers had dropped from 400 to 200, he added. The issue of thousands of irregular migrants arriving in small boats across the Channel, coupled with the UK's worsening economy, has triggered rising anger among some Britons. Such sentiments have been amplified by inflammatory messaging on social networks, fuelled by far-right activists. Almost exactly a year ago on July 29, 2024, three young girls were stabbed to death in a frenzied attack in northwestern Southport. The shocking killings stoked days of riots across the country after false reports that the killer -- a UK-born teenager whose family came to the country from Rwanda after the 1994 genocide -- was a migrant. Nearly 24,000 migrants have made the perilous journey across the Channel so far in 2025, the highest-ever tally at this point in a year. The issue has become politically perilous, putting pressure on Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer's centre-left government, as the anti-immigrant, far-right Reform UK party rises in the polls. - 'More unrest likely' - The Epping protests were stirred after a 38-year-old asylum seeker, who only arrived in Britain in late June, was arrested and charged with three counts of sexual assault. Images from the protests have gone viral on social networks, mirroring what happened last July. But Epping residents have maintained that the protests are being fuelled by people from outside the community. "These violent scenes ... are not Epping, and they are not what we stand for," the Conservative MP for Epping, Neil Hudson, told parliament Monday. While calm was restored to Epping, a middle-class suburban town with a population of 12,000, tensions remain palpable. "This is the first time something like this has happened," one local who lives close to the Bell Hotel told AFP, asking not to be named. "The issue is not the hotel, but extremists applying a political ideology," he added. Late on Thursday, the hotel, cordoned off behind barriers, was again the centre of a protest involving dozens of people, with police making one arrest. With another protest expected on Sunday, the local council voted through a motion to demand the government no longer house asylum seekers at the hotel. The UK is "likely to see more racist riots take place this summer", said Aurelien Mondon, politics professor and expert on far-right and reactionary discourse at Bath University. Anti-immigrant protests have already erupted elsewhere, with demonstrations in the southeastern town of Diss in Norfolk outside a similar hotel on Monday. Last month, clashes flared for several days in the town of Ballymena in Northern Ireland after two teenagers with Romanian roots were arrested for the alleged attempted rape of a young girl. - 'Civil disobedience' - "It is well documented that many of the protests we are witnessing are not the result of grassroots, local movements," Mondon said. "Social media plays a role and facilitates coordination amongst extreme-right groups," but it is "also crucial not to exaggerate" its power, he added. High-profile far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who was blamed for stoking the Southport unrest, announced he would be in Epping on Sunday, before later seeming to scrap the plan. The firebrand anti-Islam campaigner has just been freed from jail after spreading fake news about a Syrian immigrant, but faces trial on a separate issue in 2026. "I don't think anybody in London even understands just how close we are to civil disobedience on a vast scale," said Reform leader Nigel Farage. "Most of the people outside that hotel in Epping weren't far right or far left," he said, they "were just genuinely concerned families". mct-ebl/jkb/jj/lb
