Labour and Nigel Farage have accused the Tories of a ‘con’ over plans to send more migrants to Rwanda during the election campaign.
The Independent understands plans are in place to fly a person from Nigeria and another from Pakistan, who are in the UK illegally, to the East African country before the election on 4 July.
But much like the first person who was sent in April, it is a voluntary move and so not an enforced deportation.
It comes as Mr Farage claimed Reform UK is the “new opposition” following a YouGov poll that put his party ahead of the Conservatives for the first time.
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron has said Mr Farage is “incredibly divisive” and trying to “destroy” the Conservative Party.
Tory leadership hopefuls are already lobbying for support to take over as the next head of the party as fears abound that disaster will come in the general election under Rishi Sunak, The Guardian reports.
Labour calls for tactical voting to oust Tory leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch
Starmer fears over right wing surge in Europe
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, whose party is leading the polls during the General Election, is “concerned” about the right wing “taking hold” in Europe.
Taking a question about the 2024 EU elections, Sir Keir said: “In Europe, obviously, it’s a different picture in different countries, and so there isn’t one picture.
“But, look, we’re a progressive party and I want to see progressive parties succeed in Europe, and I’m concerned where I see, you know, right or very right-wing politics taking hold.
“Obviously, what’s important here in the UK is that we fight this General Election in the progressive way that we are and hopefully bring about the change that we need.”
Growth in the UK has been ‘missing’
Sir Keir Starmer said “growth” has been “the missing part” of Government since 2010, while on a visit to Bassetlaw Hospital in Worksop, Nottinghamshire.
Pressed on whether his party’s economic proposals were confusing for voters, Sir Keir said: “I reject the idea that the only levers a prime minister has to pull are either the tax lever or the spend lever – there’s growth.
“This has been the missing part for the last 14 years. It’s been the missing part of this general election campaign, frankly, a discussion about growth.
“Our manifesto is a manifesto for growth and a serious plan for growth.
“That’s what I set out we’re going to do, I’m planning on infrastructure and industrial strategy, on the national wealth fund, on GB Energy, these all ladder up to our argument on growth.”
‘Voters will choose opposition leader, not Farage’
Voters will choose who the Leader of the Opposition is, not Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
The Labour leader told the press: “Well, I don’t think it’s for Nigel Farage to declare himself Leader of the Opposition.
“I’m actually Leader to the Opposition just at the moment. I’m hoping to change that.
“But, look, my focus is on talking to the voters directly, that’s why I’m out and about every day, because it’s their concerns and, at the end of the day, this is a contest.
“But it is a choice between five more years of Conservative government after the failure of last 14 years, or turning a page and a Labour government will rebuild the country.
“There are only two candidates for prime minister, Rishi Sunak and myself.”
Starmer says capital gains tax ‘never a policy’
Raising capital gains tax on primary residences “was never a policy”, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
Asked to “clear up the issue”, Sir Keir said: “Absolutely, it was never a policy.
“It doesn’t need ruling out, but let’s rule it out, in case anyone pretends that it was (a policy).”
Asked whether he had been “vague” in his tax pledges, Sir Keir said: “Well, I think when it comes to tax, we’ve been really clear they won’t rise, so that’s no rise in income tax and national insurance or VAT.
“This is just a desperate story by the Tories in relation to capital gains tax on primary residences.”
Labour leader prepared to make ‘tough decisions’ on new homes
Sir Keir Starmer has said a Labour government would take “tough” decisions to drive through plans for new homes.
He was responding to questions about Labour candidate Marsha de Cordova’s opposition to a development in the Battersea constituency where she is standing for re-election.
Sir Keir said: “We have a clearly costed plan for building 1.5 million homes over the course of the next parliament if we are elected into government.
“I know how important it is for people to own their own home, to have that first place. That will require tough decisions.”
While planning rules would be changed, Sir Keir said Labour would “listen to local communities” who had concerns about infrastructure.
But “we have to build those homes and we are going to take tough decisions in order to fix that”.
Starmer defends claim waiting lists could rise to 10m
Sir Keir Starmer has defended Labour’s disputed claim that NHS waiting lists could rise to 10 million if the Tories remain in power.
Speaking at a hospital in Nottinghamshire, the Labour leader said: “Waiting lists are an all-time high. They’ve never been at this level ever before in the history of the NHS. And therefore our job is to bring those lists down.
“What we’ve said is if the list was to increase at the same rate as it’s increased since Rishi Sunak has been Prime Minister, we will get – if we had more five more years of the Tories – to 10 million on that waiting list.
“That’s why it’s so important that this election is seen as a change election, the opportunity to turn the page on that, usher in a Labour government that is absolutely committed to rebuilding our country and starting, on day one, with our planning for 40,000 appointments each and every week.
“We will bring that waiting list down. We did it when we were last in government and we’ll do it again.”
Starmer visiting NHS hospital on campaign trail
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has toured an NHS hospital in Nottinghamshire, where he saw a theatre used for common orthopaedic surgery.
He was joined by Wes Streeting, shadow health secretary.
Sir Keir asked about the specialist air flow equipment used during surgical procedures.
“I didn’t realise you were going to test me,” the senior sister said.
Mr Streeting interjected: “He’s worse than the CQC.”
Theatres in nearby Yorkshire are set for refurbishment to improve the specialist air flow around the surgical beds.
Exclusive: Labour and Nigel Farage accuse Tories of Rwanda ‘con’ over new voluntary flights
‘Don’t judge people who go private’ Streeting says
In an interview with The Times, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said he would not judge people who went private instead of using NHS treatment.
“People who are going private are refugees, not traitors,” Mr Streeting said.
“People are voting with their feet, through no fault of their own, I don’t judge people who have paid to go private – they’re fleeing from the NHS.”
Shadow work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall has defended Labour’s claim that NHS waiting lists could rise to 10 million, despite a think tank saying that was “highly unlikely”.
Responding to the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ criticism, Ms Kendall told Sky News: “We’re saying that if there’s another five years of the Conservatives, you could see 10 million people waiting in pain or feeling they have to try and pay to go private to deal with their problem.”
She said it was a “reasonable assumption” that was based on what had already happened under the Conservatives and “if the trend continues in the future, as it has done in the past, that’s what we’re likely to see”.
The Tories have dismissed the Labour attack as “scaremongering”.
