Markus Andrews

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailJeremy Corbyn would have made a better prime minister than Boris Johnson had he been elected in 2019, Sir Keir Starmer said.Sir Keir dodged a series of questions during a BBC Question Time debate on Thursday night over whether he truly believed his predecessor would have made a “great” prime minister, as he said five years ago.Host Fiona Bruce repeatedly challenged him over his one-time statement, with Sir Keir insisting: “It wasn’t a question that really arose because I didn’t think we were going to win the election.”Follow live updates hereBut when Bruce asked for a “yes” or “no” answer to whether he meant it, Sir Keir insisted that Mr Corbyn would have made a better prime minister than Mr Johnson.Sir Keir Starmer said he believed Jeremy Corbyn would have made a better PM than Boris Johnson (Stefan Rousseau/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLabour has suggested it could put in place long-term budgets for organisations which have helped trace the ancestry of dogs to ancient wolves, developed the DragonFire laser weapon, and started work on a lung cancer vaccine.The party’s deputy leader Angela Rayner promised to “relight the fire of our regions” with 10-year budgets for research and development (R&D) institutions which receive taxpayers’ cash.The Conservatives have also courted R&D institutions with their manifesto, which pledges £22 billion for R&D each year and a promise to “maintain our R&D tax reliefs”.Labour will relight the fire of our regions and drive growth in every corner of the country. You can believe that Labour is committed to tackling regional inequality in Britain because it is in our DNA Labour deputy leader Angela RaynerMs Rayner, who will visit a manufacturing centre in the Midlands on Friday, said: “Labour will relight the fire of our regions and drive growth in every corner of the country.“You can believe that Labour is committed to tackling regional inequality in Britain because it is in our DNA.“For over a century it has been a mission of every Labour prime minister to rebuild our economy, hand-in-hand with local leaders so no-one is left behind.”Ms Rayner added: “The choice at this election is five more years of chaos and decline under the Tories, or stability, opportunity and wealth creation with Labour.“After the Tories’ failure to deliver high-quality jobs and economic growth for Britain, Labour’s plan will create the stability that is needed for us to lead the world in the industries of the future – creating the kinds of jobs we want for our kids, in the places we live.”In a statement, the party said it would support 650,000 “new high-quality jobs that will be created as Britain shifts to clean power by 2030, with many more in sectors like AI (artificial intelligence) and life sciences”.Labour has also pledged to roll out a new industrial strategy.Its 10-year budgets plan could support organisations such as the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry and the UK Atomic Energy Authority, the party claimed.Its statement read: “Other organisations that could be in scope include world-leading laboratories like the Crick Institute in London and Whittle Laboratory in Cambridge, which support our life sciences and aerospace sectors. It could also support funding bodies like ARIA, which funds pioneering AI research, and the Defence and Science Technology Laboratory (DSTL), headquartered in Wiltshire, which ensures our armed forces have the cutting-edge technology they need.”The Conservatives’ manifesto reads: “Artificial intelligence (AI) will accelerate human progress in the 21st century, just as the steam engine and electricity did in the 19th century.“The UK is well positioned to spearhead this transformation and is already leading global work on AI safety.“Over the last 14 years, the Conservatives have turned the UK into a science and innovation superpower.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Thursday that anyone involved in using inside information to bet on the date of Britain’s July 4 national election should be expelled from his Conservative Party.Sunak said on the BBC that he was “incredibly angry, incredibly angry” to learn of allegations that Conservative politicians betted on the election date, and that they “should face the full force of the law” if they were found to have broken the law.“It’s right that they are being investigated properly by the relevant law enforcement authorities,” he said. “If anyone is found to have broken the rules, not only should they face the full consequences of the law, I will make sure that they are booted out of the Conservative Party.”Two weeks ahead of the general election, it was an uncomfortable experience for Sunak, whose Conservative Party is trailing the main opposition Labour Party — by 20 points by many polls — ahead of the vote.Earlier, asked about reports that the U.K.’s Gambling Commission was investigating a second Conservative candidate for placing a bet on the timing of the election, housing minister Michael Gove told the BBC that if people used inside information to bet, it would be “deeply wrong.” “What I can’t do is sort of get too much into the detail of the case while an investigation is going on,″ Gove said. “But I can talk about the broad principle and you’re absolutely right, it’s reprehensible.”Sunak announced on May 22 that parliamentary elections would be held on July 4. The date had been a closely guarded secret and many, even those in Sunak’s governing Conservative Party, were taken by surprise as a vote had been expected in the fall.Under the United Kingdom’s electoral laws, the prime minister has the power to call the date within five years of the previous election. Many members of Sunak’s party have said that he called it too soon, as he had until January 2025 to call the balloting.British media, including the PA news agency and the BBC, reported on Thursday that Tory candidate Laura Saunders, who is married to the Conservative Party’s director of campaigning, Tony Lee, is facing a commission investigation into alleged betting offences. Saunders’ attorney, Nama Zarroug, of Astraea Linskills, said she would be co-operating with the commission investigation and that she had nothing further to add.“It is inappropriate to conduct any investigation of this kind via the media, and doing so risks jeopardizing the work of the Gambling Commission and the integrity of its investigation,” the statement said. “The publication of the BBC’s story is premature and is a clear infringement of Ms Saunders’ privacy rights. She is considering legal action against the BBC and any other publishers who infringe her privacy rights,” it added.The Conservative Party said Britain’s Gambling Commission contacted it over a “small number of individuals″ in connection with the investigation. The party declined to immediately comment on the fresh allegation pending the commission investigation. But it said in a statement that Lee took a leave of absence from the party on Wednesday. The broadening scandal came after reports Wednesday that one of Sunak’s police bodyguards was arrested over alleged bets on the date of Britain’s national election made before it was announced. The constable in the Royalty and Specialist Protection Command was arrested Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, the Metropolitan Police force said.Last week, Sunak aide Craig Williams, who is running to be reelected to Parliament, acknowledged he was being investigated by the Gambling Commission for placing a 100 pound ($128) bet on a July election before the date had been announced.Betting is popular in the U.K., with bookies offering odds on everything from sports to elections. Cheating by acting on inside information is a criminal offense.___Associated Press writer Pan Pylas in London contributed to this report. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has said he could take drivers’ licences and bank accounts off 18-year-olds if they refuse to take part in his mandatory national service.The prime minister has so far failed to say how he will force young people to participate in the scheme, which would see them volunteer with community groups or join the armed forces.And, pressed by BBC Question Time presenter Fiona Bruce, Mr Sunak suggested the government will consider stopping young people having access to finance or drivers’ licences.Rishi Sunak suggested 18-year-olds could lose their driving licences or bank accounts More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWhen a soaking wet Rishi Sunak stood in front of Downing Street last month to call a snap 4 July general election, the Conservative Party needed a miracle.Almost three years had passed since the Tories enjoyed a lead over Labour in the polls, and the prime minister had given them just six weeks to turn it around. No campaign is ever perfect, but Mr Sunak’s needed to be pretty close to stop Sir Keir Starmer walking into Downing Street on 5 July.But since the prime minister kicked off proceedings in the wettest of circumstances, the picture for the Tories has gone from bad to utterly bleak. Journalists sat around a conference table in a plain white room while Gove toured the site More