Nigel Farage says ‘there’s every chance of general election in 2027’

Nigel Farage has said there is every chance of a general election in 2027, declaring he will run on a pledge to “stop the boats” within two weeks of entering No 10.Speaking at the Reform UK conference in Birmingham, he said the chaos in government and Angela Rayner’s resignation as deputy prime minister meant the party needed to be “ready” to fight a contest two years early.He said Rayner’s actions “scream of entitlement” and the Labour government was even worse than the Tories who went before it.With Keir Starmer preparing a reshuffle to replace Rayner, the Reform UK leader laid into the “cabinet of people wholly unqualified to run our country”.Speaking without an Autocue or script, Farage said Rayner quitting – not just as housing secretary but elected deputy leader – meant there would be an internal battle in Labour

UK children face barriers to outdoor play due to poor planning, says study

Children in cities across Britain face barriers to playing outside because urban planners are prioritising housebuilding over parks, a study has found.The research, published in the peer-reviewed journal Cities and Health, found that planners were prioritising the approval of new homes ahead of outdoor play spaces due to a combination of policy misalignment, financial constraints and pressures stemming from a lack of housing.Emily Ranken, from the University College London Institute for Education and corresponding author of the research, said: “Our study offers a deep analysis of the challenges in embedding play into urban policy and our recommendations offer a blueprint for councils, developers, and public health leaders to make play a priority.”She added: “Well-designed play space has so many positive knock-on effects. For children, it takes them outside, away from screens and develops their cognitive and physical skills

Reform UK could strip FCA of power to regulate banking if elected

Nigel Farage could strip the City watchdog of its power to regulate the banking industry under a sweeping overhaul to undo changes made after the 2008 financial crisis if Reform UK was elected to government.The leader of the party at the top of opinion polls has said he wants to prepare for the potential for an early general election in 2027.A metals trader before entering politics, Farage has told allies that a Reform UK government would sweep away rules governing the City of London as a priority to boost economic growth, the Financial Times reported.This would include stripping the Financial Conduct Authority of its role in regulating banks, with control handed instead to the Bank of England. “Nigel thinks the FCA is a disaster and banking regulation needs to go back to the Bank of England,” a source close to Farage told the paper

Angela Rayner, plain-speaking scourge of the Tories, made herself vulnerable

When Nadhim Zahawi’s fate was hanging in the balance after a scandal over unpaid taxes, Angela Rayner was one of the first to pile on the political pressure.“Nadhim Zahawi’s story about his tax affairs doesn’t add up,” she said at the time. “After months of denials, the truth emerges. His position is untenable. Rishi Sunak must dismiss him from his cabinet

Angela Rayner’s departure is an old-fashioned scalp for the rightwing press

Angela Rayner’s departure from cabinet marks an abrupt end for a politician who had fought doggedly to reach Labour’s top table. It also represents an old-fashioned scalp for the press, elements of which have been poring over her finances and living arrangements for more than a year.The frustration among Rayner’s friends is that she had already survived waves of stories aimed at derailing her political career. However, they say her admission that she did not pay the correct stamp duty on the purchase of a Hove flat, which some see as a maddening own goal, gave her opponents a clear opening.The Telegraph was already claiming victory on Wednesday, reliving how it had exposed crucial details of the Labour deputy leader’s tax arrangements on the flat purchase at the end of last week

Starmer must not meet Israeli president during UK visit, say Labour MPs

The president of Israel will travel to London next week amid outcry from Labour MPs who have urged Keir Starmer not to meet the visiting delegation.The arrival of Isaac Herzog is fraught with complication for ministers, with the UK government on the brink of recognising the state of Palestine at the UN general assembly.Herzog is expected in the UK on Wednesday and Thursday – the first time a senior Israeli leader has been in Britain since the foreign secretary, David Lammy, met his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa’ar, on an unannounced visit in the spring.A foreign leader of such seniority would normally expect to spend time with high-ranking government ministers, but any meeting between Herzog and Starmer would be controversial within Labour amid Israel’s military action in Gaza.No 10 has not confirmed any meeting between Herzog and the prime minister, and there are precedents for him not to do so, with Starmer having recently avoided a meeting with Bangladesh’s chief adviser, Muhammad Yunus