Ben Riley-Smith

1 week ago | ca.news.yahoo.com | Ben Riley-Smith

The Government is paying for migrants to stay in this former hotel in central London - Geoff PughDowning Street will increase efforts to stop housing asylum seekers in hotels after concluding the policy fuelled the surge in support for Reform. The Telegraph understands that senior figures in the Labour Government believe the approach is having a toxic effect on its popularity.

1 week ago | telegraph.co.uk | Ben Riley-Smith |Daniel Martin |Tony Diver

Nigel Farage has declared the end of two-party politics after Reform secured the greatest ever local election result for an outsider party. Reform UK has had the "Labour Party for lunch" and "wiped out" the Conservatives in parts of England, he said, after delivering a heavy defeat to the mainstream parties. The party has taken control of ten local councils, winning hundreds of seats across localities from Durham to Kent and toppling a 14,000-strong Labour majority in a parliamentary by-election.

1 week ago | telegraph.co.uk | Ben Riley-Smith |Daniel Martin |Charles Hymas

The Prime Minister said the result in Runcorn, which had been the 49th-safest Labour seat, was "disappointing". He said: "What I want to say is, my response is we get it. We were elected last year to bring about change."Dan Carden, leader of the influential Blue Labour group in the House of Commons that campaigns for working-class and culturally conservative views, said voters had yet to forgive the Government for the move.

1 week ago | telegraph.co.uk | Ben Riley-Smith

Sir Keir's frontbenchers once promised to unveil their proposals for social care reform in the election manifesto, then insisted a plan would be determined once they won office. After winning the election, the party killed off Conservative plans to cap social care costs. Then Labour was accused again of kicking reforms into the long grass with the commission. Lady Casey will first look at medium-term improvements for adult social care, reporting back next year.

2 weeks ago | aol.co.uk | Ben Riley-Smith

The sun is still scorching as 5pm approaches and Kemi Badenoch makes her third door knock of the day. The dark glasses are on; a stack of Tory blue leaflets are in hand. The first two have brought little joy in this suburban corner of Devizes in Wiltshire, a council the Conservatives are battling to keep control of at Thursday’s local elections. Door number one revealed a mother who, arms folded, explained she would never vote Tory. The second stop-off saw only a brief exchange.