A party's local campaign leaflets have been accused of "inflaming" public opinion. Reform UK has been handing out flyers across the Washington and Gateshead South constituency which suggest the rise in asylum seekers in Sunderland is linked to the city's sanctuary status which it gained in 2022.

Reform UK has grown from a fringe euroskeptic movement into a major force in British politics. By railing against immigration and the rising cost of living, the party led by Brexit figurehead Nigel Farage has siphoned support from the governing Labour party and Conservative opposition to fracture the old two-party system.

The previous leader, Guy Aston, resigned in November following a disagreement within the group.

Reform U.K., the rising right-wing populist political party threatening to eclipse the Conservatives in British politics, has just scored its biggest defection yet. Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman appeared alongside Reform leader Nigel Farage at a Veterans for Reform rally in London on Monday,

Former British Home Secretary Suella Braverman has defected to the hard-right Reform UK party. She resigned her 30-year membership with the Conservative Party and will now represent her southern England constituency as a Reform member.

The populist Reform party is suing the UK government, challenging proposals that may delay local elections, according to a court order.

Conservative leader claimed Tory defectors who had joined Reform UK were having a “tantrum dressed up as politics”.