Newslinks for Friday 24th October 2025 | Conservative Home

Plaid Cymru see off Reform in what should be Labour heartland

“Plaid Cymru has won the Caerphilly byelection in south Wales, a dramatic result signalling a sharp realignment in Welsh politics with repercussions for the whole of Britain. Rhun ap Iorwerth’s party, which wants Wales to become independent, seized the Senedd (Welsh parliament) constituency from Labour and resisted a fierce challenge from Reform UK. Plaid candidate Lindsay Whittle received 15,961 votes, while Reform UK’s Llyr Powell won 12,113. Labour’s vote collapsed in what had been a stronghold, with its candidate Richard Tunnicliffe polling only 3,713 votes. Plaid emerged with a majority of 3,848 votes, and a swing of almost 27% from Labour… The result is a blow for Farage, who visited Caerphilly during the campaign. Reform’s Powell made no speech after the result was announced. Speaking to reporters later, he said: “We decimated Labour. It’s a massive gain for us here.” Powell said Reform had learnt a lot about campaigning, which would be put to good use at next year’s full Senedd elections. “A big part of what we were trying to do here is to master our campaigning. We’ve trained so many people up on our systems. We’re now a grassroots campaigning party.” Labour has dominated in Wales for a century but the party, which runs the Welsh government, now holds 29 of the 60 Senedd seats and the result makes it more difficult for it to pass its 2026-27 budget, which could leave the people of Wales facing cuts to public services. What has happened in Caerphilly is also a huge blow for the UK Labour prime minister, Keir Starmer, as he tries to fight off the surge from Reform across Britain.” – The Guardian

• Labour humiliation as Plaid Cymru win Welsh parliament by-election in former stronghold: latest – The Independent
• Labour ousted in Caerphilly by-election as 107-year grip on ‘safe’ seat is smashed – GBNews
• Rishi Sunak: ‘My friends don’t dare tell me if they vote Reform’ – The Times
• ‘Jail is inevitable’ for former Reform politician awaiting bribery sentence – The Observer

Comment:

• Unpacking Labour’s humiliation in Caerphilly – Ben Walker, The New Statesman
• No Reform triumph, but Caerphilly signals deeper woes – Patrick Maguire, The Times
• Caerphilly result is blow to Labour and Reform – and shows parties who cannot adapt will be crushed – Peter Walker, The Guardian
• Caerphilly By-Election Result Shows How Nigel Farage Could Be Reform’s Achilles Heel – Kevin Schofield, HuffPost
• Wales has just shown Starmer how unpopular he really is – Tom Harris, Daily Telegraph
• Extraordinary Caerphilly by-election humbles Westminster’s big beasts – Chris Mason, BBC News

> Today:

> Yesterday:

End the witch hunt on veterans

“Sir Keir Starmer has been told to stop “show trials” of Troubles veterans after a former paratrooper was cleared of murdering civilians on Bloody Sunday. The man, known as Soldier F and now in his 70s, was cleared on Thursday of murdering two unarmed protesters and attempting to kill five others more than 50 years ago. He is the only soldier prosecuted over the killings in the Bogside area of Londonderry, Northern Ireland, on Jan 30 1972, and was dragged through a five-week non-jury trial before a judge ruled at Belfast Crown Court that the evidence against him fell “well short”. The verdict is likely to bring an end to five decades of multi-million pound inquiries and investigations into Bloody Sunday, regarded as one of the darkest days of the Troubles, when 13 civil rights demonstrators were shot dead and more than a dozen were injured. However, other Troubles veterans still face potential prosecution because Labour has scrapped Conservative plans to offer them immunity. On Thursday night, in the wake of the Soldier F verdict, Sir Keir was told he must back down and reinstate these plans under the Legacy Act in full. Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said: “Soldier F has been dragged through the courts, despite a clear lack of evidence. There are going to be many more prosecutions brought like this because Keir Starmer plans to scrap the protections brought in through the Legacy Act. The treatment of our brave veterans brings shame on our country.”” – Daily Telegraph

• Now, end the witch hunt! Campaigners’ demands after elderly ex-Para hounded over Bloody Sunday killings more than 50 years ago is cleared of ALL charges – Daily Mail
• Is Soldier F just the beginning of the Bloody Sunday trials? – The Times
• Soldier F found not guilty of murders in Bloody Sunday Derry shooting as judge says evidence ‘well short’ for conviction – The Sun

Comment:

• IRA sympathisers must not be allowed to rewrite history – Tim Collins, Daily Telegraph
• Acquittal of ‘Soldier F’ raises questions on handling of Troubles trials – The Times View

Reeves looking at raising income tax

“Rachel Reeves is considering raising income tax at next month’s budget to help reduce a multibillion pound shortfall, sources have told the Guardian. The chancellor is in active discussions over breaking one of her party’s main manifesto pledges as she looks for ways to clear an estimated shortfall of more than £30bn, according to three sources close to the budget process. Some advisers in the Treasury and No 10 believe that raising income tax may be the only way to make sure she raises enough money never to have to come back for tax rises again in this parliament. But Reeves is understood to be nervous about the political consequences of such a major abandonment of the party’s previous pledges, especially given she broke them to raise national insurance last year. The Treasury is also torn over which rates it could raise. One source said Reeves is considering adding 1p to the basic rate, which would garner more than £8bn. However, doing so is likely to add to concerns about the cost of living. And with the chancellor having promised to make sure those with the “broadest shoulders” face the highest burden, others believe she is more likely to raise the higher or additional rates. Those rates, which kick in at roughly £50,000 and £125,000 a year, bring in the much smaller sums of about £2bn and £230m, respectively.” – The Guardian

• Rachel Reeves could break Labour manifesto pledge by hiking income tax at Budget – Daily Express
• Labour MPs urge Reeves to break party’s pledge not to raise income tax – The i
• FTSE chiefs hit out at ‘damaging uncertainty’ ahead of the Budget – Daily Telegraph
• Magic Circle law firms face £250m blow from Reeves tax raid – Daily Telegraph

Comment:

• At least someone’s buying what Rachel Reeves is selling – Patrick Maguire, The Times
• The latest Budget horror has landed… and this daylight robbery means we’ll NEVER be able to escape Starmer’s socialist misery – Richard Littlejohn, Daily Mail
• Rachel Reeves is the face of this budget. But the really big decisions are not in Labour’s hands – Larry Elliott, The Guardian

> Yesterday:

Grooming inquiry may be off until next year

“Survivors of grooming may have to wait until next year for the government’s national inquiry to begin, after ministers were forced to restart the process to appoint a chair. Government sources conceded it would probably take months to find someone to oversee an inquiry that descended into chaos as survivors walked away from their liaison panel. Both contenders to chair the inquiry also pulled out this week, leaving ministers without a candidate they could approve for the role. They now plan to “re-engage” with survivors, “listen to their concerns and take their opinions on the type of person they want to lead the inquiry”. A government source said they would “seek a new field of candidates” and “move as fast as possible”, but admitted they must “also take the time, likely months, to appoint the right chair”. The source said: “With the loss of the leading candidate for the chair of the grooming gangs inquiry, the government is taking urgent steps to ensure a new candidate is found.” Jim Gamble, a former police officer, withdrew his candidacy on Wednesday, complaining of “political opportunism” and “point-scoring”. He acknowledged on Thursday that his police background meant some survivors “couldn’t place their confidence in me” and said those appointing the chair would “need to look at the character of individuals”, adding: “They need to look at the history of those individuals to establish: are they people with integrity?” One of the survivors, who goes by the name of “Elizabeth Harper”, said she was not surprised the process to find a new chair could take months. She told The Times: “It doesn’t surprise me, because now they know they’ve got this terribly wrong, they might not find any candidates who want to actually do it. So where does that leave us? Because they have set it up really [sloppily].”” – The Times

• Grooming gangs inquiry to be delayed for months – Daily Telegraph
• Grooming gang survivors say they may return to inquiry if Jess Phillips resigns – ITV News
• Jess Phillips has ‘full backing’ of PM over grooming gangs inquiry, says minister – The Guardian

Comment:

• Why I resigned from the national grooming gang inquiry – Fiona Goddard, The Spectator
• Why Jess Phillips is in the firing line in the grooming inquiry chaos – Isabel Hardman, The i
• Jess Phillips should apologise, but not resign – Tom Harris, Daily Telegraph

News in brief:

• Islamic extremist network is spreading in Birmingham – David Rose, Unherd
• Rachel Reeves is scaring the wealth out of London – Damian Pudner, CapX
• Ellie Reeves is even more incompetent than her sister Rachel – Madeline Grant, The Spectator
• Pantsuit deportations – James Price, The Critic