Nigel Farage latest: Reform leader acted incorrectly over gifts, says new poll as approval ratings slip – UK Times

The home secretary is due to set out changes to the law to allow for the deportation of Rochdale grooming gang leader Shabir Ahmed.

Shabana Mahmood is expected to set out proposals on Monday to amend a 1971 law preventing the removal of Ahmed, who was released from prison earlier this month.

However, it is understood that Pakistan is unlikely to take him back.

Ahmed was released on 2 July after serving 14 years since his conviction in 2012 for rape and sexual offences against girls, some as young as 12. He had been sentenced to 19 years in prison.

The Government has been examining ways to deport him since his release last week. The 1971 law forbids the removal of a small group of Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK more than 50 years ago.

Ms Mahmood is expected to detail a way to close the loophole in the Immigration Act which prevents his deportation even though he has already been stripped of his British citizenship.

It is not clear whether Ms Mahmood’s planned changes will come under separate fast-tracked legislation or as an amendment to the Immigration and Asylum Bill, which is due to be debated in the Commons on Monday.

The UK economy is expected to have remained stagnant for another month, with industries under pressure and geopolitical tensions hindering growth.

Economists widely anticipate GDP either flatlined or declined in May, following April’s 0.1 per cent slip. This marked a sharp pullback from 0.3 per cent growth in March and 0.4 per cent in February, the first contraction since last August.

A campaigner whose son died in the Hillsborough disaster says she is “over the moon” amid news a proposed law to improve accountability in public office is likely to clear the House of Commons this week.

The law change, officially known as the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, would create a legally-enforceable duty of candour which compels public officials and authorities to act transparently when investigations and inquiries take place.

It takes its name from the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 when 97 Liverpool fans were killed at the football stadium in Sheffield in a crush during an FA Cup semi-final match.

Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died in the disaster, told the Daily Mirror she was “absolutely delighted, over the moon, absolutely made up”.

Deputy prime minister David Lammy said he was “confident” the draft legislation would be back “in the coming days” at the despatch box last week, but other Government figures suggested it would not return until after the summer recess.

If passed, the Bill could form one of Sir Keir Starmer’s last acts as prime minister.

Ms Aspinall, who chairs the Hillsborough Family Support group, told the newspaper: “When I was speaking to Keir Starmer, I told him this would be a lovely legacy for you to leave behind.

“I always believed he wanted to give us the Hillsborough Law. It was others stopping him. Now it’s done.”

She continued: “Our families have worked hard for this, but it’s not for us, it’s for the country. We’ve done it for the people of this country. I’m so proud.

“People have to tell the truth, whoever they are. The lies have cost millions. The cover-ups have cost millions. The truth costs nothing.”

Kemi Badenoch now has the highest approval rating of any party leader after Nigel Farage suffered his biggest drop since the election.

The latest Opinium poll found that the Tory leader’s approval rating has improved to -3 percentage points, while Mr Farage’s has fallen sharply to net -27, which is his lowest rating of this parliament.

Ed Davey remains on -5, Andy Burnham stands on -8, Zack Polanski improves slightly to -16, and Keir Starmer falls to -45.

Farage’s decline is also reflected in his leadership attributes, Opinium found.

His weakest ratings are for being trustworthy (-32), looking like a prime minister-in-waiting (-26), and being trusted to make big decisions (-24).

Andy Burnham will inherit a “much stronger economy” because of the actions of his Labour predecessors, Rachel Reeves has insisted.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg in what could be her final broadcast interview as Chancellor, Ms Reeves acknowledged the public was “impatient for change” when asked why Sir Keir Starmer’s Government was being ousted in a Labour leadership contest.

She said: “I’m impatient for change, and I totally get that people want to see their lives changed faster, and that will be the job for Andy Burnham when he becomes a prime minister of our country in just over a week’s time.

“But he’s becoming prime minister because of the majority that we secured.

“I also know because of the work that I have done, Andy will take over an economy that is much stronger than the one that I inherited from the Conservatives just two years ago.”

There is an overriding sense of deja vu with the Nigel Farage donation/non-donation saga.

Yet again, British politics has descended into the gutter of rich folk paying for favours – or not, if you believe Farage. Yet again, the people’s faith in our democratic process is brought down another peg or three, although it is now so low as to not matter – we’ve had so many scandals and inquiries and reviews that it makes no difference.

Today, the Reform UK leader is similarly asking the voters of Clacton to show what they think of a parliamentary inquiry into a gift of £5m from billionaire Christopher Harborne that Farage received shortly before becoming an MP. There is also the row about George Cottrell, convicted of wire fraud in the US in 2017, paying for Farage’s staff and security, while the Metropolitan Police are investigating £500,000 worth of donations to Reform from Cottrell’s mother.

Bell, the BBC journalist, stood as the independent anti-sleaze candidate and won the Tatton seat, previously a Hamilton and Tory stronghold, with an 11,000 majority. “It was not my victory, it was your victory,” said Bell in his victory address. “I believe you have lit a beacon, which will shed a light in some dark corners and illuminate the mother of parliaments itself. It is a message which will be heeded.”

Whether Binface emerges triumphant and channels the same rhetoric remains to be seen, but the parallels are obvious. The depressing note is that Bell uttered those words in 1997 and here we are, nearly 30 years later, still playing the same record.

In between, there have been controversies galore. They all centre on one thing: the nexus between money and power. They follow, too, a familiar pattern: a newspaper exposé (where would society be without journalists digging? A question to be borne in mind as Hacked Off and others demand curbs on freedom of the press); denials and further accusations; MPs jumping up and down; grave statements from No 10 – and an official probe, a report, and, if the person is found guilty, punishment and possible ruination.

The US is getting involved in the battle between Nigel Farage and Count Binface, making bets on whether the satirical candidate could emerge as Clacton’s next MP.

Kalshi, a prediction market platform, have the odds of Binface securing at least 15 per cent of the vote at 65 per cent.

Nigel Farage has a 92 per cent chance of winning the by-election, while Binface has an per cent chance, according to Kalshi.

Polymarket, another prediction market, also has the odds of the Reform leader winning at 92 per cent.

It suggests there is a seven per cent chance he will get more than 40 per cent of the vote share.