It was assumed that Reform would sweep all before it – but locals rejected the party’s campaign of ‘lies and hate’

Yuliia Bond works two jobs, raises two children and is studying at university. In the autumn, she also found time to take on Reform UK when it tried to win the Caerphilly byelection.

Bond, a Ukrainian refugee who has settled in south Wales, said she could not remain silent as Reform tried to win the seat in the Senedd (Welsh parliament ).

Police show the Guardian around hotspots for a rural crime that has links to international gangs – and is on the rise

A cold, bright afternoon in the Vale of Pewsey and a couple of brown hares were nibbling away in a field of winter barley. It was a tranquil scene in this tucked-away corner of the English West Country but tyre tracks cutting through the crop were a sign of the violence that takes place when night falls.

This is one of the hotspots in Wiltshire for hare coursing, in which criminal gangs set dogs – usually greyhounds or lurchers – on the mammals.

Tim Smit also says extreme political views will fade when people realise good things around the corner

Sir Tim Smit says the world is in a better place than it was when he co-founded the Eden Project 25 years ago and he believes people are more attuned to the natural world.

Speaking as the project in Cornwall reaches its 25th anniversary, Smit describedextreme political views as the “roar” of people fearful that they cannot control the future but he said they would fade when people realised that good things were around the corner.