Flags, football shirts and foreign friends: the fake patriotism of Reform UK

Flags, football shirts and foreign friends: the fake patriotism of Reform UK

As the last weather-beaten stock hung limp, battered by months of rain and exhaust fumes, a fresh crop of St George and Union Jack flags sprang up around the roundabouts of South Manchester. Given the timing, coinciding with the Gorton and Denton by-election, one might reasonably assume this was a last-minute effort to stir patriotic fervour and electoral enthusiasm for Reform UK. If that interpretation sounds cynical, recent events suggest it m…

It's time to widen the attacks on Reform UK and expose their plan to strip workers of their rights

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaks during a press conference at Institute of Directors in central London. Photo Ben Whitley/PA Wire Martin Shipton When celebrities endorse politicians or political causes, it can appear crass and embarrassing, especially when they’ve previously had little to say, aren’t very articulate and it’s clear they are simply being used. But sometimes well-known individuals from outside conventional political circles can…