Markus Andrews

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailChina is providing Russia with lethal aid for use in its war against Ukraine, Grant Shapps has warned.The defence secretary suggested that British and US intelligence contradicts Beijing’s previous attempts to present itself as a moderating influence on Moscow and President Xi’s government is instead helping to arm Russia.Mr Shapps used a speech at the London Defence Conference to reveal China’s collaboration as he argued Nato needs to “wake up” and bolster defence spending alliance-wide.This follows the UK government committing to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2030. However, many Nato allies still do not meet the 2 percent minimum threshold.Mr Shapps said: “Today I can reveal that we have evidence that Russia and China are collaborating on combat equipment for use in Ukraine.”Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said lethal aid is flying from China to Russia (PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has announced the general election will be held on 4 July and – as you might have guessed – this falls on a Thursday.Speaking in the pouring rain outside No 10 on Wednesday, the prime minister said: “Earlier today I spoke with his majesty the King to ask for the dissolution of Parliament. The King has granted this request and we will have a general election on the 4th of July.”While there is no actual law mandating that elections be held on Thursdays, this has been the custom for several decades now, and that typically includes voting in local as well as general elections and by-elections for individual seats.How long have UK elections been held on Thursdays?The last general election in the UK that wasn’t held on a Thursday took place on a Tuesday in October 1931. At that time, the day used for elections jumped around quite a bit, though it was always a weekday. The polling day was a Wednesday in November 1922 and a Thursday in December 1923. In October 1924, it was back to Wednesday, and then it was on a Thursday in May 1929. In 1935 the election was held on a Thursday, and it has been that way ever since.Why are general elections held on Thursdays in Britain?The choice of Thursday is more a tradition than a rule.It was likely driven by social and cultural factors such as avoiding overlap with paydays on Fridays or religious activities on Sundays. By holding the election in midweek, voters could be distanced from the influence of pubs or churches. In the past, Thursdays were market days in many towns and villages which meant more people were out and therefore likely to vote.There’s also a view that voting on a Thursday facilitates efficient ballot counting, with most results typically available by Friday morning, and allows for a smooth transition of power. The prime minister gets the entire weekend to pick their cabinet, settle into Downing Street if newly elected and prepare to brief civil servants by Monday morning.This schedule enables an orderly transition and minimises disruption to governance.There have, however, been calls in recent years to shift the voting day to the weekend – as is the case in many countries around the world. Professor Ailsa Henderson from the University of Edinburgh previously told the BBC a weekend vote would appeal to a lot of people. “Allowing it on more than one day – where one is a weekday and one is on the weekend – you will probably maximise your turnout.”But the idea has faced criticism, not least as it would entail a high cost of overtime for election staff. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has announced 4 July as the date for the next general election, giving just one week’s notice to the current parliament and firing the starting gun on campaigning. “Earlier today I spoke with his majesty the King to ask for the dissolution of Parliament. The King has granted this request, and we will have a general election on the 4th of July,” the prime minister said outside Downing Street on Wednesday.Here’s how major newspapers covered the surprise announcement.The IndependentWe start with this newspaper’s front page, which describes 4 July as “Judgement Day” for 14 years of Conservative rule, a period that has included “five prime ministers [and] countless scandals and resignations”. The GuardianThe Guardian led with the headline “Sunak’s big gamble”, and reported that the prime minister’s surprise announcement caused “alarm among senior ministers”.It said that ministers Esther McVey and Chris Heaton-Harris expressed concern about the election date, fearing voters didn’t yet feel economic improvement.Michael Gove, however, supported Mr Sunak. “Who dares wins,” he reportedly told his cabinet colleagues, invoking the SAS motto. “And you have dared, PM, and will win.”Daily MirrorIt led with the headline “Drown & Out” and pictured Mr Sunak walking back into No 10, soaking wet in the rain.The paper reported that Mr Sunak’s speech was overshadowed by protesters playing the New Labour anthem, “Things Can Only Get Better” at full blast. It added that with rain pouring down on him, the prime minister told voters: “I cannot and will not say that we have got everything right. No government should. But I am proud of what we have achieved together, the bold actions we have taken and I’m confident about what we can do in the future.”The Daily Mail“Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future,” the paper headlined its coverage, quoting Mr Sunak’s speech. It reported that Mr Sunak was “seizing the initiative” by calling a general election amid “Tory jitters”.The paper quoted the prime minister as saying that “voters must decide between two very different visions”.Financial TimesThe paper led with the headline “Sunak bets on July 4 election” and commented that Mr Sunak made a “big gamble” by calling the election while his party trailed Labour by over 20 points in polls.A former Tory minister described the decision as “bonkers”, noting: “Not a single colleague is saying they’re pumped up or ready”.The Daily Telegraph“Sunak gambles on snap poll” ran the headline on the broadsheet. “Things can only get wetter,” it commented with wordplay on the Labour anthem “Things Can Only Get Better”.In an opinion piece on the front page, associate editor Gordon Rayner said Mr Sunak’s message “came across loud and clear: that things have indeed got better under his leadership, and if Sir Keir Starmer becomes prime minister things can only get worse”.Mr Sunak “bet the house” by unexpectedly calling a general election, surprising his own cabinet, the paper reported.It said the prime minister “tried to position himself as the underdog”.The Metro noted that Mr Sunak ended “months of speculation” with this decision. It called the announcement a “bombshell” move.The i headlined its coverage “Judgement day: 4 July snap election for UK”. “Sunak gambles on snap general election – in attempt to catch Labour off guard,” it said.Daily Express“PM: I am fighting for our nation’s future” was the Daily Express headline. It quoted Sunak as saying that his party’s “economic credibility” won by bringing inflation down from over 11 per cent to 2.3 per cent and that “influenced his decision to take the fight to Labour”. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailIt is officially the launch of the Conservative Party’s general election campaign. I watch as exhausted security guards wave in Tory members filing towards the Excel Centre in the shadow of derelict shipping buildings and super yachts.Past the sniffer dogs and blacked-out Range Rovers, I am greeted by a cheery Tory press officer equipped with an umbrella – clearly learning his lesson from Rishi Sunak’s washout outside Downing Street. Mr Sunak’s first campaign rally has clearly been organised at late notice – with some Tory MPs reportedly feeling cajoled into attending. Past airport-style security we are led into the press room – with frustrated journalists pacing like tigers after being denied access to the Tory activists flocking in with bright new ‘Vote Conservative’ signs pressed into their hands.Meanwhile, Sky’s political anchor Darren McCaffrey is already complaining to a media handler, who explains there is not enough room for their camera in the cramped room hired for the prime minister’s speech.The anchor promises to make a “huge deal” about it and he later does – ending up being “forcibly ejected” by security live on camera during the launch.Reporter ‘forcibly removed’ from Sunak election campaign launch live on airAfter a 30-minute wait we pile into a sterile, sweltering room where dozens of Tory members holding the latest slogan from the latest election are assembled like a choir about to burst into You Can’t Always Get What You Want.The cleverly chosen smaller conference room appears fit to bursting for the cameras, with only around 80 activists there.Some bop their heads to the inoffensive yet interminable hold music being played repeatedly over the tannoy as they wait for their leader to arrive.The hype builds as Michael Gove comes in first to rapturous applause, followed by chancellor Jeremy Hunt and foreign secretary Lord David Cameron.But Mr Sunak’s opening host of choice is home secretary James Cleverly – I suspect, the funniest Conservative frontbencher he could find at such short notice. James Cleverly opens the Conservative Party rally More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailSecurity guards removed a Sky News broadcast crew from the centre where Rishi Sunak was launching the Conservatives’ election campaign.Journalist Darren McCaffrey and a film crew with him were escorted from the ExCel Centre in London before the prime minister gave his speech.The political correspondent said they had not been allowed in because broadcast arrangements had been “pooled” – so other broadcasters there were obliged to share footage with others.Outside, Mr McCaffrey and the crew – who had apparently been invited to the event – were followed by security guards as they walked around the exterior of the ExCel centre.After the event, a solitary Sky producer, sans cameraman and Mr McCaffrey, was waiting patiently as everyone filed out of the Excel.Rishi Sunak speaks to delegates and party members as he launches the Conservative Party general election campaign at the ExCel Centre More