Olivia Barber

1 week ago | leftfootforward.org | Olivia Barber

The Tory media is outraged about Mark Simms OBE’s appointment as the new interim head of the Charity Commission, who have accused him of praising so-called “hard-left politicians” and mocking Boris Johnson on social media. But there was no such outrage from the Tories and their right-wing media allies when Orlando Fraser was appointed as head of the charity watchdog by then culture secretary Nadine Dorries in 2022.

1 week ago | leftfootforward.org | Olivia Barber

Yesterday, anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray was cleared of the “noisy protest” charges brought against him, in what most media outlets have hailed as a victory for free speech and the right to protest. Not Reform MP Lee Anderson, though. Anderson, who regularly hurls insults at the Stop Brexit Man, such as calling him a “parasite” and a “scrounger” has this time called him a “career activist”.

1 week ago | leftfootforward.org | Olivia Barber

A Reform UK local election candidate and deputy chair for North West Leicestershire has shared racist views online in the past, but that’s not enough for Reform to drop him as a candidate. In 2013, Coalville North candidate Elliott Allman, who is a former Tory, shared a racist post on Facebook claiming that black drivers in Volkswagen cars tailgate him on the M1. The post resurfaced after campaign group Reform Party UK Exposed shared a screenshot on X on 2 April.

1 week ago | leftfootforward.org | Olivia Barber

First things first. Where will local elections take place on 1 May? It’s a county council election year, which means it’s a ‘quieter’ election year. Since district councils elect by thirds, and county councils go to the polls every fourth year, fewer councils are in play compared to other local election cycles. According to the Democracy Club, in terms of councillors elected, 2025 will be the smallest set of UK council elections since 1975. These seats were last up for election on 6 May 2021.

1 week ago | leftfootforward.org | Olivia Barber

The Gambling Commission has charged 15 Tories for using insider information to place bets on the date of the 2024 general election. The 15 individuals have been charged under Section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005 for cheating. Craig Williams, the former Tory MP for Montgomeryshire and PPS to Rishi Sunak has been charged. Williams had placed a £100 bet on a July date for the 2024 general election, three days before a July date was announced.