Kitty Donaldson

London

Chief Political Commentator at The i Paper

Chief Political Commentator at i newspaper. Ex-Political Editor for Bloomberg News. I've been reporting from Westminster since 2003. [email protected]

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Articles

Family of disillusioned Labour voters show why Starmer is badly damaged

1 week ago | inews.co.uk | Kitty Donaldson

Reform UK’s victory in Runcorn and Helsby came down to just six votes – and it’s families like the Conlons who swung it for leader Nigel Farage. Bernie Conlon, 71, has lived in the area since he was born and when The i Paper met him during the campaign, he was absolutely furious with Labour over how he had been refused planning permission to build houses on a small patch of land he owns. Four of his family voted for Reform on Thursday.
Nigel Farage: 'Elon Musk is a hero - but I can't be bullied by anybody'

2 weeks ago | inews.co.uk | Kitty Donaldson

Nigel Farage praised X boss Elon Musk as a “blooming hero” but warned he is not prepared to be “bullied” by the American billionaire over the direction of Reform UK. Farage was speaking to The i Paper on a walkabout in Salisbury in Wiltshire on Monday, where he was campaigning ahead of local elections on Thursday. Late last year, Farage told journalists his party was in “negotiations” with Musk, the world’s richest man, about a potential donation.
Farage open to Tory pacts but promises ‘tough terms’

2 weeks ago | inews.co.uk | Kitty Donaldson

Nigel Farage has set out his “tough terms” if Reform is to enter into any power-sharing deals with other parties after Thursday’s local elections. In an interview with The i Paper on a walkabout in Salisbury, the Reform leader said his party was demanding performance related pay reviews for council executives as part of any local authority coalitions.
Nigel Farage just set out his vision - and how it could impact your council

2 weeks ago | inews.co.uk | Kitty Donaldson

Nigel Farage leant on his podium in Dover and reeled off a bunch of statistics about how migrants are harming the country and promising a minister for deportation if he wins the next general election. Reform UK’s local election campaign has been a studied mixture of national issues and local concerns. Thursday saw Farage merge both approaches again, hinting at Reform councillors’ potential conduct in office.
Inside the Runcorn by-election battle - that looks like Reform's to lose

3 weeks ago | inews.co.uk | Kitty Donaldson

Ten months after Sir Keir Starmer’s landslide victory, a by-election in a seat that has been Labour since 1983 should be a safe bet. But, just as nobody expected Runcorn and Helsby MP Mike Amesbury to trigger the contest by thumping a constituent on a night out, few would have predicted the giddying surge of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, which now has the small, tough northern town firmly in its sights.
Why a Tory-Reform 'pact' is no longer taboo among Conservative MPs

1 month ago | inews.co.uk | Kitty Donaldson

Reform and the Conservative Party should agree an informal non-aggression pact a the next General Election, Tory MPs are arguing after Kemi Badenoch ruled out any “national level” deal. It comes after the Tory leader did say that Conservative councillors should enter into coalition with Reform if that is the only way to take control of a local authority after next month’s local elections.
Tax rises 'likely' and 'obvious' - why Reeves is running out of options

1 month ago | inews.co.uk | Kitty Donaldson

The financial turmoil in the wake of Donald Trump’s tariffs agenda is making it increasingly likely Chancellor Rachel Reeves will have to raise taxes in the autumn, leading economists have said. Even though Reeves was boosted on Friday by figures revealing an unexpected 0.5 per cent rise in GDP in February, the UK’s economy has remained stubbornly sluggish.
Birmingham's bins strike is deepening splits between Labour and the Unite union

1 month ago | inews.co.uk | Kitty Donaldson

Life is difficult for residents of Birmingham, forced to step into the path of oncoming cars to avoid climbing over honking bin bags of nappies and rotting food on the pavements. As the weather warms up infuriated locals are resorting to spraying Dettol on the growing mountains of bags in a Sisyphean attempt to keep the breeding rats at bay. And as their smelly, insanitary misery continues more questions are being asked about why they are being forced to endure it.
Wes Streeting: Farage wants you to pay for your healthcare, here's why he's wrong

1 month ago | inews.co.uk | Kitty Donaldson

With local elections and a crucial by-election test looming, Wes Streeting is on the war path. Nigel Farage’s views on NHS funding are his target. The upcoming Runcorn and Helsby by-election on 1st May, triggered by Labour MP Mike Amesbury’s resignation following a conviction for assaulting a constituent, will be the first significant gauge of public sentiment since last summer’s general election. One survey shows Reform as the frontrunner.
Why the state pension triple lock is closer to being axed than you think

1 month ago | inews.co.uk | Kitty Donaldson

Turmoil in the Labour Party over cuts to benefits for the disabled and slashing the foreign aid budget to boost defence spending has prompted a crisis of confidence among its MPs.Concerned about the party’s ideological direction, Labour MPs are casting around for other sources of government savings, with some now eyeing the sacred cow of British politics – the pensions triple lock as ripe for reform.