A Liberal Democrat councillor on Portsmouth City Council for more than 20 years has quit the party to join Reform UK. Jason Fazackarley, who has also twice served as Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, was first elected to the city council in 1995.

LBC can reveal that when Cllr Mason's posts were uncovered - instead of condemning his comments, the leader of the Reform-run council, Ian Cooper, appeared to back his colleague by telling other Reform members in an email: "I don't intend for Peter to resign.... We stick together!"

A party spokesman said: "Cllr Izzy Kemp has been expelled from Reform UK following an internal investigation into the leaking of confidential information. "Cllr Maxine Fothergill has been expelled from Reform UK after an internal investigation found she had failed to disclose a serious matter to the party during vetting."

Economic insecurity is hastening the death of the two-party system that’s dominated UK politics for a century, detailed polling and deprivation data suggest.

Britain's interior minister on Sunday defended plans to drastically reduce protections for refugees and end automatic benefits for asylum seekers, insisting that irregular migration was "tearing our country apart".

But the proposals were criticised as "harsh and unnecessary" by the Refugee Council charity and are likely to be opposed by left-wing lawmakers within Prime Minister Keir Starmer's embattled Labour government.

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is drawing up plans for a broad shake-up of financial regulation, taxation and pensions in a bid to revive Britain’s economy if the party comes to power after the next election due by 2029.

The government has said that financial assistance to asylum seekers would become "discretionary", which implies that the administration would be able to deny the aid to those who are capable of working.

Analysis of UK's political landscape as Reform UK gains traction in polls, potentially challenging the Conservative and Labour parties. Focus on voter sentiment and Westminster's reaction.