Reform UK leader Nigel Farage being interviewed by the media after an eve of poll photocall at College Green, Westminster, on the last day of campaigning ahead of the local elections on Thursday, May 6, 2026
MILLIONS of votes will be cast on Thursday in Scotland and Wales in the election of these two nations’ devolved governments and in England a cross-section of communities will vote — in six places for regional mayors — and in 5,000 seats where the composition of 136 different councils are up for grabs.
This is the biggest test of electoral opinion since Keir Starmer took office on millions of votes fewer than won by Jeremy Corbyn.
The calamitous fall in Labour’s popularity is the main feature of these elections but we should not discount the scale of the Tory collapse.
You might think that the defection of much of Boris Johnson’s Cabinet to Reform UK would have given Kemi Badenoch the opportunity to recover something of the traditional Tory vote, such as it exists. This, at least would be an innovation but, like Labour, the Tories are no longer a credible party of a future government.
Reform UK is faltering with a certain sense that the Establishment is setting limits on its ambitions. The monopoly media is not so tolerant; opinion polls are less encouraging and the more Nigel Farage’s privately owned electoral vehicle resembles the Tory Party the fewer workers are prepared to swallow its fetishisation of the market and its hostility to public services.
Today the Trump connection plays badly even on the deluded right.
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Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley [Wikipedia]
The Palestine Coalition has today commenced a formal complaint with the London Mayor’s Office over comments by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley. In interviews with The Times and ITV on 1st May, Commissioner Rowley asserted that the Coalition organisers have sought to route marches for Palestinian rights past synagogues. In The Times he said, “The fact that features as the organisers’ intent, I think that sends a message … that feels like antisemitism.” On ITV he said, “They set out with an intent to march near synagogues etc and every single time that we put conditions on to prevent that.”
The Palestine Coalition have condemned his remarks and wrote to the Commissioner two days ago calling on him to retract these false and inflammatory statements. They said “The truth is that at no point have we ever requested to ‘walk by’ a synagogue on any of our marches. We have no interest in doing so. Police recordings of our meetings with you will confirm this…It is completely unacceptable for a senior public official to make these false claims and accusations, which can only raise the level of tension in the current situation.”
In the complaint to the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) the Coalition organisers say the Commissioner’s comments were intentional, not inadvertent, and made to undermine and stigmatise the Palestine marches. They say he has contravened the standards of professional behaviour of his office by not acting with honesty or integrity and has abused his powers and acted in a manner which undermines public confidence in the police. He has also acted in a racially discriminatory way in inferring that protests against fundamental violations of international law by Israel and by Britain are antisemitic. The Coalition is demanding a retraction by the Commissioner and a full apology.
The complaint comes ahead of the annual Nakba Day March, held this year on Saturday 16th May, which commemorates the 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestine. The demonstration will call for an end to British support for Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people, and will also protest against the far-right march led by Tommy Robinson, happening on the same day. The Met Police have given the political centre of London to the demonstration by the “Unite the Kingdom” group, whilst continuing to restrict the options for the Nakba Day demonstration and imposing stifling conditions under the Public Order Act.
The Coalition members are: Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Palestinian Forum of Britain, Stop the War Coalition, Friends of Al-Aqsa, Muslim Association of Britain, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
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An aerial view from Sheikh Ridwan in Gaza City, Gaza, shows the heavy destruction left behind after the Israeli army withdraws following a ceasefire agreement, on October 25, 2025. [Mahmoud Abu Hamda – Anadolu Agency]
Israel is preparing to spend nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars on its propaganda apparatus, in a sign of growing alarm in Tel Aviv over its collapse in global standing following the genocide in Gaza and expanding wars across the region.
According to The Jerusalem Post, Israel’s public diplomacy budget, known in Hebrew as hasbara, has risen to $730 million, more than four times the $150 million allocated the previous year. That earlier sum was itself reportedly around 20 times higher than Israel’s pre-2023 spending on such efforts.
The vast increase was included in Israel’s national budget passed in March and will be directed through the national public diplomacy directorate, which oversees efforts to shape foreign public opinion.
The surge in propaganda spending comes as Israel is increasingly seen by critics and human rights organisations as a pariah state.
The budget increase appears to reflect Israeli fears that the country’s ability to rely on Western political cover may be weakening. This is particularly true in the US, Israel’s most important ally and arms supplier, where public support has fallen sharply.
A Pew Research Center poll published in April found that 60 per cent of US adults now hold an unfavourable view of Israel, up from 53 per cent last year and nearly 20 points higher than in 2022. Only 37 per cent view Israel favourably.
The shift cuts across important sections of US society. Pew found that 80 per cent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents now view Israel unfavourably, while 57 per cent of Republicans under 50 also hold a negative view.
Gallup has recorded a similar trend. Its February survey found that American sympathy is no longer clearly with Israel, with 41 per cent saying they sympathise more with Palestinians and 36 per cent with Israelis. Gallup said Israel’s favourable rating had fallen close to its historical low, while ratings of the Palestinian Territories had reached a new high.
The crisis has triggered open concern inside Israel’s own policy establishment. The Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv has warned of a “deepening crisis” in Israel’s standing in the US, pointing to declining support among younger Americans, Democrats, younger Republicans and parts of the Jewish community.
A separate report cited growing diplomatic and public opinion isolation and warned of a “creeping economic boycott”, as businesses, academic institutions and civil society organisations become more reluctant to maintain ties with Israel.
Israel’s foreign ministry has responded by expanding its messaging machinery. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has overseen the creation of a dedicated unit to shape international narratives, while funds have reportedly been channelled into digital campaigns, foreign delegations, influencer outreach and pro-Israel advocacy networks.
Reports have also pointed to a centralised “media war room” tracking coverage of Israel across hundreds of outlets and monitoring thousands of daily references. Additional spending has reportedly been directed towards evangelical networks, private public relations firms and campaigns aimed at universities, influencers and young audiences.
The scale of the spending suggests that Israel views its deteriorating image not merely as a public relations problem, but as a strategic threat. Israel’s military dominance has long depended on the political, diplomatic and military support of Western governments, especially Washington. If Western publics increasingly view Israel as a genocidal, apartheid and expansionist state, sustaining unconditional support becomes harder for elected leaders.
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
US President Donald Trump speaks flanked by top administration officials at the White House in Washington, DC on March 26, 2026.(Photo by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
An Iranian official said Trump’s operation “failed completely” and that Iran “will not participate in direct negotiations until the United States formally announces the end of the blockade.”
US President Donald Trump announced late Tuesday that he is putting his administration’s scheme to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz on hold after just one full day, a decision that came hours after top American officials touted the president’s so-called “Project Freedom” at press briefings.
Trump said in a social mediapost that he paused the project—which allowed just two commercial ships to pass through the strait—“based on the request of Pakistan and other countries.” The US president, whose war of choice is historically unpopular with the American public, also asserted that “Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran,” a claim that Iran rejected.
As Pakistan’s prime minister welcomed Trump’s announcement, an unnamed Iranian official told Drop Site’s Jeremy Scahill that the US president’s short-lived operation “failed completely” and that his statement announcing the pause of Project Freedom was “riddled with falsehoods.” The official added that “we will not participate in direct negotiations until the United States formally announces the end of the blockade.”
The US president said in his post that the illegal US naval blockade of Iran would “remain in full force and effect.”
“Trump is desperately bouncing from one extreme to another,” said political scientist Robert Pape in response to Trump’s announcement.
Trump’s decision to put Project Freedom on hold came shortly after Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio hailed the president’s initiative as a bold mission to rescue some 1,600 vessels stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed in response to the unlawful US-Israeli war and subsequent naval blockade.
“Iran’s plan, a form of international extortion, is unacceptable. That ends with Project Freedom,” Hegseth declared during a press briefing on Tuesday morning.
Rubio similarly decried Iran’s actions in the Strait of Hormuz—located in Omani and Iranian territorial waters—as violations of international law.
“There is no international law that allows you to say: I’m going to put mines in an international body of water, and I’m going to blow up ships that don’t listen to us and try to go through,” said Rubio.
Legal scholar Maryam Jamshidi rejected the top US diplomat’s assessment, calling it “all wrong.”
“Hormuz is not international waters,” Jamshidi wrote. “It’s an international strait composed of the territorial waters of Iran and Oman. Iran can mine its territorial waters during wartime. The laws of naval warfare also allow Iran to target ships in certain cases. The US is the only criminal here.”
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
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12 years old Palestinian Mohammed al-Mubayyid, who lost a leg in an Israeli attack on Gaza’s Al-Zeitoun neighborhood, is seen on a wheelchair in Gaza Strip on December 03, 2025. [Saeed M. M. T. Jaras – Anadolu Agency]
The UN on Monday warned that one in five amputees in the Gaza Strip is a child, as a critical shortage of prosthetic specialists and restricted entry of materials leave thousands without adequate care, Anadolu reports.
“On health, concerns remain over skin diseases and other medical issues linked to the presence of pests and rodents,” said UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric at a news conference, adding that more than 6,600 people need prosthetic and rehabilitation care.
“That includes thousands of people who have received amputations since October 2023, yet only eight prosthetic technicians are available to respond,” he said.
Warning that “with severe shortages of specialists and restricted entry of prosthetic materials, it could take five years or more to meet today’s needs,” Dujarric stressed that “one in five amputees is a child.”
Dujarric stressed that “international prosthetic technicians are urgently needed, as well as the unimpeded entry of prosthetic materials, which remain restricted by the Israeli authorities.”
Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007, leaving the territory’s 2.4 million people on the verge of starvation.
It launched a brutal two-year offensive on Gaza in October 2023, killing more than 72,000 people, injuring over 172,000, and causing massive destruction across the besieged territory.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage being interviewed by the media after an eve of poll photocall at College Green, Westminster, on the last day of campaigning ahead of the local elections on Thursday, May 6, 2026
