Overview
- Nigel Farage announced former MEP and TV presenter David Bull as Reform UK’s new chairman, charging him with uniting the party’s volunteer base.
- Zia Yusuf resigned after describing an MP’s burqa ban question as “dumb” but returned 48 hours later to head the party’s UK DOGE efficiency unit following Farage’s forgiveness.
- In Port Talbot, Farage pledged to reopen south Wales coal mines and reactivate mothballed blast furnaces, a proposal experts warn would be impractical and cost billions.
- Reform UK tops YouGov national voting intention at about 29 percent—surpassing Labour and the Conservatives—and has secured majority control of nine councils plus minority control in three others.
- Critics highlight chaotic governance in Reform-controlled councils, with 33 meetings cancelled or postponed in the first nine weeks under its leadership.