The Mayor of London mocked Green Party leader Zack Polanski during a session of the London Assembly by answering a question from him in Urdu.

It came after Polanski, who is a member of the London Assembly, was criticised for posting a campaign video in the national language of Pakistan. In the video, he introduced himself and encouraged voters to vote Green in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election on October 8.

Some Urdu speakers had described his video as ‘cringe’ while Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said it made him feel “uncomfortable”.

At Mayor’s question time in the London Assembly on Thursday, Polanski asked Khan a question about data centres.

Khan proceeded to answer Polanski in fluent Urdu, mocking his video.

According to a translation provided by the mayor’s office, Khan said: “Peace be upon you. I was worried that you would ask the question in Urdu, but you asked your question in English.

“I’ll be spending time in Holborn and St Pancras this week and I’m going to be there. Maybe we will meet there.”

Reacting to Khan’s clip, journalist Dan Hodges said: “OK, I don’t care what people’s general views are about Sadiq Khan. This is pure class.”

Others called Khan’s video a ‘treat to watch’.

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Reform continues to make the headlines for all the wrong reasons after its party leader in Wales announced he was stepping down following his arrest on suspicion of assault.

Dan Thomas, who became Reform UK Wales leader in February this year, was arrested on suspicion of assault and controlling or coercive behaviour. He was released without charge.

Thomas said in a statement: ““It has been the honour of my life to have been the leader of Reform Wales and see this party go from zero to 34 elected members and become the largest opposition group in Welsh history.

“With deep regret, I am now standing down from this position due to personal reasons.

“Over the weekend, I was reported to the police and was released without charge.

“I stress that I have done nothing wrong, but I do not want the coming headlines to be a distraction from the fantastic work our Senedd team is doing in holding this government to account.”

Gwent Police said: “On Sunday 13 September a 45-year-old man, from the Aberbargoed area, was arrested on suspicion of assault and engaging in controlling/coercive behaviour.

“He has been bailed pending further enquiries.”

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Reform continues to be exposed for having links with far-right thugs and groups, after an investigation revealed that a Facebook group involved in the recent far right anti migration protests which saw balaclava clad men block roads and cause disruption, was set up by a Reform activist.

Earlier this month, hundreds of men wearing all black and balaclavas took part in two anti-migrant protests in Dover and Portsmouth. In Dover they blocked the town’s two main roads for several hours and in Portsmouth they blocked migrant coaches.

Ministers condemned the “thuggish and intimidating behaviour” of far-right activists who blocked roads, and who were coordinated by Danny Thomas, a close associate of anti-migrant and anti-Muslim activist Tommy Robinson.

While Reform leader Nigel Farage issued condemnation of the far-right protesters, saying it was ‘disgusting’ and that nobody, ‘whether they’re on the left or right, should be wearing balaclavas’, it seems not everyone in Reform shares his sentiments with some keen to support Thomas’ far-right thugs.

HOPE not hate has discovered that the North East Patriot Platform and Tyneside Patriots Facebook pages, part of the Patriot Platform network that launched the intimidating masked vigilante actions in Dover and Portsmouth last week, have been set up by Mark Thorn, a Reform activist from Gateshead.

The anti-extremist group added: “Thorn describes himself as the “Reform UK Representative/Campaigner” for Gateshead Central & Whickham Constituency on his social media accounts, which contain a mix of pro-Reform and pro-Patriot Platform content, and appears to believe that the party’s criticisms of the movement are not sincere.

“Responding to criticism of Farage’s response from another member, Thorn argued that Farage public stance was guided by political necessity and might not match his “secretly and privately personal opinions”:

In the same Facebook group, five Reform councillors indicated that they were keen to support Patriot Platform’s activities. They included Cllr Trevor Shonk of Kent County Council, Cllrs Sandra Pickering and James Wright of Gateshead Council and Cllrs Paul Goldingay and Jamie Campbell of Solihull Council.

Once again Reform’s masks slips…

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Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has criticised the ‘so called ceasefire’ in Gaza which has left more than 1,200 Palestinians dead after it came into effect.

Miliband made the comments during an appearance on The Rest is Politics podcast and told presenters Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell: “All of us condemn in the strongest terms the murder that Hamas did on October the 7th, but nothing can justify what has unfolded in Gaza since then.

“And actually, you know, it’s worth saying since the ceasefire, the so-called ceasefire, 1,200 Palestinians have been killed.

“You know, that is not much of a ceasefire.”

The comments came after Miliband passed some of the strongest criticisms of Israel’s actions ever issued by the the UK government last week.

Miliband accused Israel of “turning a blind eye” to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians living in the West Bank, who are increasingly under pressure to relocate from settlers.

He told Parliament that Britain will sanction goods and services from Israeli settlements – which are illegal under international law – in the occupied West Bank and set out an import ban on goods from illegal settlements in the occupied territories.

There’s also a ban on the advertising in the UK of illegal settlement properties and a new ban for arms licences and other exports that “materially contribute to the occupation”.

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Reform UK has been plaugued by yet another crisis at its flagship local authority after three more councillors quit.

The three councillors quit Durham Council for a number of reasons, bringing Reform’s majority on the local authority down from 65 to 51.

Durham council was supposed to be one of Reform’s flagship local authorities, showing how the party would govern if elected in national office and yet far from being a success, it has been plagued by bitter infighting and defections.

One of the councillors who has quit, Lyndsey Fox, said: “I’ve been thinking of resigning for some time, and the reason is because I reported a very serious safeguarding issue on July 14, and we’re now two months on and I’ve heard nothing.”

Reform’s record in local government has been defined by bitter infighting, broken promises and incompetence.

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Self-proclaimed ‘man of the people’ Nigel Farage has said that he will seek to stop trade unions giving money to the Labour Party.

Scandal hit Farage has said that he is willing to take drastic measures if the goverment forces Reform to hand back £72 million it has received from two crypto billionaires.

Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo donated £36m each to the party in the space of just 24 hours at the weekend. Questions have been raised over whether the donations are legal and if they would have to be returned.

Even before the current donations to Reform, the government was already looking at tightening the rules following the Rycroft Review into foreign financial influence. The government then said it would introduce a £100,000 annual cap on donations from overseas electors.

And the rules go further than simply stopping somebody living abroad from writing an enormous cheque. They would also continue to restrict some people who return to Britain, until they have been resident here for a full calendar year.

Crucially, the government intends the new limit to apply retrospectively to donations made since 25 March this year. Donations caught by the new rules and above the limit could therefore eventually have to be returned.

A panicked Farage, who claims to represent working people, has threatened to stop unions giving cash to the Labour Party in retaliation.

Writing in the Telegraph, Farage said he would look to retaliate by ending the unions’ historic funding of the Labour Party if he becomes prime minister.

He said: “The Unite union alone has given the Labour party over £50m over the course of the last few years. They’ve got the Employment Rights Act, not to mention big pay rises for bus drivers. If anybody is giving money to do political bidding, it’s the trade unions.

“So I would just warn the Labour party here and now: If you try and ban our donors, we in government would certainly ban funding from the trade unions. I don’t want to go down that route. But it’s something we would be prepared to do.”

Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds hit back telling HuffPost that trade union donations are different to those from billionaires.

He said: “When we talk about union donations, that is not one entity. That is tens of thousands of ordinary people choosing to make that donation, and it’s banded up and given from the union. But it’s very easy to opt out of that.

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It’s going from bad to worse for Nigel Farage, after a new poll found that his popularity has fallen to its lowest level ever.

The poll, carried out by YouGov, found that 69% of Britons now have an unfavourable opinion of Nigel Farage, the highest recorded by the pollster in the decade it has been tracking Farage’s popularity.

Barely a quarter of voters (24%) have a favourable view of the Reform chief, giving him a net favourability rating of minus 45.

By contrast, 46% of people have a favourable view of Labour leader and prime minister Andy Burnham. It comes after Burnham promised bold and radical measures on the cost of living crisis.

Farage meanwhile has lurched from one scandal to the next, and faces a Standards Committee probe into his failure to declare a personal £5 million “gift” he received from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne shortly before becoming an MP in 2024.

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While Reform may be very gleeful right now over the £72million in donations they have secured from two crypto billionaires, it turns out that they could face an investigation from the elections watchdog over the cash given to them.

HuffPost UK reports that Labour MP Phil Brickell has asked the Electoral Commission to clarify whether Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne’s donations are permissible. Harborne and Delo donated £36m each to the party in the space of just 24 hours at the weekend. Questions have been raised over whether the donations are legal and if they would have to be returned.

Even before the current donations to Reform, the government was already looking at tightening the rules following the Rycroft Review into foreign financial influence. The government then said it would introduce a £100,000 annual cap on donations from overseas electors.

Delo has moved back to the UK from Hong Kong, while Harborne is now registered to vote in Hampshire, although it is unclear whether he still lives in Thailand.

Now it turns out that the Electoral Commission could investigate Reform over the donations too after Labour MP Phil Brickell wrote to them.

The HuffPost reports: “Brickell, who is chair of the all-party parliamentary group on anti-corruption, said: “The British public deserve complete confidence that all political donations are lawful, transparent and come with no strings attached.”

In a letter to Electoral Commission chief executive Dr Vijay Rangarajan, seen by HuffPost UK, Brickell says “it appears very likely that both donors were still registered overseas on – and for some time after – March 25, 2026”.

He added: “I would therefore be very grateful for swift clarification from the Electoral Commission on whether you see grounds for opening an investigation into the permissibility of the two £36m donations.”

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The Labour Party has extended its lead over Reform UK in the latest poll of Westminster voting intention, as Andy Burnham continues to reverse the party’s fortunes.

In the latest poll, carried out by Survation, Labour are on 28%, up one point, while Reform are on 23%, down one point.

The Tories meanwhile are on 21%, while the Liberal Democrats are on 10%.

It comes as Nigel Farage struggles to reach the polling highs Reform had seen  last year when the party was in the lead and averaging around 30%.

After being hit by a number of scandals including his failure to declare a £5million gift received from crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne, Farage has struggled.

Reform has continued to tumble in the polls since Burnham became Labour leader, as he focuses on addressing the cost of living and taking the fight to Reform.

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The mask has slipped for Reform UK once again. Arron Banks, a key Reform backer and close ally of Nigel Farage, has complained about there being not “one white face in security or airport services” at Heathrow.

One of Reform’s former mayoral candidates, Banks has previously hit the headlines for paying private investigators to dig into the Conservative party chair Kevin Hollinrake and Times journalist Gabriel Pogrund.

He is now facing widespread condemnation for his ‘racist’ and ‘disgraceful’ comments, after complaining that there was not “one white face in security or airport services” at Heathrow.

Banks posted on X: “Going through Heathrow today, there wasn’t one white face in security or airport services. The Home office is staffed by the type of people we are trying to keep out! What hope?”

Journalist Dan Hodges wrote: “There we go. One of Nigel Farage’s key allies. Eventually the mask slips. Not sure you could find a more blatant example of outright racism than this.”

Political editor of HuffPost UK Kevin Schofield posted: “When people show you what they are, believe them”, another added: “I do hope the staff at Heathrow read this and lose his luggage.”

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Reform UK continues to become the home of failed Tory politicians, after yet another former Conservative MP defected to Nigel Farage’s party.

Despite just four months ago Zia Yusuf vowing that no more Tories would be joining the party, Jane Stevenson who was elected the Tory MP Wolverhampton North East in 2019, but lost her seat to Labour at the 2024 general election, has now defected to Reform.

She told the BBC that she wanted to pursue “more radical solutions to our country’s problems”.

“I especially like Reform’s work from Danny Kruger on reducing and reorganising Whitehall/quangos and bringing back ministerial power and accountability,” she said.

So much for Reform being anti-establishment, the party is now the refuge of failed Tories.

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The Prime Minister has ruled out cutting the welfare budget to pay for an increase in defence spending, telling Parliament that there shouldn’t be a trade off between national security and social security.

Andy Burnham made the comments during a fiery clash with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch at Prime Minister’s Questions, after she asked whether the Labour government would be spending 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) on the military by 2030, on its way to achieving the Nato target of spending 3.5% by 2035.

Badenoch told MPs unashamedly that a Conservative government would find the extra cash by cutting housing benefit.

However, Burnham told her “that would create levels of homelessness in this country that we wouldn’t have seen before – hundreds of thousands of children in temporary accommodation”.

He added: “We do everything to support national security, but it can’t come at the expense of social security.

“Having strong national security also depends upon having resilience in our communities.

“This side of the house will not be forced to choose between the two, and we will set out a plan to get to 3.5% by 2035 at the spending review.”

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The Metropolitan Police have announced that they have launched an investigation into allegations that Reform UK broke the law on political donations after an undercover Channel 4 report.

It comes after footage was released by undercover reporters showing senior members of Farage’s team appearing to plot to avoid electoral laws on foreign donations in an undercover investigation broadcast by Channel 4 News.

A senior aide to Farage, Dan Jukes, was filmed suggesting a way to get around electoral law to secure a foreign donation of £500,000 for Reform UK.

Electoral law in the UK states that to be a permissible donor to a UK political party you must be a UK registered voter, or a company registered in the UK.

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said they had “assessed the information provided and determined that there are potential offences requiring investigation”.

A Met spokesperson said it had received “a number of reports relating to donations and polling involving a political party”, after the film by Channel 4 News and Verbatim Investigations was shown on Thursday evening.

In its statement, the force said: “All allegations under investigation relate to potential offences under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.”

“Detectives continue to liaise closely with the Electoral Commission and Crown Prosecution Service as enquiries progress.”

A Reform spokesman said: “Reform UK denies any wrongdoing and will fully co-operate with the investigation.

“We won’t be commenting further while a live investigation is under way.”

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Labour MP Naz Shah has reacted to her name being added to a list of a dozen British MPs being banned from entering Israel by the Israeli government, after the UK’s decision to impose sanctions on good produced in illegal West Bank settlements.

Israel announced the retaliatory measures after Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband accused the country of “turning a blind eye” to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians living in the West Bank, who are increasingly under pressure to relocate from settlers.

He told Parliament that Britain will sanction goods and services from Israeli settlements – which are illegal under international law – in the occupied West Bank and set out an import ban on goods from illegal settlements in the occupied territories.

There’s also a ban on the advertising in the UK of illegal settlement properties and a new ban for arms licences and other exports that “materially contribute to the occupation”.

Israel retaliated by banning 12 British MPs from entering the country, including Bradford West MP Naz Shah.

Shah issued a statement calling the list of names ‘random and frankly bizarre’.

She said: “I have no idea how this list was compiled and, as many people who have already contacted me have said, the selection appears rather random and, frankly, bizarre.”

“What I am clear about, however, is the position I have consistently campaigned for over many years: the UK Government should take meaningful action to end trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, which are recognised as unlawful under international law.

“I am proud to support the UK Government’s actions today, taken in line with our international legal obligations.”

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Israel has announced that it has barred 12 British MPs from entering the country after the UK’s decision to impose sanctions on good produced in illegal West Bank settlements.

It announced the retaliatory measures after Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband accused Israel of “turning a blind eye” to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians living in the West Bank, who are increasingly under pressure to relocate from settlers.

He told Parliament that Britain will sanction goods and services from Israeli settlements – which are illegal under international law – in the occupied West Bank and set out an import ban on goods from illegal settlements in the occupied territories.

There’s also a ban on the advertising in the UK of illegal settlement properties and a new ban for arms licences and other exports that “materially contribute to the occupation”.

Subsequently, Israeal has announced a ban on 12 British MPs from entering the country after Foreign Minister Gideon Saar claimed the elected officials took part in anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli activities.

The full list of MPs is as follows:

Jeremy Corbyn MP
Zarah Sultana MP
Fahad Ansari, Director of Riverway to the Sea
Naz Shah MP
Diane Abbott MP
Hannah Spencer MP
Carla Denyer MP
Sian Berry MP
Ellie Chowns MP
John McDonnell MP
Richard Burgon MP
Adrian Ramsay MP

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While many of us are used to Conservaties defecting to Reform and vice versa, what we haven’t seen before is a Reform councillor defecting to the Labour Party.

Nigel Swales was elected to Lancashire County Council in May 2025 as a Reform councillor and represents Skelmersdale East, however he has defected to the Labour Party saying that he had “growing concerns about Reform’s ability to deliver at a local level” and he had seen “first-hand” how “Reform simply doesn’t have a serious plan”.

Leader of the Labour group, Councillor Mark Clifford, told the BBC that the defection was “fantastic news”, adding: “We are really, really proud to actually get Nigel Swales to leave Reform and come to Labour, it’s brilliant news and this is just going to be the start of many more.”

Farage can’t be best pleased that his party continues to make the headlines for all the wrong reasons, as he lurches from one scandal to the next. Indeed, Swales cited Reform being embroiled in scandal as one of the main reasons he left Reform.

He told the BBC: “I’ve seen first-hand that Reform simply doesn’t have a serious plan or the leadership needed to deliver real change – people in Lancashire deserve representatives focused on getting things done rather than generating headlines, sowing division or playing political games.”

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The Labour Party has grown its poll lead over Reform the latest opinion poll shows, as Andy Burnham continue the fightback against Nigel Farage.

The poll, carried out by Opinium for the Observer, puts Labour on 28%, up one point, while Reform are on 24%, down one point. The Conservatives meanwhile are on 18% also down by one point, while the Greens are on 11%.

It may well be a lot worse for Reform since the polling was conducted, given that much of the fieldwork was carried out before the undercover Channel 4 investigation into Reform was reported, which showed Farage and senior party figures discussing ways to get around electroal law on donations.

Meanwhile, Burnham’s pledge to tackle the cost of living crisis as well as his vow to bring essential utilities such as water and energy under public control has gone down well with the public.

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In a marked departure from his predecessor, Prime Minister Andy Burnham plans to refuse interviews and article requests from the right-wing Sun Newspaper, because of the way it covered the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

The Observer reports that three seperate sources close to Burnham have told the paper that he ‘intends to maintain a stance of granting the tabloid “no special favours’.

The paper goes on to report: “His position is understood to be causing “consternation” within the headquarters of the newspaper’s owner, Rupert Murdoch’s News UK, where executives have long since been used to the Sun getting access and securing influence at the very highest level of government.”

That means Burnham will become become the first Prime Minister in 50 years to refuse ‘full cooperation’ with The Sun, following in the footsteps of James Callaghan.

When the Sun covered the Hillsborough disaster it ran a front page story headlined “The Truth”, which falsely blamed Liverpool football fans for a crowd crush that caused the deaths of 97 people, which is now recognised as having been part of a concerted cover-up of policing failures. Ever since, the newspaper is still widely boycotted in the city.

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Labour will be causing a right headache for Nigel Farage at the Reform UK conference taking place at the end of this week, and will be sending a van to mock him over his undeclared £5 million gift.

The Huffpost reports a van will be circling the NEC venue in Birmingham showing an image of Farage shoulder-deep in wads of cash with the slogan: “You have 5 million questions to answer, Nigel. Tell us about the money.”

Farage has a headache at conference as questions continue to be raised over his failure to declare a £5million gift received from crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne. After quitting as Clacton’s MP only to restand in the subsequent by-election, Farage faces the resumption of a Standards Committee probe and the possibility of another by-election, depending on if the probe finds him guilty and sanctions him.

A senior Labour source told HuffPost UK: “The scandals are piling up for Farage and Reform.

“Farage needs to realise that no amount of bluff and bluster at his party conference is going to make the questions go away.

“It’s time he finally came clean with the public and proved he’s not just in it for himself.”

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