🚨 NEW: Nigel Farage says Reform candidates will not be banned for liking Tommy Robinson posts.
• Nigel Farage has said candidates for Reform UK will not be prevented from standing if they like social media posts by Tommy Robinson.
• Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, the Reform leader said: “I wouldn’t ban anybody for liking someone like Tommy Robinson. Wouldn’t be my cup of tea, but I wouldn’t ban anybody from doing so.”
• He added that he does not want the party to get into a world of cancel culture, though he would act if someone supported something outright wrong.
• Farage said any response would depend on the specific post. “I’m not going to run a party where we say ‘you can’t talk about that person or that person.’ We have to be sensible about vetting, and we are.”
• Farage claimed the party vets its council candidates to a much higher level than any other political party.
🚨 NEW: John Healey has announced Ukraine will receive £10bn in additional economic and military support
"We called him this morning... he told us we made his day"
#Budget
Disturbing 😳
Phillip Tong, jailed for life after beating four-year-old Liam Wallis to death, reportedly now living on the Isle of Man
Phillip Tong, who was jailed for life after brutally beating four-year-old Liam Wallis so severely that his liver and pancreas ruptured, is now reported to be living on the Isle of Man.
The former boxer was convicted of manslaughter in 1997 after subjecting Liam to two violent attacks on 10 February 1996, at a flat in Oldbury, West Midlands, which Tong shared with the child’s mother, Jane Hulse.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that Tong, then aged 20, punched and kicked Liam after becoming angry when the little boy tapped on a glass tank containing pet lizards.
Prosecutors said Tong dragged Liam to the floor and repeatedly struck him in the stomach until he vomited, before attacking him again later that day.
The four-year-old suffered between 20 and 30 blows, with the force of the punches crushing his liver and pancreas against his backbone.
Liam suffered catastrophic internal injuries and bled to death without receiving medical treatment.
The court also heard disturbing evidence of earlier abuse. Liam had reportedly suffered black eyes and bruising, missed school and been subjected to cruel punishments, including being pushed beneath cold bathwater and locked inside an airing cupboard for prolonged periods.
Prosecutors described loud music being played to drown out the child’s screams while he was being beaten.
Tong admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, with psychiatric evidence describing a drug-induced psychosis associated with ecstasy and amphetamine use.
His plea was accepted, and he was cleared of murder.
Judge Clive Taylor sentenced Tong to life imprisonment, recommending that he serve a minimum of five years.
Liam’s mother, Jane Hulse, was also prosecuted for failing to protect her son.
She admitted child cruelty and was sentenced to 18 months in prison at Stafford Crown Court. The court heard that she had failed to obtain medical assistance for Liam as he lay dying and had concealed evidence of abuse from social workers.
Convicted again in 2018 over workplace pension scheme
More than two decades after Liam’s death, Tong appeared before Derby Crown Court in connection with a workplace pension fraud investigation.
By then known as Phil Tong, he was a director of employment agency Workchain.
The court heard that employees had been removed from the Nest workplace pension scheme without their consent, allowing the business to avoid paying employer pension contributions.
Staff had impersonated workers to obtain account information before accessing the pension system to remove them from the scheme.
Tong admitted unauthorised access to computer data.
On 26 October 2018, he received a four-month prison sentence suspended for two years, was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £11,250 in costs.
Tong is no longer employed by or involved with Workchain.
Reportedly living on the Isle of Man
Tong, who has previously lived in Oldbury and Ashbourne, Derbyshire, is now reported to be residing on the Isle of Man, although his current residence has not been independently confirmed.
His later conviction brought his name back into the courts more than 20 years after the killing of Liam Wallis.
Liam was just four years old when he died. He had suffered repeated violence, cruel punishments and ultimately fatal injuries inflicted by an adult who should never have been allowed to harm him.
Phillip Tong was sentenced to life imprisonment for Liam’s manslaughter. Jane Hulse was jailed for child cruelty. Neither could give the little boy back the life he lost.
Liam Wallis should have had the chance to grow up. Instead, his life ended in February 1996, following a brutal assault inside his own home.
Ukraine’s security is our security 🇬🇧🇺🇦
Backing Ukraine means helping it withstand Russian attacks, keeping essential services running and strengthening the security we all depend on.
The Chancellor has announced £10bn of economic support for Ukraine over three years.
Today we’re announcing a new £10bn package of support for Ukraine.
This funding will help Ukraine meet its immediate needs, support economic resilience, and help defend its sovereignty from Russia’s illegal invasion.
We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.
Hi @MartinSLewis Just to be clear please. Is there anything in the budget today that ultimately helps people who get up and work hard week in week out or is it just for those who don’t bother? If it’s the latter should we all sod it off and start claiming for everything? Thanks
Someone speak to me like I’m a fucking child right now and help me understand PLEASE
why do our government plead poverty yet give other country’s 10 billion pound?
TELL ME
🚨 NEW: John Healey has announced Ukraine will receive £10bn in additional economic and military support
"We called him this morning... he told us we made his day"
#Budget
🚨 BREAKING: The Government has announced the new minimum wages from April 2027
Over 21s - £12.71 to £13.21 (+3.9%)
18 to 20 - £10.85 to £11.27 (+3.9%)
Under 18s and apprentices - £8 to £8.31 (+3.9%)
🚨FULL SUMMARY: UK Autumn Budget 2026
Economy & Public Finances
- Growth forecast: 1.2% this year, 1% next, then 1.6–1.8% later years
- Borrowing falls to 4.2% of GDP this year, then lower (to 1.8% by early 2030s).
- On track to eliminate the current budget deficit within 3 years
- Fiscal headroom: £15bn in 2029/30, rising to £22bn in 2030/31
- Debt peaks around 83.8% of GDP then falls to 81.7% by 2031/32
Cost of Living & Energy
- £100 Household Energy Payment for ~20 million households in council tax bands A–D (£2.6bn scheme)
- VAT cut on electricity bills extended to July (about £50 off typical annual bill).
- Gas standing charges to be scrapped (average ~£45 saving for many households)
- Fuel duty 5p cut extended / frozen until July 2027
- Higher mileage rate for work use of own car raised from 25p to 35p (over 10,000 miles); standard rate made permanent at 55p
Taxes & Business Support
- National Minimum Wage / Living Wage up 3.9% for 2.3 million workers
- Bank surcharge raised by an extra 3% (to 6% total) for 15 months from January, to help fund energy support
- Gambling taxes up (Machine Games Duty 20% → 25% for higher-stakes machines); pubs and seaside arcades protected
- Small business rates relief threshold raised from £12,000 to £18,000 (about 70,000 more businesses exempt); real-terms freeze for larger retail/hospitality firms
- Cash ISA limit stays at £20,000 (previous cut plan reversed); new Starter ISA planned
- Import tariffs removed on selected everyday goods (e.g. baked beans, chocolate)
Other Measures
- Extra £20.4bn for National Wealth Fund / British Business Bank (focus on growth areas including defence and AI).
- Bigger devolution: mayors to retain more business rates (20% next year, 100% local by end of decade) and a share of income tax from 2028; new Good Growth Funds
- Self-employed fathers to get paternity leave pay entitlement
- Measures to cut business energy costs (including 25% off electricity for ~10,000 firms via new scheme) and push cheaper energy overall
- Support for defence investment and Ukraine; continued commitment to net zero with some pragmatic energy decisions
#Budget26
🇬🇧 BUDGET DAY 2026
The Government keeps promising to make life easier for ordinary working people.
But millions are still struggling with:
💷 Rising household bills
🏠 Expensive mortgages and rent
🛒 Soaring shopping costs
💼 The pressure on workers and small businesses
The Chancellor is promising some breathing space.
But here’s the big question…
Do you genuinely believe this Government will make YOU financially better off?
YES or NO? 👇
Be honest. 🇬🇧
🚨 PICTURED: Mohmed Abdulkarim, one of the two suspects charged over the RAF Fairford plot
He allegedly loaded the three white vans with metal drums containing petrol, water butts and smart dashcams
You work 40+ hours a week.
You pay income tax.
You pay National Insurance.
You pay VAT.
You pay council tax.
You pay tax on your fuel.
And yet millions of people still feel like they’re barely getting by.
Is Britain asking too much from working people, or is the cost of living the real problem?
Senior doctors in England are set to strike on 25 and 26 November after the BMA said the government failed to make any meaningful progress in resolving the dispute.
With NHS pressure already high, this could cause major disruption for patients heading into winter.
Do you support the strike — or do you think it will only make things worse for patients? 👇
My friends son is 21, he’s just got his first proper job with a salary of £2300 a month.
He still lives at home and doesn’t yet pay anything. My mate says he’s going to ask for £600 a month towards the house bills
Is that the right thing to do?
Well, that’s me fully stocked up for whatever Britain decides to throw at us next. 🇬🇧
Tins of beans, bottled water, toilet roll, pasta, batteries and enough supplies to survive a small apocalypse.
Between the cost of living, rising bills, cyberattack warnings and the general state of this country, I’ve decided you can’t be too careful anymore.
Some people will call it panic buying. I call it being prepared.
The way things are going, a tin of Heinz beans will probably be worth more than a £20 note by Christmas.
Laugh all you want, but when the supermarket shelves are empty, don’t come knocking on my door asking for a tin of beans.
So what’s everyone saying? Have I completely lost the plot or is stockpiling becoming the sensible thing to do? 🇬🇧😂