
Understanding the general election: Postal votes to party promises – your ultimate guide
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adminRishi Sunak has called the next general election for Thursday 4 July.
It means the nation is preparing for its first polling day since 12 December 2019.
Here’s everything you need to know about the general election and how it’s going to work…
What is a general election for?
It’s a chance for people around the UK to choose the local MP who will represent their area – known as a constituency – for up to five years in the House of Commons.
There is a choice of several candidates in each constituency and there are 650 constituencies.
Most candidates are nominated by political parties, though some stand as independents.
There are 650 seats in the House of Commons, so if an MP wins in a constituency, they win that seat in the Commons.
How does it work?
We use something called the ‘first past the post’ voting system, which means MPs win seats if they get more votes than other candidates standing in their constituency.
The party that wins an overall majority of seats – so anything more than 326 MPs – wins the election and can form the next government.
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People aged 18 or over in each constituency can vote once for their preferred candidate.
You can only have your say if you are registered to vote. For this election, the deadline to register is 11.59pm on 18 June. Read on for more on how to register – or check out our guide for everything you need on registering to vote.
How does this determine who becomes prime minister?
While you can’t vote for who you want to be prime minister directly, your vote in your local constituency contributes.
That’s because the political party that wins the most seats in the House of Commons at a general election forms the new government and its leader becomes prime minister.
What constituency are you in?

The July election will be fought on new boundaries, replacing the ones that have been in place since 2010.
There are 650 seats across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Just one in 10 seats – 65 – have no change to their boundaries.
That means you may be in a different constituency compared to what you were in at the last general election.
That matters because you will be voting for the politician you want to represent your constituency in parliament.
Find out what constituency you will be voting in on 4 July, how it would have voted in 2019, and how the demographic make-up has changed by entering your postcode into our lookup here.
How do I register to vote?
You have to be aged 16 or over (or 14 or over in Scotland and Wales) to register to vote.
You must also be one of the following:
- A British citizen
- An Irish or EU citizen living in the UK
- A Commonwealth citizen who has permission to enter or stay in the UK, or who does not need permission
- A citizen of another country living in Scotland or Wales who has permission to enter or stay in the UK, or who does not need permission.
The easiest and quickest way to register is online.
Alternatively, you can use a paper form. You can do this by contacting your local Electoral Registration Office and asking them to post a form to you.
Or, you can print your own form off. You’ll then need to return the completed form to your local Electoral Registration Office.
Can everyone who registers to vote actually vote in the general election?
No – the criteria for registering to vote is different to the criteria for voting in a general election. That’s because you’re registering for different types of votes, like local elections, which have more lax rules than parliamentary votes.
For example, you can vote in a local election if you’re 16 or over in some areas, but you have to be 18 or over in order to vote in a general election. More on age restrictions can be found here.
Here are the other criteria for voting in the general election:
- Must be registered to vote in the constituency
- Must be either a British citizen, a qualifying Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland
- Cannot be subject to any ‘legal incapacity’ to vote – prisoners serving a sentence for a conviction cannot vote in UK parliamentary elections and neither can peers in the House of Lords.
Read our guide to registering to vote – including what it means to be added to the official electoral register.
How do I vote?
There are three options when it comes to voting. Whichever option you take, you must be registered to vote by the end of 18 June if you want to vote in this election.
You can vote in person at your local polling station on 4 July.
If you take this option, you’ll be sent a poll card just before an election or referendum telling you when to vote and at which polling station. It will usually be in a public building near your home, like a school or local hall.
You will be able to cast your vote any time between 7am and 10pm on the day.
Alternatively, you can vote by post. You can register to vote by post for any reason, including that you simply don’t want to go to a polling station on the day.
You can also vote by proxy, which is when someone unable to vote in person asks someone else to vote on their behalf.
For more on how to vote if you won’t be at home on polling day, read our guide to postal and proxy votes.
What happens on polling day?

Polls are open from 7am on polling day, Thursday 4 July.
You can only vote at the polling station allocated to your address.
This will be shown on your poll card. You can also enter your postcode on this website to find out where your polling station is.
You do not need to take your poll card to vote.
At the polling station, you will need to give your name and address to staff and show them your photo ID (more on the requirements for that below).
Then you will be given a ballot paper with a list of the candidates and what party they belong to.
You will vote for who you want to represent your constituency in the House of Commons – in other words, who you want your MP to be.
You vote for the candidate you want by putting a cross in the box next to their name.
There will be instructions in the polling booth telling you exactly what to do.
After you have marked your ballot paper, you fold the paper and put it in the ballot box.
For those leaving it late or who are delayed, such as by major events taking place on the same day, you must be inside the polling station or in a queue at the polling station by 10pm in order to be given a ballot paper and then vote, as laid out in rules in the Electoral Commission handbook.
What is the exit poll – and how accurate is it?
When voting closes at 10pm, the results of an exit poll are announced.
The exit poll is taken from a survey of voters in about 150 constituencies in England, Scotland and Wales that have been chosen to be demographically representative of the country.
As voters exit polling stations, they are asked who they voted for.
They mark who they voted for on a replica ballot paper and drop this in a box – replicating what they just did inside the polling station.
Analysts take these results, compare them to previous exit polls at the same polling stations and project how many seats each party will end up with once all the votes are counted.
Exit polls aren’t always perfect, but they tend to give an accurate indication of what the outcome will be.
In some years, they have predicted the winning party’s majority down to the exact number of seats – but there have been notable times exit polls have been wrong, including the 2015 exit poll that suggested a hung parliament, not a Conservative majority.
What happens when polls close?
After 10pm, once all votes are in, ballot boxes in all constituencies are taken to what’s known as a “count centre” – a large space like a community hall where counting can begin.
This is a lengthy process and goes on through the night.
Results come in throughout the night and by early morning, it is usually clear which party has the majority.
The final results tend to come in by late morning.
What is a hung parliament?
A hung parliament happens when no party has the 326 seats needed for the majority that allows them to govern outright.
Protocol means that the previous government generally remains in place while there is a period of negotiation as discussions take place to form a coalition.
It can take several weeks before parties strike an agreement to form a coalition.
If the incumbent government is unable to form a coalition big enough to rule, they may either resign and the largest opposition party may be invited to form a government, or they may try to continue to govern as a minority government.
What is the process with the new PM?
The prime minister is technically appointed by the monarch rather than the public, but the monarch honours democracy by appointing them based on which party wins the general election.
If the current government retains a majority in the new parliament after an election, it will continue in office and resume normal business.
If the election results in a clear majority for a different party, the prime minister already in office and government will immediately resign, and the King will invite the leader of the party that has won the election to form a government.
When does the new prime minister (or re-elected one) walk into Number 10?
Prime ministers, by tradition, get to move into the iconic 10 Downing Street. And of course, prime ministers who retain their role get to remain there.
It has three functions: it’s the official residence of the PM, it’s their office, and it is also the place where they entertain guests.
There isn’t a set time when a prime minister needs to move in. In fact, there is no requirement for them to move in at all if they don’t wish to.
But they do always operate at Number 10 in some capacity, even if it’s just used as their office or a place to entertain guests.
In recent times, when a prime minister has resigned or lost an election, they tend to be photographed with their families at Downing Street shortly after results are in and then drive to Buckingham Palace (or another royal residence) to formally resign.
They often make a speech outside the property’s famous black door before they leave.
New prime ministers generally go there on the same day and make a speech of their own, before entering Number 10 to applause from staff.
What are the rules on voter ID?

This will be the first general election where voters will need to take photo ID to the polling station.
There are 22 different types of ID you can use – you can find a list in our full guide to the voter ID rules.
The ID can be out of date, as long as it still looks like you and the name is the same one used to register to vote.
If you don’t have any of the accepted forms of ID, you can register for a Voter Authority Certificate.
The deadline is 26 June, and you must have already registered to vote.
If you’re voting as someone’s proxy, you need to take your own ID – not theirs.
What is tactical voting?
You may have heard the term through friends and family who are considering the best way to use their vote.
Based on what we’ve covered so far, it may sound like your only option is to vote for whichever candidate you believe will best represent your constituency.
But tactical voting is a less conventional way of voting, and is often used when someone feels their preferred candidate has little chance of getting the most votes in their constituency.
Essentially, it’s when you vote for a political party or person that you wouldn’t usually support in order to prevent another party or person from winning.
The two main ways of doing this are:
- Vote swapping – where you agree to vote for a party on someone else’s behalf, and they’ll vote for your preferred party in their constituency
- Least worst option – where you would select a different party to vote for in your constituency which you consider to be the best of the rest.
Want to know more? Read more in our guide to tactical voting.
What are the key issues the election will be fought over?
Rishi Sunak will be hoping to use the improving economic outlook to make a case that the nation should stick with him, while Sir Keir Starmer will attack the Tories’ 14-year record in government to make the case for change.
Here’s a rundown of the main battlegrounds – with more detail in our full guide to election issues.

Economy
Rishi Sunak will point to inflation coming down and recent tax cuts as signs the Conservatives are the safest hands, while hints about further tax cuts will be used to woo voters.
Labour will argue its strict fiscal rules will help bring down debt and grow the economy, likely pointing to rising food and energy bills and the mortgage chaos triggered by Liz Truss’s mini-budget.
NHS and social care
Rishi Sunak made cutting NHS waiting lists one of his main pledges, committing record funding of nearly £165bn – but a huge backlog remains.
There is also a crisis in dentistry and social care leaders have warned that rising demand and staffing issues have brought the system to its knees.
Labour’s headline pledges include promising to cut waiting times with thousands of extra appointments each week and creating shared waiting lists so hospitals can pool resources.
Immigration
Mr Sunak staked his premiership on a promise to “stop the boats” and the government’s Rwanda Bill finally became law last month – but the decision to call a summer election means planes won’t take off before people go to the polls.
Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to scrap the deal and use the money instead for a new Cross Border Police Unit to tackle small boat crossings.
Education and childcare
Education is a key dividing line between the two main parties. One of Labour’s flagship policies is to end tax breaks enjoyed by private schools to raise £1.7bn to invest in state schools.
Childcare, too, is a divisive issue. Labour has committed to keeping the government-extended free provision, but has said there are not enough staff to match the places.
Housing
The Tories pledged in their election manifesto to build 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s, but that has not been achieved and the figure watered down in December 2022.
Labour has vowed to be on the side of “builders not blockers” and has announced its ambition to create 1.5 million new homes through the creation of “new towns”.
The government’s flagship renters reform and leasehold reform bills will not make it into law before the election. Labour has backed both pieces of legislation but wants to go further and says it will abolish no-fault evictions.
Crime
The criminal justice system faces major issues, with prisons overflowing, knife crime on the rise, a record-high crown court backlog, and prosecutions at an all-time low.
The Conservatives have announced plans for tougher sentences for the most serious criminals and measures to force offenders to appear in the dock.
Labour have promised to be “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime” with pledges to fund more community police officers and give parents classes to handle anti-social behaviour.
How to watch on Sky News

Sam Coates, Sir Trevor Phillips, Sophy Ridge, Kay Burley, Beth Rigby and Ed Conway
Sky News will have live coverage and an award-winning line-up, bringing you everything as soon as it happens, with commentary and analysis to help you digest key developments.
Chief presenter Kay Burley will anchor Election Night Live, with analysis from Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and the former leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Baroness Ruth Davidson.
They will be joined by Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby, the presenter of our Sunday breakfast show Sir Trevor Phillips, and data and economics editor Ed Conway.
From 7am on the morning after the vote, lead politics presenter Sophy Ridge, will be live from Westminster, joined by deputy political editor Sam Coates and Sky News contributor Adam Boulton.
Watch on TV:
Freeview 233, Sky 501, Virgin 603, BT 313, YouTube and the Sky News website and app.
Streams and social:
Watch Sky News live here, and on YouTube.
We will also be posting the latest videos and stories on TikTok, X, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp.
Listen:
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UK
7/7 bombings: Stories that define the bravery of victims and responders 20 years on
Published
11 hours agoon
July 6, 2025By
admin
Monday marks 20 years since the 7/7 attacks, which saw four suicide bombers kill 52 people and injure 770 others on the London transport network.
The attacks on 7 July 2005 all happened within an hour of each other, with the bombers having met at Luton railway station in the morning before heading to King’s Cross.
Shezhad Tanweer detonated his device at Aldgate, Mohammed Sidique Khan at Edgware Road, and Germaine Lindsay between King’s Cross and Russell Square – all within three minutes of 8.50am.
Habib Hussain detonated his bomb on board the number 30 bus at Tavistock Square at 9.47am.

Emergency services at Aldgate station after one of the explosions. Pic: PA
Two decades have passed, but for the victims’ families, survivors and the responders, the impact is still being felt.
Sky News spoke to some of the people profoundly affected by the attacks.
Passenger went back to the tracks to save lives
Adrian Heili was in the third carriage of the westbound Circle Line train heading towards Paddington.
It was in the second carriage that Mohammad Sidique Khan blew up his device at Edgware Road, killing six people.
If Adrian hadn’t been there, it may well have been more.
He managed to get out of the train and, having previously served as a medic in the Armed Forces, instantly made it his mission to save as many lives as possible.
“Instinct took over,” he tells Sky News.
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1:48
7/7 survivor saw ‘bodies on the track’
His bravery first brought him to Daniel Biddle, who had been blown out of the second carriage and was now trapped in a tight space between the tunnel wall and the track.
Adrian remembers crawling in blood to reach Daniel, who he now calls Danny. His left leg had been blown off, his right severed from the knee down and he lost an eye, along with suffering other extensive injuries.
He pinched shut the artery in Daniel’s thigh to stop the bleeding until paramedics got to him.
Daniel has written a book about his experiences, titled Back From The Dead, and has credited Adrian with saving his life.
Adrian eventually helped first responders carry him out. Then he went back into the tunnel several times over to assist with the evacuation of 12 other people.
He pays tribute to the first responders at the scene, who he says were “amazing”.
“Myself and another gentleman by the name of Lee Hunt were the last to actually leave Edgware Road,” he adds.
“And I remember sitting at the top of the platform on the stairs and just looking out after everyone had left.”
In his book, Daniel has been open about his struggles with PTSD after the attack.
Adrian says he has had a “very good support network” around him to help him deal with the aftermath, and adds that talking about it rather than “holding it in” has been vital.
“It still plays an effect on myself, as it has with Danny,” he says, who he has formed a close bond with.
He says PTSD triggers can be all around the survivors, from police and ambulance sirens to the smell of smoke from cooking.
“But it’s how we manage those triggers that that define us,” he says.
On the 20-year anniversary, he adds: “It’s going to be an emotional time. But I think for me, it’s going to be a time of reflection and to honour those that are not with us and those that were injured.
“They still have a voice. They have a voice with me and I’ll remember it. I’ll remember that day and that, for me, is very important.”
‘Instinctively, I decided to see if there was something I could do to help’
You may recognise Paul Dadge from the photograph below, where he’s helping a 7/7 bombing victim after she sustained severe burns to her face.
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7/7 first responder recalls day of attack
It went viral before the social media age, featuring on the front of national newspapers, and in others across the world.
The Londoner, who was 28 at the time, was on his way to an office in Hammersmith where he had just got a job.
He passed Edgware Road, where he saw a commotion as people rushed out of the station, and an emergency responder go in.
He didn’t yet know that one of the bombers had just set off the explosive in their backpack.
“Instinctively, I decided to see if there was something I could do to help,” he told Sky News.
Paul, who was a former firefighter, made an announcement to those standing outside the station, telling them to stick together if they had been affected by whatever had happened and to wait at a shop near the scene until they had spoken to a police officer.
Many had black soot on their faces, he says, adding that he initially assumed it was due to a power surge.
Eventually the store was evacuated, so Paul went with the victims to a nearby hotel, and it was while doing so that photographers snapped the famous photos of him comforting the victim with a gauze mask, who had been badly burned.
He started noting down the names and details of those who had been injured, along with the extent of their injuries, so that he could pass them onto the emergency services.
It was only three hours after the incident that Paul found out the injuries had been caused by an attack.
His actions had him deemed a hero by the public.
Read more:
How Prevent is tackling extremism 20 years on
Why is the govt’s anti-terrorism programme controversial?
“I know that after that bombing had occurred, everybody worked together as a team,” he says. “I think it’s a bit of a British thing, really, that when we’re really in trouble, we’re very, very good at working together to help each other.”
He says he is still in touch with people he met on that day, including the victim he was photographed with.
He also says the rest of his life has been “carved” by that day, and that he is now much more politically active and conscious of how emergency services respond to major incidents.
He believes emergency services are “a lot more prepared than they were on 7th July”, but adds that he still thinks they would find it “very difficult” to deal with an incident on the scale of the 7/7 attacks today.
‘What is haunting are those screams’
Sajda Mughal is a survivor of the bombing that hit a Piccadilly line train between King’s Cross and Russell Square.
She tells Sky News that about 10 seconds after leaving King’s Cross “there’s a massive bang… which was the explosion”.
“The train shook as if it was an earthquake, and came to a sudden standstill. I fell off my chair to the ground, people fell forward, lights went out.”
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7/7 survivor: ‘We were told don’t look back’
Sajda adds: “The black smoke that was coming through, it was really intense. And then all I could hear was screams. I could hear people screaming, I could hear people shouting, someone grabbing on to me saying, ‘are you okay’.”
She was “frozen and just going into that thought process of we’re going to die, and then me thinking I haven’t said bye to my loved ones, I haven’t got married, I haven’t had kids, I haven’t seen the world.”
She says that “what is haunting from that morning are those screams and hearing ‘blood, she’s hurt, he’s hurt'”.
Sajda says that as she and others were escorted out through the carriage to King’s Cross, the emergency services told them not to turn around and don’t look back.
She thinks that was because the rescuers didn’t want them to see injured individuals, “so it was a very, very surreal, very traumatic and emotional experience”.
Sajda, who is the only known Muslim survivor of 7/7, says getting through the attack alive “turned my life around 360”.
“I took that pain and I turned it into a positive because I didn’t want that happening again. And so I left the corporate world, I left my dream to want to change hearts and minds.”
She became involved with the JAN Trust, including its work countering extremism.
“I have travelled across the UK, I’ve worked with thousands of mothers and Muslim mothers. I have helped to educate them on radicalisation. And I’ve heard from mothers whose sons… went to Syria, who joined ISIS and died.”
Calls for a public inquiry
Graham Foulkes, whose son David was killed in the Edgware Road Tube bomb, wants there to be a public inquiry into what happened.
He says a “public inquiry is the only way because at a public inquiry people can be compelled to come and give evidence. At an inquest, they can just say ‘no, I’m not coming’ and that’s what happens”.
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7/7: ‘We should have a son’
He adds: “The fact that we’re here 20 years later, there are unanswered questions and terrorists are still slipping through, still getting past MI5, still get past MI6 and MI5, needs to be answered.
“We need to have a better system in place and by not being honest and open about what happened 20 years ago, we’ve got no mechanism in place at all.
“It’s still the same people making the same decisions that allowed MSK [Mohammed Sidique Khan] to get through and allowed the Manchester Arena attack and the Westminster Bridge attack. It’s still the same people, still the same processes. The processes need to change.”

David Foulkes
Speaking of the last 20 years, Graham says: “We’re lucky enough to have a daughter, and we have the two most wonderful grandchildren as well. But we should have a son, and he should have his family.
“And I shouldn’t be having this conversation with you. I should be at home at this time having dinner or going to the pub with David, and it’s not possible to describe the feeling of having your son murdered in such a pointless way.”
‘The resilience was as inspiring as the attack was ghastly’
“Most of all, my thoughts are with the families of the 52 people who lost their lives and also the more than 700 who were injured, some of them horrifically seriously on that day,” Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley says.
He also pays tribute to those who stepped forward on the day, like Paul Dadge, and the emergency services, who he says acted “extraordinarily” to help others.
“They and the families and the victims – what strikes me is how they’re still carrying the effects of that day through to today and for the rest of their lives,” he adds, saying you can still see the “heavy burden” many of them carry 20 years on.
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‘We’re in difficult times’, Met Police chief says
The commissioner, who was a senior officer in Surrey at the time, says he remembers the “slow horror” of watching on as investigating and reporting uncovered what had happened.
“The way everyone stepped forward, the bravery… the resilience was as inspiring as the attack was ghastly.”
He says the attacks have led to “massive changes” in counter-terrorism work to better protect the public.
“The first was the changes that brought policing and our security services, particularly MI5, much more close together so that we now have the closest joint operating arrangements anywhere in the world,” he says.
“And secondly, counter-terrorism work became something that wasn’t just about what was based in London and a network was built with bases in all of the regions across the country.”
He adds the unit now has a reach “far stronger and far more effective at protecting communities than we had before that day”.
Asked about those who may still feel under threat from similar attacks now, he says the public has “extraordinary people working hard day in and day out to protect you” and that policing and security services have strengthened due to experiences like that of the 7/7 bombings.
“The efforts of all those who were involved on that day… that all feeds through to today… [and gives us] one of the strongest and most effective preventative approaches you could possibly have,” he says.
“But sadly we are in difficult times and no system will ever be perfect,” he adds, but concludes by saying communities can “be rest assured about the amazing work that’s going on”.
UK
Boy, four, dies after gravestone falls on him at Rawtenstall Cemetery in Lancashire, police say
Published
11 hours agoon
July 6, 2025By
admin
A four-year-old boy has died after a gravestone fell on him at a cemetery, police have said.
The boy was fatally injured at Rawtenstall Cemetery on Burnley Road, Haslingden, at lunchtime on Saturday, Lancashire Police said.
Paramedics tried to save him but “tragically” the boy died in the “devastating” incident, the force said in a statement.
Officers were called to the cemetery at 1pm “following reports a gravestone had fallen onto a child.
“Tragically, and despite the best efforts of the emergency services, the boy sadly died. Our thoughts are with his loved ones at this devastating time.”
His death was not being treated as suspicious and a file will be sent to the coroner “in due course”.
Rossendale Borough Council posted on X on Saturday evening: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of a young child at Rawtenstall Cemetery today. Our thoughts are with the family at this devastating time.
More on Lancashire
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Read more on Sky News:
Thunderstorms for UK
Britain’s young extremists
Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘final bow’
Andy MacNae, Labour MP for Rossendale and Darwen, said on Facebook his thoughts went out to the family and everyone affected by the “tragic incident”.
Local councillor Liz McInnes also wrote on Facebook it was “a terrible tragedy. My heartfelt and deepest sympathies to the family of this poor boy. The whole of Rawtenstall is grieving”.
UK
How Prevent is tackling young extremism 20 years after the 7/7 bombings
Published
1 day agoon
July 6, 2025By
admin
Radicalised nine-year-olds, teenagers mixing incel culture with extreme right ideologies and a Muslim who idolises Hitler – this is just some of the casework of those tasked with deradicalising young extremists in the UK.
Monday will mark 20 years since the 7/7 attacks on the London transport network when four suicide bombers killed 52 people and injured 770 others.
A year later the government set up its deradicalisation programme Prevent as part of its counter-terrorism strategy.
Sky News has spoken to two leading intervention providers (IPs) at Prevent who both say their work is getting ever more complex and the referrals younger.
The Metropolitan Police’s Prevent co-ordinator, Detective Superintendent Jane Corrigan, has also told Sky News it is “tragic” that when it comes to terrorism, “one in five of all our arrests is a child under 17”.
She believes parents should talk to their children about what they are reading and seeing online.
“Parents instinctively know when something doesn’t feel right when their child is becoming withdrawn or isolated – not wanting to engage,” she says.
More on Prevent
Related Topics:
People worried that someone they know has thoughts that could lead to terrorism can refer them to Prevent.

File pic: iStock
‘A pic-n-mix of ideologies’
Home Office figures show 11-year-olds are the largest age group to get referred.
Concerning cases are passed on to IPs such as Nigel Bromage who told Sky News: “Often there will be a pic-n-mix of ideologies.
“From my own examples and experience, we are aware of people looking at the incel culture and mixing that with some far-right elements.”

Sky’s Jason Farrell with intervention provider Nigel Bromage, who was exposed to extremism when he was a child
Incels, meaning “involuntary celibates” are men who have been unable to have a relationship with women despite wanting one and become misogynistic and hateful as a result.
Like many IPs, Mr Bromage from Birmingham comes from an extremist background himself, having once been a regional organiser for the proscribed Neo-Nazi group Combat 18.
For him too, it began as a child.
“It all started with someone giving me a leaflet outside my school gates,” Mr Bromage says.
“It told me a horrific story about a mum getting killed by an IRA bomb explosion – and at the end of the leaflet there was a call to action which said: ‘If you think it’s wrong then do something about it’.”
He developed a hatred for Irish republican terrorism which morphed into general racism and national socialism.
“At the very end I thought I was going to go to prison, or I would end up being hurt or even killed because of my political beliefs,” he says.

Mr Bromage says his youngest case involved a nine-year-old
Boy, 9, groomed by his brother
Mr Bromage reveals his youngest case was a nine-year-old who had been groomed by his brother.
“He was being shown pro-Nazi video games, and his older brother was saying ‘when I go to prison or I get in trouble – they you’re the next generation – you’re the one who needs to continue the fight’,” he says.
“Really, he had no interest in the racist games – he just wanted to impress his brother and be loved by his brother.”

Every year, nearly 300 children who are 10 or younger are referred to Prevent.
Home Office figures show that over the last six years 50% of referrals were children under the age of 18.
Eleven-year-olds alone make up a third of total referrals, averaging just over 2,000 a year, with the figure rising even higher in the most recent stats.
Another IP, Abdul Ahad, specialises in Islamic extremism.
He says the catalyst for radicalisation often comes from events aboard.
Ten years ago, it was Syria, more recently Gaza.
“It is often a misplaced desire to do something effective – to matter, to make a difference. It gives them purpose, camaraderie and belonging as well – you feel part of something bigger than you,” he says.

Fifty-two people were killed on 7 July 2005 when four suicide bombers blew up three London Underground trains and a bus. Pic: PA
Clients want someone to ‘hear them’
Some of his clients “don’t fit into any particular box”.
“I’m working with a guy at the minute, he’s a young Muslim but he idolises Hitler and he’s written a manifesto,” he says.
“When you break it down, some people don’t know where they fit in, but they want to fit in somewhere.”
Mr Ahad says the young individual mostly admires Hitler’s “strength” rather than his ideologies and that he was drawn to darker characters in history.
Often his clients are very isolated and just want someone to “hear them”, he adds.
Read more:
What is Prevent – and why is it controversial?
PM warns of new kind of terror threat

Intervention provider Abdul Ahad specialises in Islamic extremism
Mr Ahad is also an imam who preaches at the Al-Azar Mosque in South Shields, a well-regarded centre for community cohesion and outreach.
He uses his understanding of the Islamic faith in his Prevent sessions to help guide his referrals away from extreme interpretations of the Koran by offering “understanding and context”.
He says: “We quote the correct religious texts – we explain their responsibility as a Muslim living in the UK and we re-direct their energies into something more constructive.”
Common theme of mental health issues
Mental health problems are a common theme among those referred to Prevent including depression and autism.
A recent inquest into the death of autistic teenager Rhianan Rudd found she took her own life after being radicalised by two white supremacists.
Her mother was critical of Prevent, as well as the police and MI5 after she had referred her daughter to the deradicalisation programme and Rhianan was subsequently charged with terrorism offences.

Last month a coroner found some failings in the processes around protecting Rhianan, but none of them attributable to Rhianan taking her own life.
Det Supt Corrigan says a referral doesn’t mean individuals end up being arrested or on an MI5 watchlist.
She says: “You’re not reporting a crime, but you are seeking support. I would say the earlier you can come in and talk to us about the concerns you have the better. Prevent is just that – it is a pre-criminal space.
“It’s tragic when you see the number of young people being arrested for very serious charges. Just look at terrorism – one in five of all our arrests is a child under the age of 17. We need to think about how we respond to that.”
Prevent has been criticised for failures such as when Southport killer Axel Rudakabana failed to be recognised as needing intervention despite three referrals, or when MP David Amiss’ killer Ali Harbi Ali went through the programme and killed anyway.

Axel Rudakubana failed to be recognised as needing intervention despite three referrals. Pic: Merseyside police
It’s harder to quantify its successes.
Mr Ahad says he understands why the failures hit the headlines, but he believes the programme is saving lives.
He says: “I think the vast majority of people get radicalised online because they are sitting in their room reading all this content without any context or scholarly input. They see one version of events and they get so far down the rabbit hole they can’t pull themselves out.
“I really wish Prevent was around when I was a young, lost 15-year-old because there was nothing around then. It’s about listening to people engaging with them and offering them a way of getting out of that extremism.”

File pic: iStock
‘Radicalisation can happen in days to weeks’
Det Supt Corrigan says: “I’ve sat with parents whose children have gone on to commit the most horrendous crimes and they all spotted something.
“Now, with hindsight, they wished they had done something or acted early. That’s why we created this programme, because radicalisation can happen in days to weeks.”
Twenty years on from 7/7 the shape of the terrorist threat has shifted, the thoughts behind it harder to categorise, but it is no less dangerous.
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