In Pictures: Reform campaign sees Nigel Farage in his element despite criticisms
PA Reporters
·3-min read
With pints and placards, a flying milkshake, “bad apples” on the ballot paper, and constant reminders his party is merely “a start-up” and has room to grow, it’s been an eventful General Election campaign for Nigel Farage and Reform UK.
On May 22, when the election was called, the veteran politician was honorary party president and had ruled himself out of a Commons attempt, but by June 3 he had been declared leader of Reform and announced he would stand as a candidate in Clacton.
Mr Farage and party chairman Richard Tice had to deal with allegations of racism among some of their candidates and canvassers, but their “contract with the people” rather a traditional manifesto was welcomed by supporters around the country, culminating in a Trump-style rally in Birmingham watched by 5,000.
Nigel Farage’s candidacy in Clapton was dampened within a day when a banana milkshake was thrown over him as he left the Moon and Starfish pub after launching his General Election campaign on June 4 (James Manning/PA)
A few hours later, he shared in the joke by toasting with a McDonald’s milkshake during a visit to Jaywick in Essex (James Manning/PA)
There was a second incident when an object was thrown at Mr Farage when he was on top of his campaign bus in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, on June 11 ( Danny Lawson/PA)
Richard Tice started the campaign as Reform leader, but gave up the role to become party chairman and support Nigel Farage’s return (James Manning/PA)
Reform’s Our Contract With You was launched in a hall in Merthyr Tydfil on June 17 (Ben Birchall/PA)
The Reform campaign had some influential backers including property developer Nick Candy and his wife, the former actress and pop star Holly Valance, who at one stage was tipped as a potential candidate for the party herself (Yui Mok/PA)
Mr Farage met customers at a cafe in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, on June 11, where Lee Anderson, the former Tory and Independent MP, was standing as Reform candidate (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
Fans flocked to Mr Farage for selfies during his campaign visits (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
Signing posters after speaking at Princes Theatre in Clacton on June 18 (Ian West/PA)
However, not everyone greeted the Reform UK leader warmly, with one speech from the top of his campaign bus in Yorkshire greeted by posters and placards saying immigrants were welcome (Danny Lawson/PA)
Mr Farage’s shadow falls across the backdrop to a speech in Blackpool on June 20 (Tim Markland/PA)
Locked and loaded and aiming for a Commons seat after seven failed attempts, Mr Farage took part in clay pigeon shooting during a visit to Catton Hall in Frodsham, Cheshire, on June 20… (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
… but also tested his luck by playing a 2p machine in a Clacton-on-Sea arcade (Joe Giddens/PA)
While Rishi Sunak had a D-Day commemoration to forget after being criticised for returning to the UK early on the 80th anniversary of the landings, Mr Farage was on Gold Beach in Arromanches in Normandy driving a vintage jeep as dawn broke on June 6 (Aaron Chown/PA)
The audience for one of the campaign speeches, seen through the window of the Reform UK campaign bus in Maidstone, Kent on June 24 (Jordan Pettitt/PA)
The defeat of the Conservative Party in the UK election ends Rishi Sunak’s two-year premiership. Does it also sour the story of Britain’s first Asian prime minister, asks Sunder Katwala.
The leader of the Labour Party, Keir Starmer, has been mentored by Barack Obama. The relationship is likely to continue if Starmer wins the UK election.
A series of world events, poor decisions and fatal gaffes conspired to see Rishi Sunak lead the Tories to the worst electoral defeat in his party’s 346-year history
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Saturday that China's largest coastguard vessel has anchored in Manila's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea, and is meant to intimidate its smaller Asian neighbour. The China coastguard's 165-meter 'monster ship' entered Manila's 200-nautical mile EEZ on July 2, spokesperson for the PCG Jay Tarriela told a news forum. The PCG warned the Chinese vessel it was in the Philippine's EEZ and asked about their intentions, he said.
Rishi Sunak, 44, finds himself in a bind. After a highly successful career in the City of London, followed by a brief but eventful spell in politics, he has suffered a serious demotion and been evicted from his home.
Sir Keir Starmer’s wife of 17 years has been largely absent from the campaign trial and isn’t at all keen on moving into No10. From her political roots to their unlikely meeting, Katie Strick charts the life of the PM’s fiercely private other half
Iran's reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday won a runoff presidential election against ultraconservative Saeed Jalili, the interior ministry said.- Reformist support -
In last week's first round, Pezeshkian, who was the only reformist allowed to stand, won the largest number of votes, around 42 percent, while Jalili came second with around 39 percent, according to figures from Iran's elections authority.
The United Kingdom’s decision to hand the center-left Labour Party a parliamentary majority comes at the same time Europe is broadly in the grip of what some call a right-wing populist surge.
Rishi Sunak has apologised after leading the Conservatives to their worst ever election result as a Labour landslide swept Sir Keir Starmer to No 10. The outgoing prime minister said he would quit as Tory leader once arrangements are in place to choose his successor, potentially triggering another round of Conservative infighting as MPs scramble to replace him. In a statement outside No 10, Mr Sunak said: “I will shortly be seeing His Majesty the King to offer my resignation as prime minister. H.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday makes his first visit to Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, walking a fine line between maintaining a longstanding Moscow alliance while courting closer Western security ties. From Moscow, Modi will travel to Vienna for the first visit to the Austrian capital by an Indian leader since Indira Gandhi in 1983.
asv-pjm/gle/rsc/ser