Rishi Sunak has insisted he had “absolutely not” lost hope of winning the 4 July general election despite Tory allies warned of the risk of Labour winning a “super-majority”.
Defence secretary Grant Shapps claimed the Tories were fighting hard to prevent Labour from securing crashing win bigger than the 1997 landslide. The Tories fear the Blue Wall could be knocked down with chancellor Jeremy Hunt warned he faces a battle to save his Godalming and Ash seat, a key Lib Dem target.
It comes as the Conservative party could make a surprising U-turn on its flagship pledge to bring National Service after the defence secretary suggested the scheme would last less than a month. The Tory manifesto confirmed the scheme would be a “year-long full-time placement in the armed forces or cyber defence”. But he today said it would be much shorter.
The Green Party has launched its manifesto, which includes a pledge to raise taxes on the “super-rich”, and nationalise water, railways and energy companies, as well as scrapping university tuition fees.
Meanwhile, Mr Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer are preparing to face a grilling live interview in front of an audience for Sky News in Grimsby.
Poll: SNP and Labour tied in Scotland
Conservatives mock Labour’s shadow transport minister
Sunak ‘hardened on the battlefield’, Tory minister says
A Conservative minister has said that Rishi Sunak has been “hardened on the battlefield” by almost a decade in Westminster.
Postal minister Kevin Hollinrake told ITV: “We all kind of entered Parliament in 2015 full of the joys of spring.
“And I think we’ve all got a dose of political reality, which I think every politician gets when they enter the fray.
“So I think he’s been probably hardened on the battlefield.”
SNP to focus election campaign on Brexit ‘damage’ and austerity
The Scottish National Party wants to focus their election campaign on point out at the “damage” caused by Brexit and the “prolongued austerity” under the Conservative government.
Scottish first minister John Swinney has promised voters that only his party will “protect Scotland’s values” after “14 years of cuts” from Westminster.
Mr Swinney also said his party should have been invited to the Sky News leaders’ special event in Grimsby as the third largest party in the Commons.
He said: “We should be represented on that panel, in that discussion, because we’ve got lots to say in this election.”
Labour advert van arrives in Grimsby ahead of Sky’s Battle For Number 10
Tory MP defends choosing Nigel Farage picture in campaign leaflet
Firner Conservative minister Andrea Jenkyns has caused a stir amng Tories after choosing a picture of herself with Nigel Farage on her election campaign leaflet.
The candidate for Leeds South West and Morley defended her choice and said the Tories need to be prepared to “come together” with Reform to prevent a “socialist super-majority”:
Almost half of all voters think Tories should be wiped out at general election
According to a new poll, half of all voters think that the Conservatives deserve to be completely wiped out at the general election, Joe Middleton reports.
46 per cent of people surveyed by Public First said Rishi Sunak’s party “deserves to lose every seat they have”, including 24 per cent of those who voted for the party in 2019.
22 per cent of those polled said they wanted Mr Sunak’s party to lose but still have “at least some seats”.
The polling, published by The Telegraph, also found that one in 10 people wanted a hung parliament, and 16 per cent were keen on the Tories winning another majority.
What is the Greens’ plan for social support?
In their manifesto, the Greens have vowed to bring early support for older and disabled people among other promises. This is what those include:
- Increase Universal Credit and legacy benefits by £40 a week.
- Abolish the two-child benefit cap and end the ‘bedroom tax’.
- Introduce universal basic income.
- Restore disability benefits, immediate 5% uplift.
- Reform eligibility tests like PIP and free transport for 16-18 year old pupils with special needs.
IFS: ‘Green party manifesto pledges hit nursers and teachers hard’
The Institue for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned the Green party’s manifesto proposals will cme with a “real economic cost”.
Deputy director Helen Miller, described some of the plans, such as closing loopholes within inheritance tax, as “sensible”.
But the pledge to restrict income tax relief on pension contributions would hit nurses and teachers.
She added: “While a recurrent wealth tax could raise revenue it would be tough to implement. Restricting upfront income tax relief on pension contributions would also be difficult to achieve – and would hit a lot of workers on not terribly high salaries – many nurses and teachers for example.
“Many of the measures would combine to increase disincentives to work and to invest. Accounting for the fact that we would expect potentially large responses to such a significant increase in taxes, it is unlikely that the measures would raise as much revenue as expected.
