Why Reform are fighting to replace Farage

The political “mood board” at the Reform UK conference over the weekend ranged from gloomiest black to the teal-suited larkiness of Nigel Farage. Yet the UK’s biggest political figure laced his gutsy “I will survive” message with a bleaker one about his family wishing he would quit frontline politics.

The Reform leader has faced heavy scrutiny for an undisclosed £5m “personal gift” he received in 2024.

Farage’s senior adviser, George Cottrell, is a convicted felon.

Now, the party is under the lens again after a documentary appeared to show Reform officials discussing donations from foreign financiers.

• 1 – Farage says his family “begged” him to quit politics following the murder of Reform member Ann Widdecombe.
• 2Lack of professionalism – Farage spoke of Reform’s lack of professionalism after the sting and admitted he “wasn’t listening” carefully.
• 3Party infighting – Reform’s home affairs spokesman, Zia Yusuf, is frequently at odds with treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick on issues like the details of how migrant deportations would work.

Reform’s future

The most likely outcome is that Farage, still the stardust of Reform, however tainted by the slew of funding scandals, will be the candidate at the next election in a do-or-die moment.

Even so, senior Reform figures can, however, calculate odds – and whether it is Tice, whose friends describe him as “always on standby” if a new leader is needed, Jenrick, whose old Tory frenemies joke he wakes up every day with the mantra “I will become leader…” or Yusuf, the man whose diehard views could pave the way to a rapprochement with Restore Britain, this party is in search mode for what follows the Nigel era.

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Farage rivals begin to circle after Reform’s nightmare week

The i Paper

For now, Farage, who was given a hero’s welcome by activists at this year’s annual conference, remains firmly in control. But the man long viewed as politically untouchable is looking more vulnerable as the vultures begin to circle.

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Hundreds protest Portsmouth ‘mega-dinghy’ – what we know

Hundreds of protesters clashed with police in Portsmouth after migrants from a “mega-dinghy” were brought ashore by lifeboats.

Here’s what we know.

Protesters gather

Hundreds gathered in Portsmouth on Sunday night to protest the arrival of migrants from a small boat.

What sparked it?

Around 140 migrants were brought to shore in Hampshire after travelling to the UK on a single “mega-dinghy”.

What did they do?

Crowds tried to stop the migrants being taken to an asylum processing centre in Kent.

Investigation launched

• About 200 demonstrators who gathered were on Monday, police said.
• A handful of police offers were treated for injuries at the scene, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said.
• Several police, coastguard and border force vehicles were also damaged.
• An investigation to identify offenders responsible for any officer assaults, criminal damage or other criminal offences has been launched.

Portsmouth resident Sue Dewey, who watched the scenes unfold from her balcony, said: “It was a very surreal night, that was the closest I’ve ever been to an insurrection.”

Asked if she is worried similar incidents will happen again, she replied: “Yes, we are worried it’s going to happen again… the ferry had to be stopped, lots of things had to be stopped because of it yesterday.

Watch: Protesters clash with police

Who is behind the protests?

Some of the demonstrators at Portsmouth were dressed in all black and wore face masks, similar to those who joined an anti-migrant protest which blocked the Port of Dover on Saturday.

Daniel Thomas, a former bodyguard for far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who has claimed credit for the Dover protest, live-streamed himself at the Portsmouth protest.

• Treasury Chief Secretary Emma Reynolds called the protestors’ behaviour in Portsmouth and Dover “thuggish and intimidating”.
• Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “This is a serious situation, it’s about to get significantly worse.
• He added: “The government needs to act, I suspect it won’t. But remember, peaceful protests good, uniforms and masks bad.”

• In the wake of the protests, police warned that ministers will have a “significant issue” if people traffickers shift their routes further west of Dover.
• Places like Portsmouth along the hundreds of miles of England’s south coast are “not set up” for the arrival of migrants, Hampshire and Isle of Wight police and crime commissioner Donna Jones said.
• “My concern, as a police and crime commissioner, is that we don’t have this repeated,” she added.

‘No bailout’ for Jaguar Land Rover amid job cut reports

The Government is facing calls to “mitigate” thousands of job losses, but “challenging” business conditions mean manufacturers will continue to struggle.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds will meet with the leadership team of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) this week after it emerged that Britain’s largest car manufacturer is set to .

The cuts are largely expected to impact office roles, with the majority of job losses affecting its UK operations, where around 34,000 staff in total are based (compared to just under 10,000 overseas employees).

Aiming to save £1.7bn

• Job losses will be spread over the coming two years, JLR said, as part of efforts to save about £1.7bn.
• There will be a voluntary redundancy programme for salaried and management teams.

The Government’s response

We understand that this will be an uncertain and concerning time for affected workers, their families and wider communities.

Reynolds said he will aim to “mitigate any job losses” in meetings with JLR leadership. However, when asked by the BBC on Sunday whether there could be financial support to protect jobs, the Business Secretary replied: “Not if it’s to bail people out.”

EES checks resume – three ways to avoid border delays

A loophole allowing countries to pause the EU’s new border checks has ended, sparking concern that the travel chaos reported earlier in the summer may return.

EU border checks are set to start again in full force from Monday, 7 September, as member states’ rights to waive Entry/Exit System (EES) checks during times of maximum stress comes to an end.

While EES is unavoidable, and there is no way to skip the queue entirely, there are some ways to alleviate the stress of border check delays.

What is the EES?

• EES requires British passport holders and other third-country nationals to register biometric data when entering or exiting the Schengen area.
• Applying to 29 countries across Europe, excluding Ireland and Cyprus, the system caused has widespread delays since its introduction in April.
• Until now, the registration could be temporarily suspended by border officials when queues were too long to manage.
• But despite objections from some member states, this loophole has now expired, leaving holidaymakers facing the possibility of more significant delays.

• 1Travel outside peak times – even the busiest airports, like Palma and Lisbon, were quieter later in the summer.
• 2Skip duty free – going straight to the border control desk will allow you to see how busy it is.
• 3Pre-register for Sweden and Portugal – currently applying only to Sweden and Portugal, the Travel to Europe app allows users to pre-register, reducing the information needed at border control to just fingerprint scans.

Go to passport control ASAP

A spokesperson for Abta, a UK travel agent trade association, recommended passengers go to passport control as soon as possible after getting through security.

It follows reports earlier this summer of long delays and some flights setting off while several passengers were still in the long border control queues.

How UK’s first ‘super-university’ can tackle Neets crisis

The head of the UK’s first “super-university” has said that merging two universities can help reduce the number of people not in employment, education or training (Neet).

What is it?

The newly formed London and South East University Group (Lase) is now the third largest university in the UK.

How big is it?

It contains over 50,000 students across four campuses in London, Medway and Kent.

Which universities merged?

The universities of Kent and Greenwich legally merged to form Lase last month.

• 1In April to June, an estimated 981,000 people aged 16-24 in the UK were classed as Neets.
• 2This represented a fall of 30,000 compared with the first quarter of the year.
• 3However, the figure is still 30,000 higher than a year ago, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The role of ‘super-unis’

It’s a real opportunity for us  address the very people that the Government’s worried about

Lase chief executive Professor Jane Harrington said the merger will help the universities deal with growing operational costs and provide more accessible learning pathways to better address the needs of the regions in a way they could not on their own.

How will Lase work?

• Kent and Greenwich universities will still operate as distinct academic entities within the group.
• They retain their current names and students still apply to and graduate from the institution they choose.
• The group will now be able to offer subjects that they could not before when they were separate entities.
• Students will also be able to use libraries and access wellbeing services across campuses.

Higher education providers in the UK have been facing increasing financial pressures, with MPs on the Education Committee warning earlier this year that there is a “real risk” a university in England could close due to insolvency for the first time.

The Office for Students told the committee it feared 24 providers were at risk of becoming insolvent and closing in the 12 months from November last year.

More ‘super-universities’ to come?

Lase is writing up a “blueprint” for the Department for Education to work as a “model” for a group structure which other universities would be able to use.

In May, King’s College London and Bedford-based Cranfield University announced plans to merge in August 2027.

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In an interview with , Moshiri said she has been diagnosed with an incurable type of blood cancer.

PV thickens the blood by causing bone marrow to continuously produce red blood cells.

What are the risks?

This increases the risk of blood clots, which can cause stroke, heart attack or deep vein thrombosis.

The symptoms

Symptoms can include headaches, confusion, dizziness and blurred vision.

What treatment did she receive?

Her treatment involved a procedure called a , where almost a pint of blood is removed through a vein about twice a month to reduce the red blood cell concentration.

Immunotherapy treatment reduced the frequency of Moshiri’s venesections but initially came with “horrendous” side effects including insomnia, headaches and itching.

Working through treatment

I was working 14-hour days, constantly on air, constantly having to think on my feet

Moshiri worked throughout her treatment, including leading the BBC’s coverage of the death of Pope Francis from Rome.

She said that although “adjusting to a different life” is challenging, a future “punctuated by hospital appointments and loads of medication” to deal with the disease is better than the alternative.

How to be more grateful for daily life in five easy steps

The world feels like a difficult place at the moment, and it can feel very hard sometimes to find things to be thankful for; when we are overwhelmed, we have less capacity to notice and reflect on the good things. Yet, ironically, proactively cultivating gratitude is one of the things that can actually help us feel less stressed.

NHS GP dR RADHA

Research has shown that feeling or expressing thanks can actually alter our brain.

• The balance of neurotransmitters change; more serotonin and dopamine (feel good chemicals) are produced.
• This can be long lasting if we make gratitude a regular habit.
• We also get a decrease in our cortisol (stress hormone) levels which helps lower anxiety.
• Being grateful can strengthen the nerve pathways which triggers positive emotion.

Change your words

Instead of seeing something as a problem, try to see the opportunities within it. 

Our brains are very receptive and what we read or write can alter our emotional system.

Express it

This will not only make you feel good, but you will also get a positive response from others.

Notice more

Throughout your day, try to notice all the things that are going well; has someone opened a door for you, or smiled?

The basics

By being thankful for the small things every day, we are far more likely to be and stay healthy so that we can enjoy them.

Gratitude can lead to feelings of optimism, lower our blood pressure, and improve sleep quality. 

• Write down what potential good aspects there are to the things you don’t feel like doing, or even what could be worse about it.
• Spend a few minutes writing down three things that you are looking forward to that day, or the good things that have happened to you that day.
• Say thank you to yourself for the things you have achieved, or managed to get through and changed that day.

Sales of battery
electric vehicles hit a record high last year.

Starts at £22,995 for the smaller battery

Available with either a 40kWh battery or a larger 52kWh pack, that offers almost 255 miles, the latest, retro-inspired Renault 5 is both a joy to behold and a hoot to drive.

The interior has been lavished with a level of detail that’s typically reserved for more expensive cars. 

A champion of EV efficiency

It offers a remarkable 491 mile range on a single charge from the 85kWh battery.

It is a technological masterclass inside with the ability to option screens that span the entire width of the dashboard, including an optional display for the front passenger.

Priced from £37,400

It’s a lot of money to part with, but this is arguably all the car you will ever need.

The £89,000 Macan is a premium SUV that somehow manages to blend Porsche’s reputation for dynamics and sporty driving with everyday practicality.

The 95kWh batteries can go from 10 to 80 per cent in as little as 21 minutes from the fastest public charging outlets.

With the business class-style six seat configuration costing a staggering £76,995, it is by far the most expensive Kia ever made, but it backs up its financial demands with a suite of genuinely useful and impressive onboard technology.

It’s fast, goes a long way between stops and charges relatively quickly but the interior is bland, the onboard technology is infuriating and the experience is devoid of emotion. 

All of its gadgetry can’t disguise the fact that performance is weak, even for a typically zippy EV, the ride is fussy at slower speeds and it’s not in the least bit enjoyable to drive on a country road.

• While good value (prices start at £17,935) for the 200-mile max range, there are more interesting options from Hyundai, Citroen and Renault for similar money.
  

• It attempts to wow with tech, much of which hinders, rather than helps. 
• There’s no tangible benefit over mounting your phone to the dash.
• Simply an average driving experience, adequate range and slow charging speeds.