Writing the summary…
Don’t discount Reform because it's had a bad year. In our angry, fragile democracy, anything can happen | John Harris
Source: The Guardian
Original reporting
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The Guardian
Victims say Home Office attempt to curtail spycops inquiry will result in a ‘cover-up’
Shabana Mahmood is concerned about length and £144m cost of inquiry into intrusive police surveillance Victims of intrusive police surveillance have accused the government of seeking to cut short the spycops public inquiry that has been examining widespread misconduct committed by undercover officers. The independent judge-led inquiry is scrutinising how officers, who spied on tens of thousands of political activists over more than four decades, carried out abuses such as deceiving women into sexual relationships and fathering children. Continue reading...
BBC Politics
An arrest, a defection and a new leader - how Reform's 'challenging' week unfolded
How an extraordinary seven days that rocked the party unfolded.
The Guardian
‘Flip the table and rise up’: Lib Dems’ president in combative mood as party gathers in Brighton
Josh Babarinde wants to target big tech and crypto billionaires while giving power and cash back to the public Standing outside Toynbee Hall in the East End of London, Josh Babarinde doesn’t exactly look like a rabble-rouser. But despite the well-cut suit and disarmingly large smile, the president of the Liberal Democrats is, apparently, up for a fight. “There are big modern giants that are getting in the way of people’s ability to thrive, and it is the job of Liberal Democrats to address that,” says the 33-year-old. “How are we going to do that? Well, first of all, we’ve got to flip the table over and rise up.” Continue reading...
The Guardian
Kemi Badenoch accuses Andy Burnham of ‘fiddling while Europe risks burning’
Tory leader claims prime minister is avoiding difficult decisions as she urges him to increase defence spending Kemi Badenoch has accused Andy Burnham of “fiddling while Europe is at risk of burning”, as she repeated her call for the prime minister to cut the welfare budget to fund increase spending on defence. Speaking to the Telegraph , the Tory leader said that “Burnham may be a people pleaser but difficult choices cannot be avoided through dither and delay”. Continue reading...
The Guardian
Ed Davey takes aim at Reform and Elon Musk as Lib Dem conference begins
Leader says party ‘won’t give up the fight’ to defeat ‘nasty populism’ in first-day speech to delegates in Brighton The Liberal Democrats’ leader, Sir Ed Davey, took aim at Nigel Farage and Elon Musk on the first day of his party’s annual conference, saying Lib Dems would not give up the fight to defeat “nasty populism” and Reform UK’s “£72m arsenal of hate and lies”. On stage at Brighton Centre, Davey called on the assembled delegates not to be deterred in the face of Reform’s hope “that the anger and the hatred and the lies will grind us down until eventually we just give up”. Continue reading...
NPR Politics
The high stakes drama a reporter has seen covering the UN General Assembly
Over the years NPR's Michele Kelemen has seen high stakes diplomacy play out at the UN General Assembly.