David Maddox
David Maddox tracks how political parties wield and lose power, focusing on internal Labour battles, the rise of Reform UK and the way rules, donations and past referendums shape Westminster politics. He is political editor at The Independent and has covered politics at national, regional and local level for more than a quarter of a century as a journalist. His reporting combines live Westminster coverage with longer reads on elections, leadership contests and government accountability.
Labour factions, leadership and party strategy
Maddox returns repeatedly to Labour’s internal arguments and strategic choices, including conflicts between figures aligned with Blue Labour and Andy Burnham over Brexit.[anchor] He writes explanatory pieces on Labour’s stance toward Israel and foreign policy, setting those decisions in the context of the party’s recent history and leadership tensions. His coverage of Keir Starmer’s cabinet reshuffle describes how moving the “same faces” into different posts risks leaving the prime minister with a weaker, less experienced team, highlighting the limits of cosmetic change in party management. Across these stories he focuses on who gains and loses influence inside Labour, and how those shifts affect its ability to govern and respond to crises.
Reform UK, Nigel Farage and political funding rules
Maddox devotes substantial reporting to Reform UK, Nigel Farage and the strain that their tactics place on Britain’s political system. He has covered allegations that Reform breached donation rules, including complaints reported to the police over whether the party followed funding regulations.
In another strand of his work he reports on Labour’s efforts to crack down on Reform’s donations, framing that push as an attempt both to protect democratic norms and to secure the party’s own position. His stories also document attempts by figures around Farage to pressure The Independent over unfavourable coverage, including threats to bar the title from Reform events, and the resulting calls for Farage to answer to MPs about an “assault on free press”.
Through these pieces, Maddox links party finance, regulation and media freedom to wider questions about how insurgent parties are changing the rules of competition.
Westminster set pieces and government accountability
As political editor, Maddox covers the key set pieces of Westminster politics and uses them to test how leaders perform under pressure. His analysis of Andy Burnham’s first Prime Minister’s Questions examines whether the prime minister or Kemi Badenoch emerged stronger from the exchange, treating PMQs as a measure of authority rather than a weekly ritual. He follows the trail of senior figures such as Peter Mandelson, reporting on text messages and vetting questions that later surface in broadcast interviews with ministers, showing how off-stage conversations and security processes can embarrass a government. His work on the release of official files related to Mandelson looks at what ministers call “unprecedented” transparency and how that claim sits alongside earlier attempts to limit scrutiny. These stories use documents, sources and televised moments to probe how far the government is prepared to go when confronted with demands for openness.
Elections, referendums and a long view of political change
Maddox’s author biography emphasises the breadth of his experience across election cycles and constitutional votes. He has reported on seven general elections and three referendums, including Brexit and Scottish independence, giving him a long record of watching parties adapt to shifting public opinion and institutional change.
Earlier in his career he worked on both regional and national titles before moving into his current role at The Independent, combining local-ground reporting with Westminster-focused coverage. Beyond daily news, he has written essays on Conservative politics and figures such as Jacob Rees-Mogg, asking whether movements like the “neo-Jacobites” could propel such a politician to the premiership.
His biography notes that he began in print and has been repeatedly recognised for digital journalism, reflecting an interest in using online formats such as newsletters to follow politics between big set-piece events.
4 more politics journalists.
Aaron D'Andrea
Aaron D’Andrea is a supervising online journalist at Global News who treats politics as part of a wider news ecosystem, combining breaking-news speed with close attention to how decisions and incidents shape public life. He focuses on high-impact politics and breaking stories for a national audience, especially where provincial power struggles and national politics collide, and how premiers, opposition parties and activist groups can turn local moves into national questions. He reports on digital deception and politics, including deepfake scams targeting public figures, and covers crime and public safety when cases rise to national significance. His background includes covering the 2018 Toronto van attack, local reporting for Metroland Media with award-winning coverage, and earlier work in television production. He now also oversees online content from journalists across the country while still contributing fast, visually driven, fact-first stories.
Abhishek De
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Adam MacVicar
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Aishwarya Dudha
Aishwarya Dudha reports on how politics, justice and public decisions affect vulnerable people. She works for CBC News, covering immigrants, Indigenous communities, people with disabilities and families facing loss. Her beat includes crime, policing, courts, housing, homelessness, climate policy, economic decisions, local development, sport, health and disability. She has previously worked for CBC News Network and Global News. Dudha connects official decisions and events to lived experience. She centres under-represented voices and examines the human stakes of homicides, trials, institutional failures, public infrastructure, industrial projects and community safety. Her reporting combines timelines, policy and public response with family perspectives, testimony, workplace details and local context. She also profiles athletes and community efforts, keeping personal stories central while showing how law, economics and public systems shape daily life.