Markus Andrews

Deputy prime minister Dominic Raab has been mocked for avoiding use of Conservative Party branding in a green-coloured leaflet sent out to his constituents.Tory blue was conspicuously absent from the “constituency report” pamphlet distributed to residents in Esher and Walton, shared online ahead of Thursday’s local elections.The Green Party said it appeared that Mr Raab was trying to disown his own party – accusing the Tories of a “cynical and foolish attempt” at highlighting their green credentials.Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner also mocked the justice secretary over the leaflet, tweeting: “Dominic Raab is turning green.”It follows green branding used by fellow Tory minister Paul Scully during recent campaign work in his Sutton and Cheam constituency.The business minister shared a photo of himself next to his green-covered poster during a pop-up surgery in a supermarket last month.“While it’s no surprise to see the other parties recognise how popular the Greens are, it is extremely concerning that they would try to trick voters into thinking they were standing for us,” a Green Party spokesperson told The Independent.They added: “This appears to be nothing more than a cynical and foolish attempt at greenwashing their own credentials, which are utterly woeful when it comes to addressing the climate crisis and standing up for nature.”Mr Raab’s pamphlet, promoted on his behalf by his local Conservative association, contains his six-point plan for the constituency – including protection of the green belt and better transport links.The senior cabinet minister was pictured campaigning in his constituency last week with a blue sticker and blue-coloured leaflets used to promote local Tory council candidates.It follows a recent complaint by the Green Party in North Tyneside – who accused the local Tory party of trying to “exploit” voters by posting election leaflets which appeared to mimic the Greens.North Tyneside Council said it had received complaints about the material – which urged residents to “Go Green for North Tyneside” – and had referred them on to the Electoral Commission watchdog.Meanwhile, several Tory council election candidates were found to be calling themselves “local Conservatives” and pleading with voters not to “punish” them for Partygate in leaflets.One read: “This Thursday, please don’t punish local Conservatives for the mistakes made in Westminster, we are local and proud of where we live and, like you, we want the best for Hartlepool.”Ms Rayner said it appeared that some Tory candidates were “ashamed” to be linked to Boris Johnson following the scandal.“It speaks volumes that Boris Johnson’s own Conservative candidates are ashamed to be associated with him and trying to pull the wool over voters’ eyes,” she said. “Tory candidates are trying to hide from their own government’s record.”The Independent has contacted Mr Raab’s office and the Conservative Party for comment. More

The press watchdog has rejected all complaints about an article claiming Angela Rayner crossed and uncrossed her legs in the Commons in a bid to distract Boris Johnson.Anonymous Tory MPs quoted in a Mail on Sunday article claimed the deputy Labour leader tried to knock the prime minister “off his stride” during Prime Minister’s Questions by “crossing and uncrossing her legs” in a scene supposedly reminiscent of the film Basic Instinct.The article, headlined “Stone the crows! Tories accuse Rayner of Basic Instinct ploy to distract Boris”, sparked outrage across the political spectrum, with many branding it misogynistic.The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) received more than 6,000 complaints about the story, which it said fell under the clauses of accuracy, privacy and harassment, and discrimination.Third party complaints and complaints made under Clause 1 (Accuracy)The regulator said it could only investigate complaints made by third parties that fell under the clause of accuracy — but that it would not do so in this case without the involvement of Ms Rayner.“Before deciding to accept complaints from third-party complaints about accuracy, we need to consider the position of the party most closely involved,” the watchdog said.“In order to decide whether the Editors’ Code was breached, IPSO would need to investigate and make findings about things which Ms Rayner is claimed to have said and done. “Such an investigation would not be possible without her involvement, and because of this, we declined to consider complaints made under this Code clause. “This does not affect the ability of Ms Rayner to make a complaint on this point.”Clause 2 (Privacy) and Clause 3 (Harassment)People also complained the article intruded into Ms Rayner’s private life and could lead to stalking or harassment.IPSO said it could not consider the complaints because “no complainant was acting as an authorised representative”.Clause 12 (Discrimination)Some complainants said the article breached Clause 12 (Discrimination) because it was misogynistic and classist.IPSO said Clause 12 was designed to protect specific individuals mentioned by the press from discrimination based on their race, colour, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation or any physical or mental illness or disability. It does not apply to groups or categories of people.“Complainants’ concerns that the article discriminated against women in general, or was classist, did not relate to an individual,” the watchdog said.Taste and offenceMany complainants were concerned that the article was offensive, however the Editor’s Code does not address issues of taste of offence, IPSO said.It added: “We recognised that many complainants found the content of the article to be offensive or tasteless.“However, this did not in itself mean that the article was in breach of the Code by reporting them.”IPSO said it would continue to closely monitor the issues. More

Boris Johnson ‘out of touch’ over cost of living crisis, says Keir StarmerAngela Rayner claims Tory election candidates are ashamed to be linked with the prime minister, by running as “local Conservatives” and pleading with voters not to “punish” them for the Partygate scandal.“It speaks volumes that Boris Johnson’s own Conservative candidates are ashamed to be associated with him and trying to pull the wool over voters’ eyes,” Labour’s deputy leader said.The extraordinary attempts by some candidates to distance themselves from Mr Johnson’s troubles are revealed in election leaflets for the nationwide polls on Thursday.Earlier, she claimed the Conservatives hadn’t “got a clue” about the cost of living crisis after a government minister suggested poorer families buy value brands to save on food bills.George Eustice, the environment secretary, said: “Generally speaking, what people find is by going for some sort of value brand rather than own branded products they can actually contain and manage their household budget.”Show latest update

1651675352Sinn Fein eyes historic win in Northern IrelandIf opinion polls are right, tomorrow’s local elections will lead to Sinn Fein becoming the largest group in the 90-seat Northern Ireland Assembly, giving the nationalist party the post of first minister for the first time:Jane Dalton4 May 2022 15:421651674332Press watchdog rejects complaints over Mail’s Rayner articleThe press watchdog has rejected all complaints about an article claiming Angela Rayner crossed and uncrossed her legs in the Commons in a bid to distract Boris Johnson.The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) received more than 6,000 complaints.Jane Dalton4 May 2022 15:251651672839How local elections could make or break Boris JohnsonHanging on to the keys of Downing Street is not the only political challenge facing the prime minister, writes John Curtice.Read his full piece here: Matt Mathers4 May 2022 15:001651672239Senior Tory: Ukraine policy would get ‘stronger’ if PM replacedBritain’s support for Ukraine would get even “stronger” if Boris Johnson were to be replaced as prime minister, a senior Tory has claimed.Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the defence committee, spoke to BBC politics earlier and was asked whether it would be wise to remove Mr Johnson while the war continues in Ukraine.Mr Ellwood has publicly called for the PM to resign after being found to have broken Covid laws.More comments below: Matt Mathers4 May 2022 14:501651672229Tories ‘ashamed’ of Johnson linksLabour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner says Conservative candidates in tomorrow’s local elections are ashamed to be connected to Boris Johnson.Jane Dalton4 May 2022 14:501651671339 ‘Beergate’ is Tory mudslinging, Starmer insistsSir Keir Starmer would not be drawn on providing further details in relation to allegations he broke lockdown rules while out campaigning on the last day before the elections.The Labour leader has come under pressure since footage emerged of him drinking a beer with colleagues in April 2021 in Durham during campaigning for the Hartlepool by-election.Sir Keir said he wanted to focus on the cost-of-living crisis and not Conservative “mudslinging”.Asked if Durham Police have contacted him in recent days, Sir Keir said: “I have not had contact from Durham Police and I think people are just about fed up with the mudslinging that’s going on.”We know there’s elections coming, we know what the Conservatives are up to. What we need to do, I think, is focus on the issue in hand, which is the cost of living.”Asked what he was doing at 11pm in Durham on the night in question, and if he went back to work having eaten, he said: “We were working, we stopped, we ate. “No breach of the rules. No party. And I think that’s enough for the mudslinging from the Tories on this.”Matt Mathers4 May 2022 14:351651670439Tories ‘ashamed’ to be linked to PM, says LabourAngela Rayner MP, Labour’s deputy leader has responded to reports that Tory council election candidates as running as “local Conservatives”, our politics reporter, Adam Forrest , writes.“It speaks volumes that Boris Johnson’s own Conservative candidates are ashamed to be associated with him and trying to pull the wool over voters’ eyes,” she said.“With no answers to the cost of living crisis, Tory candidates are trying to hide from their own government’s record.”Matt Mathers4 May 2022 14:201651669416Ed Davey – BP has called government’s ‘bluff’ on windfall taxOil and gas giant BP has called the government’s “bluff” on calls for a windfall tax on profits to help people struggling with their energy bills, Ed Davey has claimedThe Liberal Democrat leader spoke to Sky News following comments by BP chief executive Bernard Looney, who said the firm would still invest in the UK even if it was hit with the tax.He did, however, say that the policy could result in job losses and hit pensions.Prime minister Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, have both ruled out a windfall tax on energy companies, saying it would deter investment in renewable energy.More comments for Mr Davey below: Matt Mathers4 May 2022 14:031651668654Starmer: Tories have ‘no answers’ on cost of living crisisBoris Johnson’s government has “no answers” to the cost of living crisis, Keir Starmer has claimed.The Labour leader spoke to Sky News earlier on the final day of campaigning before the local elections.More comments from Mr Starmer below: Matt Mathers4 May 2022 13:501651667937Breaking: Neil Parish officially resigns after watching porn in CommonsNeil Parish has formally resigned as an MP after admitting watching pornography in the Commons, the Treasury has announced.Our politics correspondent Ashley Cowburn has this breaking story: Matt Mathers4 May 2022 13:38 More

Tory council election candidates are calling themselves “local Conservatives” and pleading with voters not to “punish” them for the Partygate scandal.The extraordinary attempts by some candidates to distance themselves from Boris Johnson’s troubles are revealed in election leaflets distributed in the run-up to the nationwide polls on Thursday.They read: “This Thursday, please don’t punish local Conservatives for the mistakes made in Westminster, we are local and proud of where we live and, like you, we want the best for Hartlepool.”At least two candidates in the flagship red-wall town have put an identical message on their leaflets, and there are reports of similar tactics being employed by some Tories in London.Meanwhile, a cabinet minister has hinted that the prime minister may have to fall on his sword if it becomes clear that he has lost the support of his own MPs, ahead of Friday’s crucial results.Two weeks ago, Mr Johnson was forced to abandon an attempt to block a contempt inquiry into whether he had lied to parliament over the lockdown parties held in Downing Street.George Eustice, the environment secretary, said: “All prime ministers will always be very conscious of the mood in their parliamentary party, because no government can get anything done unless it enjoys the support of the parliamentary party as a whole.“So of course the prime minister will be thinking about these things.”Mr Johnson has escaped further fines from the Metropolitan Police in the run-up to elections day, but the controversy has dogged the Conservatives on the doorstep.On Tuesday, the prime minister revealed that he had “not so far” received a questionnaire for a leaving party in No 10 during lockdown, which was held for his outgoing director of communications Lee Cain.There are reports that some Downing Street staff have received questionnaires about the event – held on the same November 2020 night as the “Abba” party in Mr Johnson’s own flat.Daisy Cooper, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader, said Conservative candidates would be unable to escape the public backlash against illegal parties, whatever they called themselves.“Local or not, Conservative candidates are still backing a law-breaking prime minister and a tax-raising chancellor – even if they’re too ashamed to admit it,” she said.Government ministers have also been accused of being out of touch on the cost of living crisis – as Mr Eustice suggested hard-pressed Britons buy cheaper “value” brands to save money.Mr Johnson was criticised for downplaying the biggest plunge in living standards in decades, when he said voters were “feeling the pinch”.“I know that families across the country are feeling the pinch as the cost of living rises,” the prime minister wrote in a newspaper article. “That’s why we’re focused on growing the economy to address the cost of living, and it’s why keeping bills down and cutting council waste is more important than ever.” More

Former Conservative Neil Parish has formally resigned as an MP after admitting to watching pornography in the Commons in a “moment of madness”.The MP for Tiverton and Honiton became the focus of a political storm last week after two female colleagues reported him to party whips for watching adult content in the chamber.After initially indicating he would remain in post, Mr Parish announced in a televised interview at the weekend his intention to resign, admitting his actions were “totaly wrong”.He told the BBC that the first time was an accident, claiming he had been looking for photographs of tractors, but admitted the second occasion was “deliberate”.On Wednesday, a statement from the Treasury said: “The Chancellor of the Exchequer has this day appointed Neil Quentin Gordon Parish to be Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead.”Appointing Mr Parish to the unpaid position is an archaic mechanism which allows him to formally resign as an MP and begin the process of electing his successor.It will now be down to the Tory whips when to move the writ in the Commons – setting the date for the Tiverton and Honiton by-election – after MPs return on 10 May.The ultra-safe Conservative seat in east Devon delivered a 24,000 majority at the 2019 election when Boris Johnson won the largest Tory majority for decades.It comes after another former Tory MP, Imran Ahmad Khan, formally resgined as the MP for Wakefield on Tuesday – three weeks after being convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.Khan announced his intention to resign on 14 April but did not complete the formalities until last week, meaning he received his full taxpayer-funded salary for last month.A by-election for Wakefield – seat turned blue for the first time since the 1930s at the 2019 general election – is now likely to occur on the same date as Tiverton and Honiton, but there will be intense pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to demonstrated he is able to win back a former ‘Red Wall’ seat.Speaking on Wednesday, the Labour leader said: “We will put up an excellent candidate and what I hope is that Wakefield can have a strong Labour MP that will represent and fight for Wakefield.“Because what we have seen is a disgraced Tory MP who has been completely absent for over a year now, not fighting for his constituents, and Wakefield deserves so much better than that. The sooner we have a Labour MP fiercely defending and representing his or her constituents, the better.” More

Ever since Northern Ireland was founded as a Protestant-majority state a century ago, its governments have been led by unionist politicians who defined themselves as British.But if opinion polls are right, an election Thursday will see Sinn Fein, an Irish nationalist party that seeks union with Ireland, become the largest group in the 90-seat Northern Ireland Assembly. That would give Sinn Fein the post of first minister in the Belfast government for the first time.It would be a milestone for a party long linked to the Irish Republican Army, a paramilitary group that used bombs and bullets to try to take Northern Ireland out of U.K. rule during decades of violence. And it would bring Sinn Fein’s ultimate goal of a united Ireland a step closer.But it’s not what the party — or voters — want to talk about in a campaign that has been dominated by more immediate worries: long waiting lists for medical care and the soaring cost of food and fuel.“I now ration my heat to one hour a day,” said Sinead Quinn, who set up the group Derry Against Food Poverty to press politicians to act on the cost-of-living crisis. “My entire circle of friends is affected by this. I don’t think you can throw a stone in Northern Ireland and miss a community that being affected by it.”The economic crunch — driven by the war in Ukraine, COVID-19 pandemic disruption and Britain’s exit from the European Union — is also dominating election debate elsewhere in the U.K. Votes Thursday to elect local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales are a test for beleaguered British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose popularity has been battered by scandals over lockdown rule-breaking. In Northern Ireland, Sinn Fein has downplayed talk of a united Ireland in its campaign to focus on bread-and-butter issues.“The things that the public want us to respond to is trying to put money in their pockets to help them deal with the cost-of-living crisis,” said Michelle O’Neill, the party’s leader in Northern Ireland, during a televised election debate on Tuesday. She said she was not “fixated on a date” for a unity referendum.Many voters simply hope the election will produce a functioning government, but that appears unlikely in the short term.Under Northern Ireland’s power-sharing system, created by the 1998 peace agreement that ended decades of Catholic-Protestant conflict, the jobs of first minister and deputy first minister are split between the biggest unionist party and the largest nationalist one.Both posts must be filled for a government to function. The Democratic Unionist Party, which has been the largest in the Northern Ireland Assembly for two decades, has suggested it might not serve under a Sinn Fein first minister.The DUP also says it will refuse to join a new government unless there are major changes to post-Brexit border arrangements, known as the Northern Ireland Protocol, that are opposed by many unionists.“The political institutions must be sustainable.” DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson said during Tuesday’s debate. “And that means we have got to deal with the big issues that are in front of us, not least the harm that the Northern Ireland Protocol is doing to undermine political stability in Northern Ireland.”The post-Brexit rules have imposed customs and border checks on some goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K. The arrangement was designed to maintain an open border between Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland, a key pillar of the peace process.But unionists say the new checks have created a barrier between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K. that undermines their British identity.The instability has led to rising tensions and sporadic violence, including a week of rioting in Protestant Loyalist areas a year ago. Last month, police were pelted with petrol bombs after a dissident Irish Republican parade in Derry, also known as Londonderry.The British government is pressing the EU to agree to major changes — removing most customs checks — and is threatening to unilaterally stop implementing the rules if the bloc refuses.Negotiations have reached an impasse, with the bloc accusing Johnson of refusing to impose rules he agreed to in a legally binding treaty.Meanwhile, politics in Northern Ireland are changing. More support is going to parties that identify as neither nationalist nor unionist, with young people increasingly rejecting the traditional labels. Polls suggest the centrist Alliance Party is vying for second place with the DUP, another potentially seismic development. Full results of the election, which uses a system of proportional representation, are not expected until the weekend at the earliest.The new legislators will meet next week to try to form an executive. If none can be formed within six months, the administration will collapse, triggering a new election and more uncertainty.Quinn, the anti-poverty activist, said that would be a “dereliction of duty.”“Both communities — all communities and none — are struggling here,” she said. “It’s wider than the usual Northern Ireland flavor of politics, that green and orange tribal dance,” she added, in a reference to the colors associated with nationalists and unionists, respectively.“I’m really hoping that the politicians are listening.”___Lawless reported from London More

Brexit pressures are largely to blame for the soaring price of chicken, the British Poultry Council (BPC) has said – rejecting Boris Johnson’s claim it is down to global energy prices.The prime minister said soaring supermarket prices was mainly due to international fuel supply problems on Tuesday, adding: “The cost of chickens is crazy.”But the BPC fired back at Mr Johnson on Wednesday by blaming post-Brexit trade barriers and skill shortages for the spike in production costs.“It is not “mainly fuel” that’s the problem, as PM said in his Good Morning Britain interview. It is everything. Input costs like water, labour, energy and feed are all up,” said a BPC spokesperson on Twitter.Citing “ongoing Brexit pressures”, the industry body added: “Combined with trade barriers, shipping delays for machinery plus a skills shortage (vets and lorry drivers), this all adds a cost that has to be recovered through the marketplace.”Britain’s largest chicken supplier 2 Sisters has predicted that food price rises of 15 per cent will be needed to “even begin to cover the increasing cost of production”.Environment secretary George Eustice acknowledged the price of chicken and other fresh produce would continue to rise – but suggested hard-pressed families turn to “value brands”.Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner responded by tweeting: “Let them eat value cake? The Tories haven’t got a clue.”The BPC said the government had “repeatedly failed to acknowledge” the need for a “fair” system to help UK producers since the Brexit withdrawal deal kicked in last January.The industry body said members had lost £85m in chicken exports to the EU last year because of unreciprocated controls.Poultry chiefs called on the government to strike a veterinary agreement on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules deal with Brussels to allow for a reciprocal removal of checks on products entering the EU from UK.“[Mr Johnson] remarked on the ‘insane’ position people find themselves in in the midst of this crisis, whilst failing to acknowledge the insanity currently wrapped up in blatantly unfair EU-UK trade,” said a BPC spokesperson.They added: “[Members] now will continue to face the burdens, costs and red tape that hinder fair competition until October 2023.”The poultry council is unhappy at the government for scrapping physical inspections on food coming into the UK from the EU until last 2023 – a move announced by Jacob Rees-Mogg last week.BPC chief executive Richard Griffiths, said it “proves that this government is not concerned with the rights and wrongs of fair UK-EU trade” – saying EU traders face a “commercial advantage with no checks and can now expect that luxury until late 2023”.Mr Rees-Mogg, who had previously claimed soaring food costs had nothing to do with Brexit – admitted that the post-Brexit import checks planned for July would have seen prices rise at the supermarket. He described the red tape as “an act of self-harm”. More

Elon Musk has been asked to attend a hearing of the UK parliament to explain his plans for Twitter.The billionaire bought the influential social network for $44 billion USD last month and has said he could change some of its policies.Now the chair of the Commons digital, culture, media and sport committee has written to the Tesla boss to ask him to attend a hearing “in the near future”..In a letter dated 29 April Tory MP Julian Knight said: “My committee has noted your proposed acquisition of Twitter and we are interested in the developments you propose.”Mr Knight said the committee was particularly interested in Mr Musk’s plan to roll out verification for all users, which he said “echoes our calls on the UK government as part of proposed legislation, which we hope will restore the UK’s public trust in digital platforms”.The chair added: “I therefore wish to take this opportunity to invite you to speak before our committee and discuss your proposals in more depth. “I know you have expressed your wish that critics remain on Twitter and this may present and opportunity to address any critiques in public.”Mr Musk said on Tuesday that “commercial/governemnt” users may have to pay a “slight cost” or fee to continue to use the platform. He said the network would “always be free for casual users”, however.The billionaire has said he could introduce new features such as an “undo tweet” button and hinted he could roll back content moderation policies. More