Alexandra Topping

There’s a risk to Reform of failing to recognise that most of the public make quite a clear distinction between straight talking (one of the things many like about Farage) and what they will see as unnecessarily rude/nasty or just UnBritish coming from a politician.

Do the Conservatives have a problem with muslims? Me and @peterwalker99 standing in for @PippaCrerar and @kiranstacey on Politics Weekly this week. V much in the vein of the Gladiators: Epic Pranks spin off theguardian.com/politics/audio…

'I'm gonna give it one more second...' A video about Kemi Badenoch's achievements malfunctions at the Conservative Party local election launch

Nigel Farage has called Welsh people “Foreign speakers” in a Cameo video. I hate to break it to you Mr Farage, but if you read a history book you would realise English is more foreign in the UK than Welsh. He said: “Gutted I couldn’t attend the wedding. I wanted to come, but I heard that half the guests were Welsh, and I don’t know. Who knows what would have happened with all those foreign speakers there. I don’t know.” This is at a time that his party are trying to convince people in Wales that they should elect them to the Welsh Parliament. Big credit to the Guardian for breaking this story: theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-int…

Starmer starts #PMQS by calling on everyone who Can I attended club chemistry Canterbury on March, 5, 6 or 7, "to come forward, please to receive antibiotics"

Great to meet @JamesTCobbler for this story. A man in a hurry to try and reform prisons while he can >> theguardian.com/society/2026/m…

Yes, Geoffrey Cox made a good speech. But it's also only the second debate he spoke in 2026. And last year, he spoke in just 5 debates He found time to earn over £774,000 in legal work though Let's see how the new MP gets on, but compare them on their work, not their outfits

The size of the @nytimes newsroom: Publisher AG Sulzberger says it’s now 2300 journalists, doubled from 10 years ago.

NEW from @jessicaelgot >> Mandelson was offered highly classified briefing before he finished vetting process theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/m…

🚨The email from Dec 23 says that Mandelson was offered the briefing on 6 January, in the same email that talks about going through the vetting process. This second email on 30 January suggests developed vetting was confirmed on 29 January.

NEW - Mandelson was offered a "higher tiers" briefing on January 6, before his developed vetting was confirmed on January 29, emails appear to show. This mean he was offered highly classified briefing from the FCDO as US ambassador before he finished the formal vetting process

NEW - The Mandelson files reveal Peter Mandelson initially requested a £500k severance payment. He was given a payment of £75k.

NEW: Jess Phillips reveals she's a victim of the courts backlog with a man accused of breaching a restraining order against her not due in crown court until 2028. “It’s OK for me. I’ve got extra security, I’ve got other safeguards. But imagine that was a breach of an order against a violent ex-husband, and it’s going to be heard in more than two years’ time. Are you joking? That’s absolutely mental.” Story by @LexyTopping theguardian.com/society/2026/m…

NIchols says: “Despite their best efforts and the publication of our groundbreaking VAWG strategy, there is so much that we can be doing for rape victims that isn't the Lord Chancellor using them as a cudgel to drive through reforms.”

“Following the acquittal my rapist may not be considered to have met the criminal threshold for guilt beyond all reasonable doubt, and is out there on the streets as a free man while I live with the life sentence of what he did to me,” says Nichols. Mf

Nichols says: “I know only too well what that feels like as after being raped at an event that I attended in my capacity as a member of parliament, I waited 1088 days to go to court.”

Stella Creasy stands up to support Nichols. “I want to speak on behalf of everybody in this chamber in saying we are with her every step of the way so damn proud of her,” she says

Nicols says she does not support the bill: “Experiences like mine feel like they've been weaponized and are being used for rhetorical misdirection,” she says

Natalie Fleet says: “you’ll hear that this is a class issue, and yes, it is. This is the victims versus the establishment that we are hearing far too much from today.”

Natalie fleet makes contribution in the courts bill debate: “What has been lacking from this debate is the voices of victims,” she says. “I can tell you from personal experience, you know what's worse than being raped, facing years of waiting to see if people believe you”.