World
Farage's Reform UK beats out establishment parties in 'earthquake' elections
The right-wing Reform UK Party saw a series of electoral wins early Friday after it secured parliamentary, mayoral and several local election seats in what leader Nigel Farage said is proof that Reform UK is “now the opposition party to this Labour government.”
Farage, who predicted earlier this year in an interview with Fox News Digital that there would be a “political revolution,” said the centurylong, two-party system that has dominated British politics was “now dead” after both the liberal Labour Party and Conservative Party saw losses in a Thursday election.
Reform UK secured a fifth parliamentary seat after Sarah Pochin flipped the Runcorn & Helsby constituency, which is, according to Reform leaders, considered Labour “heartland.”
Nigel Farage, center, leader of the Reform UK Party, celebrates the victory of Sarah Pochin, the party’s candidate, in the Runcorn & Helsby by-election at the DCBL Stadium in Widnes, north-west England, in the early hours of May 2, 2025. (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
BRACE FOR A ‘POLITICAL REVOLUTION’ IN EUROPE, UK’S NIGEL FARAGE SAYS AFTER VANCE’S SPEECH IN MUNICH
“Victory in Runcorn & Helsby proves we are now the opposition party to this Labour government,” Farage said on X. “With this and other results tonight, it’s clear that if you vote Conservative you will get Labour. But if you vote Reform, you get Reform.”
The race for the Runcorn & Helsby seat was the most closely watched race and required a full recount, after which it was confirmed that Reform secured the seat by just six votes.
Farage championed the victory as “a small margin” but “a huge win.”
The Labour Party – which is led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer – currently holds 403 seats in Parliament, followed by the Conservative Party, which holds 121. Liberal Democrats hold 72 seats, while Independents hold 14. The remainder of the 40 other seats are divided between 11 other parties, including Reform.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, center, chats with members of staff during a visit to Leonardo, one of the biggest suppliers of defence and security equipment to the UK MOD, on May 2, 2025 in Luton, England. (Photo Henry Nicholls – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
ENGLAND SPORTS GOVERNING BODY BANS TRANSGENDER ATHLETES FROM WOMEN’S SOCCER FOLLOWING UK COURT RULING
Andrea Jenkyns also snagged the mayorship for Greater Lincolnshire, which has for years been dominated by the Conservative Party.
Reform UK’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, reportedly told Times Radio on Friday, “It’s certainly a political earthquake because up and down the country in some 650 elections, give or take, voters have voted and the votes are coming in against the main two parties.”
Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK Party, and Sarah Pochin, the party’s candidate, celebrate her victory in the Runcorn & Helsby by-election at the DCBL Stadium in Widnes, north-west England, in the early hours of May 2, 2025. (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
According to Farage, the rise in Reform UK supporters suggests the Conservative Party – which he was a former member of but left in the 90s and eventually started the Brexit Party before changing the name to Reform UK in 2021 – is losing support.
“You’re witnessing the end of a party that’s been around since 1832,” he told reporters, according to a Reuters report.
World
Google puts AI agents at heart of its enterprise money-making push
World
Landlords allegedly posting ‘Muslim-only’ apartment ads in violation of country’s equality act: report
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Some landlords in England are apparently advertising “Muslim-only” apartments online, according to a local media report.
An investigation by The Telegraph found that alleged listings posted in London on Facebook, Gumtree and Telegram feature phrases such as “only for Muslims,” “for 2 Muslim boys or 2 Muslim girls,” and “Muslims preferred.”
Other ads appeal to Punjabi and Gujarati speakers, while some job vacancies on the platforms are advertised for men only.
Some listings specify “Hindu only,” in addition to posts that likely use religious subtext by stating: “The house should be alcohol and smoke-free.”
IS MAMDANI’S SOCIALIST PUSH FOR RENT CONTROLS ABOUT TO WRECK THE NEW YORK CITY HOUSING MARKET?
On Facebook, a company called Roshan Properties posted dozens of listings stating “prefer Muslim boy,” “one double room is available for Muslims,” and “suitable for Punjabi boy.” A Meta spokesman told Fox News Digital that Facebook then removed the company’s page “for violating the platform’s policies on discriminatory practices.”
Apartment buildings in Westminster, London, U.K. (John Keeble/Getty Images)
The ads run afoul of Britain’s Equality Act 2010, which prohibits discrimination based on religion or belief, race and other protected characteristics.
“These adverts are disgusting and anti-British. It goes without saying that there would be a national outrage if the tables were turned,” Robert Jenrick, Reform UK’s economic spokesman, told The Telegraph. “All forms of racism are unacceptable, and no religious group should get a special exemption to discriminate in this way.”
Houses and properties line Cheyne Walk in Chelsea, London, U.K. Some landlords in the city are illegally advertising for “Muslim only” tenants across the city, an investigation by The Telegraph has found. (Richard Baker/In Pictures via Getty Images)
One landlord told The Telegraph to “go away” when asked about an ad for a “Muslims only” room for $1,150, and whether it was available to renters of other faiths.
A spokesperson for Gumtree told the newspaper that the company has clear policies in place that prohibit unlawful discrimination.
On Facebook, a company called Roshan Properties posted dozens of listings stating “prefer Muslim boy,” (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“We take reports of inappropriate listings very seriously,” the spokesperson said. “The ads referenced appear to relate to private rooms within shared homes, where existing occupants may express preferences about who they live with. This is different from renting out an entire property, which is subject to stricter rules under the Equality Act.”
Telegram did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
World
Is Europe too late to the metal recycling game?
Europe’s critical raw materials crisis has a partial answer sitting in the waste stream — but the continent has been too slow to see it.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Dorota Włoch, CEO of Eneris Surowce, was direct: recycling is no longer optional.
Unlike plastics, metals can be recovered and reused indefinitely, making urban mining — the recovery of raw materials from existing products and waste — increasingly valuable, particularly for batteries.
“From recycling, we recover metallic aluminium and so-called black mass, which is a concentrate of metals, mainly cobalt-nickel. These are some of the most valuable battery metals. And batteries are crucial today, not only in the automotive sector, but also in storing energy from renewable sources such as wind and solar,” she said.
‘Europe is 25 years late’
Włoch put the scale of the problem plainly. “Deposits are critical — any machine can be bought, but natural resources are not. They are non-transferable and non-renewable. If we use them, they simply disappear,” she said.
Europe’s belated recognition of that reality has cost it dearly.
“The regulation of critical raw materials came 25 years after other regions of the world had invested heavily in deposits. Europe was too passive. Today we are catching up, but the regulations are often so demanding that countries like Poland have difficulty implementing them.”
Who benefits most from extraction?
Poland holds significant reserves of raw materials critical to the modern economy, such as copper, coking coal, nickel, platinum group metals, helium, rhenium, lead and silver.
But the minerals needed most for the energy transition, such as lithium, cobalt and graphite, exist only in limited quantities, forcing imports.
Arkadiusz Kustra, dean of the faculty of civil engineering and resource management at AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków, told a panel at the European Economic Congress that awareness of the full supply chain, and who profits from it, was now essential.
He pointed to Serbia as a case study.
“Serbia has lithium deposits and is already in talks with Mercedes or Stellantis,” he said. Belgrade is using that leverage to attract investment in battery factories and car plants, keeping more of the value chain at home.
The goal, Kustra argued, should be regional supply chains that retain added value locally.
“You can earn the least at the beginning and the most from the end customer,” he said.
The bigger obstacle is Chinese dominance.
“Margins in critical raw materials largely go to the Chinese, who control more than 90% of processing and trading, even though they do not own most of the deposits,” he said.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo — among the world’s most resource-rich countries — Chinese entities control around 90% of deposits.
The panel also pointed to growing interest in new supply partnerships, with Poland eyeing assets in the Congo region and the Americas.
-
South Dakota1 minute agoSDDOT reminds public not to put election signs on state highway rights-of-way
-
Tennessee7 minutes agoWhat TV channel is Alabama baseball vs Tennessee today? Streaming, start times
-
Texas13 minutes agoFirst round of Texas Education Freedom Accounts awarded to priority students
-
Utah19 minutes agoSuazo Business Center, traditionally focused on Latinos, gets $600K grant to expand services
-
Vermont25 minutes agoLetter to the Editor: A different path for Vermont’s environmental future
-
Virginia31 minutes agoWhy the Virginia redistricting referendum wasn’t a slam dunk for Democrats
-
Washington37 minutes agoSpringtime in Washington means it’s time for another round of federal privacy legislation | Brookings
-
Wisconsin43 minutes ago
What can and can’t you recycle in Wisconsin? Here are the rules to know