Drip-feed of Reform UK controversies puts party’s policy drive in shade

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It was a week that started with a candid admission from Nigel Farage,When asked if Reform UK’s vetting process was finally up to scratch, the party leader said: “I accept that at the last general election basically there was no vetting really,” He was speaking after the latest of what a senior colleague had described as a “series of abhorrent incidents”,That latest incident had involved a Welsh Senedd candidate, Corey Edwards, who was forced to step down last Friday after a picture of him appearing to do a Nazi salute surfaced online,Yet while Farage went on to tell reporters at a Heathrow press conference on Tuesday that they would find Reform was “doing pretty well now”, just two days later another frontline party member was in hot water.

On Thursday it was the turn of Simon Dudley, a Conservative defector and former head of Homes England, who was sacked as Reform’s housing spokesperson after saying during a discussion about the Grenfell Tower fire that “everyone dies in the end”,Dudley and Edwards are only the latest Reform figures to get the chop over the last two weeks,The attrition rate has been particularly high in Scotland, where the party appears to have lost at least five election candidates,Its recently appointed press officer in Scotland, Amanda Crawford, also quit, complaining she was being prevented from doing her job properly,Four Reform candidates in Scotland either stepped down or were suspended barely a week after they stood with Farage, on 19 March, at the unveiling of a list of those contesting the upcoming Holyrood elections for the party.

In England there was the loss of one of Reform’s highest-profile mayoral candidates, Chris Parry, who was suspended after describing members of a Jewish neighbourhood watch group as “cosplayers” and likening them to “Islamists on horseback”.The comments were made after there had been an arson attack on ambulances run by a Jewish charity.Farage had already expended political capital on defending Parry, who was Reform’s mayoral candidate for Hampshire, over previous comments, including saying the deputy prime minister, David Lammy, should “go home” to the Caribbean.This time, Farage’s frustration with Parry was all too evident, with the Reform leader exclaiming: “I haven’t got time for this nonsense.”The almost continual drip-feed of controversies over Reform officials has had the effect of overshadowing key announcements, when the party is keen to show it has put the work and resources into costed policies that it believes make it a serious contender for government.

Dudley’s sacking was announced at a press conference on Thursday intended to set out Reform’s commitment to the pensions triple lock, while Parry’s comments came amid campaigning by Farage in the north-east of England.Edwards’ departure became the focus of questioning at the Heathrow press conference which was held to announce plans to cut flight taxes.The sackings have led to questions about whether the party’s leadership is truly harmonious.One person whose ears will have been burning from Farage’s dismissals of the party’s previous vetting regime is Richard Tice.The MP is currently the deputy leader but led the party before Farage took the helm in June 2024, weeks before the general election.

On Thursday, the optics were awkward once again when Farage announced Dudley’s sacking, but was at pains to distance himself from the original appointment.“I haven’t spoken to him,” Farage said.“He is under Richard Tice’s department.Richard appointed him as housing spokesman given his depth of experience in developing new towns but the comments were deeply inappropriate.”Reform was no longer a “one-man band”, Farage insisted.

But his remarks raised some eyebrows given that Reform had initially appeared to stand by Dudley.Less than two hours before Farage’s announcement, Tice had retweeted comments by Dudley in which he apologised but sought to reiterate the point he had been trying to make.The party had released a statement on Wednesday seeking to defend the Grenfell comments and claiming they reflected a “broader point that the regulatory pendulum has swung too far in response to the tragedy”.Asked on Thursday if he had changed his mind about Dudley after initially appearing to support him, Tice told the Guardian it was “my call this morning” and he had told Farage of his decision so that he could announce the sacking.
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Reese’s chocolate heir accuses Hershey of altering recipes: ‘It wasn’t real peanut butter’

The grandson of HB Reese, the inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, has accused the chocolate giant Hershey of faking a pledge to investors to switch back the recipes of its popular products – including KitKat – to the original milk and dark chocolate ones.A confectionery-focused dust-up between Brad Reese and the $42bn Pennsylvania-based company began in February when Reese, 70, accused the company of “quietly replacing” the ingredients – or “architecture” – in his grandfather’s invention with cheaper “compound coatings” and “peanut-butter-style crèmes”.At a recent Hershey investor conference, the company said it would change about 3% of select products to the original recipes but maintained it had never altered the renowned Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.The company’s chief growth officer, Stacy Taffet, said Hershey was “transitioning our sweets portfolio to colors from natural sources, and ensuring that all Hershey’s and Reese’s offerings are consistent with their brand’s classic milk and dark chocolate recipes”. The changes are planned to come into effect by next year

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Put away the Aperol and raise a glass to Hugo spritz, the drink of the summer

Pub gardens and bar terraces have been awash with a sea of orange in recent years as Italy’s love of Aperol spritz spread to the UK. But this year the cocktail’s cousin, a Hugo spritz, will be the drink of the summer, according to supermarkets and bars.It is already being served across the country, including at Sea Containers on the banks of the Thames and Mayfair’s swanky Claridge’s hotel in London, 20 Stories bar in Manchester and the Bridge Tavern in Newcastle. Wetherspoons has the cocktail on its menu nationwide.“In the past year, we have noted that there has been a wider shift among our guests towards drinks with lower alcohol percentages, particularly during the day – a Hugo spritz fits rather neatly into this space,” said George Raju, director of bars at Claridge’s

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Helen Goh’s recipe for ricotta, rum and raisin cake | The sweet spot

This is a cake for the long, ambling tail-end of an Easter lunch. It’s gently scented with orange and vanilla, lightened by ricotta, and studded with rum-soaked raisins that bring bursts of sweetness to each slice. Ideally, they’d be soaked overnight to plump them into something luscious, but if time gets away from you, take a shortcut: put the raisins and rum in a microwave-safe bowl, zap for 20–30 seconds, then leave to cool and absorb. The chocolate glaze is optional; on days when you want something simpler (or lighter), a generous sifting of icing sugar is all this cake needs. Serve with a small glass of grappa or something similarly warming for a quietly perfect way to bring a feast to a close

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Cocoa-crazy: chocolate-infused liqueurs deserve their own moment

Among my minor childhood traumas was the time my dad returned from a business trip to Belgium with a smart box of assorted chocolates (cue tiny violins). Expecting caramel, I bit into a truffle and was met by an explosion of very boozy liqueur. The box seemed to be an exciting change from the usual duty-free Toblerone, but after this incident, truffle assortments have always struck me as deeply unsafe. (I have tried liqueur-filled chocolates since, but still remain flummoxed by them.)The Guardian’s journalism is independent

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Baked cheesy smoked haddock and lemon icebox pudding: Henry Harris’ alternative Easter lunch

Sometimes all you want is a hot, bubbling dish and a spoon, and for me today’s cheesy haddock is that dish – a 15-minute supper to be enjoyed in front of the telly with a salad or a large bowl of hot buttered peas. Add a lemony, biscuity iced dessert, and you have a light, very easy and enjoyable supper that’s almost the perfect close to a long Easter weekend.Choose your smoked haddock carefully: you want large, thick fillets of undyed fish. Stating the obvious, here, but a good fishmonger will have this; a supermarket never. The creme fraiche must be a French, naturally soured cream, too, becausethe cheaper English versions coagulate when heat is applied, resulting in an unpleasant, watery gunk

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Rachel Roddy’s Easter cannelloni with spinach, peas, ricotta and mozzarella – recipe

Fresh sheets smelling of fresh air or fabric softener (or both) with hospital corners are one of life’s great pleasures. As are fresh sheets of egg pasta – the sort that comes in squat boxes protected by clingfilm and found in the fridge section alongside ravioli. They are also one of the most useful and certainly the most multi-talented of all the pasta shapes.That they are labelled lasagne is limiting; of course, they can be lasagne, but they could just as easily be numerous other shapes. The most easy-going of which is maltagliati, meaning badly cut, which tells you everything you need to know about the approach required as you cut them (using a knife, pizza wheel or pair of scissors) into uneven bits that are ideal in all sorts of soups, but especially those with beans