Reform U.K. Wins Special Election in Runcorn by Just 6 Votes
Nigel Farage’s insurgent anti-immigration party, Reform U.K., scored a significant, if razor-thin, victory Friday in a parliamentary special election in the northwest of England. The result served notice that Mr. Farage, a populist fixture and close ally of President Trump, is again a rising force in British politics. Reform’s candidate, Sarah Pochin, won by just six votes over her Labour Party opponent, Karen Shore, in Runcorn and Helsby, seizing what had been a safe seat for Labour until the incumbent, Mike Amesbury, was forced to resign after being convicted of assault for punching one of his constituents. On a night of high drama, the outcome — the tightest in such an election in modern history — was so close that the vote had to be recounted, delaying the declaration of the result for hours. But the victory, by 12,645 votes to 12,639, was the start of what could be an impressive show of strength by Reform in mayoral and local council elections held Thursday across England.
Source:The Times
May 02, 2025 08:09 UTC
Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe ready to sell French club OGC Nice amid potential Saudi offers - Paper Talk
THE SUNSir Jim Ratcliffe is ready to sell French club OGC Nice with potential offers from Saudi Arabia, according to reports. Arsenal vowed to take the "strongest possible action" after a video emerged of a group of fans appearing to racially abuse Paris Saint-Germain players. DAILY MAILRiver Plate midfielder Franco Mastantuono has put Manchester United on notice after expressing his interest in joining Real Madrid. Spanish second division club Elche have banned the sale and consumption of sunflower seeds inside their stadium. DAILY TELEGRAPHNewcastle United hold a strong interest in signing Brentford winger Bryan Mbeumo but are concerned about the asking price.
Source:The Times
May 02, 2025 07:33 UTC
Tom Cruise's secret to preparing for stunts: A massive breakfast
Picture Credit: FacebookHollywood action legend Tom Cruise shared his secret to preparing for thrilling aerial stunts - a "massive breakfast. "Los Angeles, May 2 (IANS) Hollywood action legend Tom Cruise shared his secret to preparing for thrilling aerial stunts - a "massive breakfast. "The star added: "I'll eat, like, sausage and almost a dozen eggs and bacon and toast and coffee and fluids. "Cruise tags the opening stunt to the 2015 flick as one of the least-safe stunts. "Luckily when you're flying jets you train for hypoxia and for carbon dioxide build-up.
Source:The Times
May 02, 2025 06:48 UTC
I'm 93 and I still work on the tills at Waitrose - they took me on when I was 80 and it stops me going bananas
He may be 93 but that's not stopping John Shipton from doing what he loves most: chatting to customers and keeping busy on the tills at Waitrose. After a career in electronics and later working for Exeter City Council, John didn't settle into retirement quietly. He said: 'They took me on when I was 80, which I thought was a bit remarkable.' When he broke his hip gardening, they paid him in full for the entire three months he took to recover. 'They're lovely people.
Source:The Times
May 02, 2025 05:57 UTC
Trans Women Banned From Competing in Women’s Soccer in England
Transgender women will be barred from playing for women’s soccer teams in England from June 1, the Football Association, the sport’s governing body in the country, said on Thursday. All public and private groups in Britain must now incorporate the ruling into their policies over separate spaces and services for different sexes, such as bathrooms. Its decision is part of a wider shift in global sports toward restricting trans women from taking part in women’s competitions, amid a fraught debate over gender, fairness and inclusiveness. In March, the World Athletics organization said it would require DNA sex tests for athletes competing in track and field, after banning trans athletes from women’s competitions in 2023. The world governing body for swimming, FINA, (now World Aquatics,) barred trans women from competing at the elite level in 2022.
Source:The Times
May 02, 2025 05:08 UTC
Interest rates ‘to fall at fastest rate since UK’s financial crisis’
Interest rates are on track to fall at their fastest rate since the financial crisis of 2008, economists have forecast, offering mortgage holders relief from years of high borrowing costs. The Bank of England is expected to cut interest rates from 4.5 per cent to 4.25 per cent next week in the first of what is likely to be a series of back-to-back rate cuts, which could result in them falling by as much as one percentage point over the next six months. The rate cuts are set to bring the cost of borrowing down to below three per cent for the first time since October 2022. • Why the Bank of England’s interest rate cuts are at the mercy of TrumpHomeowners would benefit from cuts with lower monthly mortgage repayments ANTHONY DEVLIN/PAThe fall will
Source:The Times
May 01, 2025 23:58 UTC
100 years ago: Winston Churchill’s Budget
MR. WINSTON CHURCHILL’s Budget is, as he claims, a courageous attempt “to balance fairly the scales of social justice between one class and another”. The proposals for insurance and pensions are designed to give help where it is most needed, and assurance to the classes to whom uncertainty is the most insistent trouble. On the other hand, the income tax and super-tax relief are intended to release capital for investment, to stimulate industry and “thus incidentally to reduce unemployment”. It is not for us to enter into detailed criticism of the complicated proposals explained by Mr. Churchill with great lucidity in his Budget speech. Disraeli dished the Whigs, and, with his proposals for widows’ pensions and increased death duties, Mr. Churchill is, to some extent, dishing the Labour Party.
Source:The Times
May 01, 2025 23:35 UTC
Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney in bitter back-and-forth at Times Square press conference
Read our Privacy noticeRyan Garcia and Devin Haney are not fighting each other this weekend, but that did not stop the old rivals from trading barbs at a press conference for Friday’s boxing event in Times Square. Meanwhile, Garcia and Haney are making their welterweight debuts, having clashed at super-lightweight last April. In that contest, “King Ryan” dropped his fellow American three times en route to a decision win, which was later overturned. This motherf****r is gone!”Bill Haney chimed in: “What the hell happened to Ryan Garcia? This is not the same Ryan Garcia at all.”Garcia replied: “I’ve got multiple personalities, b***h!
Source:The Times
May 01, 2025 15:07 UTC
The unqualified TikTokkers transforming how young people invest
On April 8, with stock markets in turmoil after Donald Trump’s announcement of global trade tariffs, Liam Dixon was feeling optimistic. “Nvidia, it’s down 32 per cent in the last three months,” he said in a video posted on TikTok that has had 1.8 million views and 76,700 likes. “The average price was $136 to $140 per share — yesterday it was $86 and I missed that opportunity. So I’m going to buy that now it’s at $100.”He was also buying shares in the Facebook-owner Meta, the American electric vehicle company Rivian, and a Vanguard fund that follows the S&P 500 index of America’s largest companies, he told his 38,800 TikTok followers. • US economy shrinks for first time since 2022Dixon, a 27-year-old
Source:The Times
May 01, 2025 11:19 UTC
What to Know About the First U.K. Local Elections Under Keir Starmer
The Liberal Democrats and the Greens also hope to advance. The Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, says his aim is “to replace the Conservatives as the party of Middle England.” The Greens say they expect to win left-wing Labour voters disappointed with the government. The big winner, he predicts, will be Reform with 400 to 450 gains. If Reform do as well as expected, it will give them momentum but also their first taste of local power, testing their ability to govern. Labour is at no risk of losing power nationally — the next general election is years away.
Source:The Times
May 01, 2025 11:03 UTC
UK vlogger shocked to find India’s cleanest city, calls it the 'Singapore of India'
Poll Have you heard about Indore being the cleanest city in India? Far from the stereotypical image of Indian cities, Indore greeted him with clean, litter-free streets and a sense of order rarely expected by foreigners. What he didn’t realize at first was that Indore has been awarded the title of India’s cleanest city for seven years in a row.Often referred to as the " Singapore of India ," Indore has changed and revolutionised urban living standards in the country. All this has been possible because of a strong civic planning and community involvement, the city has created a working model for cleanliness and sustainability. But something that stood out exceptionally was a specific initiative where citizens can exchange plastic waste for meals at a local “garba ge café.”Many users on social media expressed their admiration.
Source:The Times
May 01, 2025 07:32 UTC
UK local elections test big two parties
Live Events'Tough'(You can now subscribe to our(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channelLondon: Polls opened in local elections Thursday tipped to inflict losses on the UK's two main parties and confirm the rise of hard-right populists, portending the splintering of a century-long political duopoly.The polls in England are the first since Keir Starmer became Labour prime minister and Kemi Badenoch took over at the helm of the struggling opposition Conservatives last year.The anti-immigrant Reform UK party is expected to make gains, as are the centrist Liberal Democrats and left-wing Greens, confirming a trend that Britain is entering an era of multi-party politics. "British politics appears to be fragmenting," political scientist John Curtice wrote in the Telegraph this week, adding that the polls "will likely be the first in which as many as five parties are serious players".British politics have been dominated by the centre-left Labour party and centre-right Tories since the early 20th century. But last year's general election and recent opinion polls show a shift towards greater pluralism.Surveys show Britons are disillusioned with the two establishment parties amid anaemic economic growth, high levels of irregular immigration and flagging public services.Labour won a parliamentary majority in July with just 33.7 percent of the vote, the lowest share for any party winning a general election since World War II.The Conservatives won just 24 percent of the vote, securing only 121 seats in the 650-seat parliament as the party endured its worst-ever election defeat.Reform UK, led by Eurosceptic politician Nigel Farage, picked up five seats, an unprecedented haul for a British hard-right party, while the Liberal Democrats won 61 more MPs than at the previous election and the Greens quadrupled their representation to four.Those results mean "fragmentation is baked in" to Thursday's council, mayoral, and single parliamentary vote, according to political scientist Rob Ford. "For the big parties, it's like the couple who are having to wrestle with the duvet that's too small," said Ford. "Wherever they pull the duvet, they're going to get exposed somewhere."
Source:The Times
May 01, 2025 06:51 UTC
Just FIVE bouts of sunburn in your lifetime ‘doubles risk of killer skin cancer’ – do you know the signs to look for?
IT'S common knowledge that sun damage can increase your risk of developing skin cancer. The charity said these findings were worrying, especially as melanoma skin cancer rates continue to climb in the UK. There are around 17,500 new melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK every year, making it the fifth most common cancer in the country. According to Cancer Research UK, one in 35 men and one in 41 women in the UK will now be diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in their lifetime. She said: “When I was younger we didn’t have so much awareness of the risks of skin cancer.
Source:The Times
May 01, 2025 03:56 UTC
Ultra-rare 2p coin with hard-to-spot error sells for nearly 40,000 times its face value at auction
BRITS are being urged to check their change after a super-rare 2p coin sold for an nearly 40,000 times its value at an eye-watering £750 at auction. The coin in question is the 1985 2p coin which has got a unique silver colour, instead of the usual bronze. In February, a 2016 version of the 2p coin with the same error sold on eBay for £87. How to sell a rare coinYou can sell a rare coin on eBay, Facebook, or at an auction. The safest way to sell a rare coin is more than likely at auction.
Source:The Times
May 01, 2025 03:44 UTC