Markus Andrews

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    Faiza Shaheen speaks out after Labour blocks candidacy in general election

    Faiza Shaheen has spoken out after Labour did not endorse her for the Chingford and Woodford Green seat in north east London.Reports suggested the economist would be suspended by the party after she allegedly liked a series of posts on X that downplayed antisemitism accusations.Ms Shaheen says she was informed of the decision shortly before appearing on Newsnight on Wednesday, 29 May.”They briefed the press before they even had the decency to call me… I’m so shocked right now,” she added.A Labour spokesperson told The Independent: “The NEC has not endorsed Faiza Shaheen as candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green. She will not be the Labour candidate.” More

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    Jeremy Hunt challenged over consecutive Tory VAT increases in tense live interview

    Jeremy Hunt was confronted over the Conservatives’ increases to VAT over the years during a live interview with Nick Robinson on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday, 30 May.It came as the Tories and Labour ruled out hikes if either party wins the general election.“I am not pretending that there haven’t been times when Conservative governments haven’t put up taxes,” Mr Hunt said.Margaret Thatcher’s government increased VAT from 8 per cent to 15 per cent in 1979.It was then increased to 17.5 per cent, remaining at this figure until Labour lowered it to 15 per cent in December 2008, before raising it to 17.5 per cent a year later. More

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    Tories taunt Keir Starmer over Diane Abbott fiasco

    Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailChancellor Jeremy Hunt has ruthlessly seized on the chaos in the Labour Party over the future of Diane Abbott which has sparked a revolt on the left of the party.Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was accused on Radio 4’s Today Programme ths morning of “dithering” over the trail blazing MP and first black woman to be elected to Parliament in Britain.She has vowed to stand again for her Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency and accused Labour bosses of trying to bar her from being a candidate after almost four decades as an MP.But Sir Keir has denied she has been barred but been unable to say whether she will be allowed to be a candidate just weeks before a general election.Ms Abbott told supporters she intended to remain as MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington More

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    Corbyn declares ‘democracy has been denied’ as he launches independent election campaign

    Jeremy Corbyn declared “democracy has been denied” as he launched his campaign to be re-elected as the independent MP for Islington North on Wednesday night (29 May).The former Labour leader was suspended by the party in 2020 for refusing to fully accept the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s findings that the party broke equality law when he was in charge.“Islington North Labour members were denied any vote to decide who their MP is or who their candidate is,” Mr Corbyn said, before revealing that he had sent a message of support to Diane Abbott amid uncertainty over whether she will be able to stand as a candidate for Labour. More

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    Nigel Farage claims people ‘loathe’ the Tories and Labour will win election

    Nigel Farage claimed people “loathe” the Tories and a Labour general election victory is “a forgone conclusion”.The honorary president of Reform UK said that even if his party stood aside, their voters would never go back to the Conservatives, making a Labour election victory a forgone conclusion.Appearing on the ITV Peston show on Wednesday (29 May), he said: “We can all pretend there might be a contest, but there won’t. It is over. “These people loathe the Conservatives. It is done.” More

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    Labour and Conservatives rule out VAT hikes amid row over tax plans

    Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailJeremy Hunt and Rachel Reeves have ruled out raising VAT after the general election amid a furious row about each other’s tax plans.The chancellor accused Labour of secretly planning to raise VAT, currently charged at 20 per cent on most goods and services, by 1p to plug a £9bn hole in its spending plans.Mr Hunt said the increase would “hammer families’ finances and push inflation back up, just when we have got it down to normal”.Rachel Reeves and Jeremy Hunt have clashed over Labour’s tax plans More

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    Diane Abbott vows to stay on as MP as Labour descends into chaos over botched suspension

    Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailDiane Abbott has vowed to stay on as the MP for her London constituency as the row over her future threatens to derail Labour’s important announcements on health and the economy.In her first public speech on the escalating situation on her selection, which has sent the party’s election campaign into turmoil, Ms Abbott told supporters she intended to stay on as MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington for “as long as it is possible”.The future of the trailblazing MP, who was the first black woman to be elected to parliament, was thrown into confusion when she revealed she had been barred from standing again for Labour despite having the party whip restored following months of suspension.But within hours, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer insisted that Ms Abbott had “not been barred” from standing as a candidate as he tried to promote Labour’s policy on cutting NHS waiting lists. Diane Abbott spoke to supporters outside Hackney Town Hall on Wednesday evening More

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    Angela Rayner ‘cleared by HMRC’ over council house row

    Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailHM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will take no further action against Angela Rayner following investigations into her living arrangements a decade ago prompted by Tory allegations, it was reported on Wednesday night.The deputy Labour leader had faced claims she may have broken electoral law and dodged capital gains tax and council tax over the 2015 sale of her council house in Stockport, and whether she had provided false information about her main address during the 2010s.However, HMRC said on Wednesday that the Ashton-under-Lyne MP oweed no capital gains tax for the sale, according to a document seen by the Guardian. Following a consideration of the evidence two weeks ago, the tax authority concluded the house was Ms Rayner’s principal residence the entire time she owned it, which meant that no tax would be due.It comes after Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and Stockport Council both confirmed on Tuesday that they would also be taking no further action against Ms Rayner after investigations that followed a complaint from Conservative deputy chairman James Daly.The force said it had shared details of its investigation with HMRC because tax falls out of its jurisdiction. While the tax body said it would not comment on individual cases, the Guardian has now reported an HMRC document found “no capital gains tax is due” on the sale of Ms Rayner’s home and showed the case was concluded.HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will reportedly take no further action against Angela Rayner following investigations into her living arrangements a decade ago prompted by Tory allegations More