Writing the summary…
Reform confident it won't need to repay any of £72m under proposed new donor rules
Source: BBC Politics
Original reporting
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Leaders at Celtic summit to affirm right to seek independence from UK
Call for constitutional change in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales likely to challenge Burnham’s devolution agenda The first ministers of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are to affirm their countries’ right to seek independence from the UK at a summit that is likely to challenge Andy Burnham’s devolution agenda. The Plaid Cymru leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth, the Scottish National party leader, John Swinney , and the Sinn Féin vice-president, Michelle O’Neill, are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding at a landmark conference in Cardiff on Monday that will call on Westminster “to prepare, plan and facilitate constitutional change in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland”. Continue reading...
The Guardian
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The Guardian
Who better to defend Reform’s latest millions than Honest Bob Jenrick? | John Crace
The man who once helped Richard ‘Dirty’ Desmond save a load of tax was wheeled out to face Laura Kuenssberg You wait years for one party donation of £36m and then two come along at once . Reform can hardly believe its luck. All hail the crypto billionaires. Tacky pale turquoise suits all round. And Nigel Farage won’t have to worry about spending any of his own money – if you can call the £5m freebie his own money – on his security. Nor do those champagne and oyster lunches to discuss loose change donations of £500k from people living overseas pay for themselves. From now on Reform won’t need to bother getting out of bed for anything less than eight figures. Fair to say that if it had been Labour or the Tories trousering £72m from Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo then Reform would be on full outrage rampage. How the political system was rigged against it and how the two main parties are
The Guardian
How could Reform UK spend its £72m of new billionaire donations?
Harborne and Delo’s cash could buy a massive head start in an election, but spending big has possible pitfalls Nigel Farage once said he could spend his £5m gift from Christopher Harborne on Ferraris if he wanted to, given its unconditional nature. With the new donations to his party from Harborne and his fellow crypto billionaire Ben Delo of £72m over the past weekend alone, Farage’s party now has nearly enough cash to buy a Reform UK branded Ferrari for a party organiser in each of Britain’s 632 constituencies (though that would certainly be a waste and a bit of a tax headache). Continue reading...
The Guardian
Reform’s Robert Jenrick ‘very confident’ £72m donations are ‘perfectly legal’ – as it happened
Party’s economic spokesperson says donations are a ‘breakthrough moment’ as Labour’s Angela Rayner warns of possible retrospective action Reform UK’s £72m donations may be caught by new bill, Rayner suggests Christopher Harborne matches £36m Reform donation of Ben Delo Analysis: Donations of £72m make Reform’s prospects both rosier and riskier Will also point out here that across the Sunday politics shows this morning, neither Labour nor the Tories ruled out accepting such huge sums from crypto-billionaires in the future. Nigel Farage says that donations just go to putting Reform on a “more level playing field” with the more established parties. Continue reading...
The Guardian
Director who oversaw Grenfell cost-cutting given senior council housing role
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