Markus Andrews

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailChancellor Jeremy Hunt and cabinet veteran Michael Gove appear at the head of a Lib Dem hit list of top Tory targets they believe they can unseat in the general election.The list is part of a wider strategy by the Lib Dems to “break the Tory blue wall” of traditionally safe seats across the south of England with previously unwinnable constituencies in counties such as Surrey now in their targets.Since winning the Chesham and Amersham by-election in 2021, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has made no secret of his hopes to repaint the blue wall yellow on the electoral map.But the plan to pour extra resources into seats held by five current cabinet ministers and five more being vacated by former Tory grandees including Theresa May and Sir John Redwood has echoes of the party’s disastrous decapitation strategy in 2005 which backfired spectacularly.Michael Gove’s seat is vulnerable More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak’s government has been accused of letting renters down after it emerged that legislation banning no-fault evictions will not be passed before the election. The Conservative pledge to end section 21 – or no-fault evictions – will now not be met, as it will not return to the Commons before parliament is prorogued on Friday. The provision allows landlords to evict tenants without having to give a reason beyond what is in a tenancy agreement. The bill was first introduced in the Commons in May last year but its progress stalled after Conservative MPs campaigned for stronger protections for landlords. Commons leader Penny Mordaunt has not included the bill in the list of “wash-up” legislation that could be rushed through by MPs ahead of the election campaign. Downing Street denied failing renters, with a spokesperson saying: “It’s part of the wash-up process that bills are able to be passed where there is a consensus. But of course the government wanted to get this passed and that’s why it was introduced in the first place.”Tom Darling, campaign manager of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said renters have been badly let down, adding: “In 2019 the Conservative Manifesto promised to deliver a better deal for private renters and an end to no-fault evictions. “Renters in England – trapped in an unhealthy, unaffordable and insecure renting system – have been waiting five long years for action on that pledge”. Official figures published this month showed a six-year high in repossessions by bailiffs through no-fault evictions More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailFormer Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been banished from the party after announcing he will stand as an independent candidate in Islington North in the general election.Mr Corbyn’s announcement on Friday morning will have come as a headache for Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who banned his predecessor from standing for Labour after he failed to apologise for his handling of antisemitism within the party.In response, Sir Keir reaffirmed to Sky News why he blocked the 74-year-old from standing for Labour, claiming he “would tear antisemitism out of our party by the roots”. He added: “That was my first solemn promise, and I followed through on that, and that is why I took the decision that Jeremy Corbyn would not stand as a Labour candidate at this election.“Now what’s happened with Jeremy standing as an independent, that’s a matter for him.”Soon after, it emerged that Mr Corbyn had been informed that his party membership had been revoked. And just hours after that, Labour selected local entrepeneur Praful Nargund to stand against him. The contest will be one of the most closely watched on election night, with Mr Corbyn hoping his tireless local campaigning will help him hold the seat against the odds.Mr Corbyn, who has held Islington North seat for more than 40 years, made the announcement to stand as an independent in an interview with the Islington Tribune in which he said he would be “a voice for equality, democracy and peace”.For updates ahead of the general election – follow our live blog by clicking hereFormer Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says he want to continue representing Islington North constituents on issues such as social justice, human rights and peace More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe police probe into Angela Rayner’s tax and property affairs will be concluded before the general election, with Labour increasingly confident she will be cleared, according to reports.An announcement on the outcome of Greater Manchester Police’s investigation is expected in the next week, a month and a half after it was opened.Ms Rayner’s allies are hoping Greater Manchester Police will make a public statement drawing a line under the row about the 2015 sale of her council house, The Times reported. It would be a boost for Labour’s election campaign, with senior Tories having repeatedly used the investigation as an attack line.Sir Keir Starmer kicked off Labour’s campaign alongside Angela Rayner More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWith the Tories suffering a pounding in the polls after the announcement of a snap general election, it’s perhaps not surprising some MPs will already be thinking about their next move.And that certainly appears to be the case for Northern Ireland Minister Steve Baker, who was maybe too quick to reel off a list of high-adrenaline sports when asked what he’d do if he lost his Wycombe seat.“Skydiving, motorcycling, fast catamaran sailing… the wide range of things I’ll do,” he said in his response to a question from the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire, which has since gone viral on social media.“I think you’re talking about work though,” Mr Baker added, with a smile.Ms Derbyshire then responded: “I was talking about the work, but that’s fine.” Mr Baker added: “The first thing I’ll do if I don’t win my seat is have a long break.”For the latest on the general election – follow our live updates by clicking here‘Skydiving, motorcycling, fast catamaran sailing’ – MP Steve Baker reels off list of things he’ll do if he loses his seat at the general election More

The Labour Party has poked fun at Rishi Sunak’s recent gaffes in a new election advert.Mr Sunak on Wednesday fired the starting gun for a 4 July vote – and did so while exposed to the elements on Downing Street.The prime minister addressed the nation in the pouring rain – and it wasn’t long before the opposition party poked fun at his announcement – and a couple of campaign stops that followed one day later.In a video titled “Leaked: Rishi Sunak’s campaign diary,” Labour referenced Mr Sunak’s No 10 speech, as well as a footballing gaffe when he met brewery staff in South Wales.The video also points out that he was asked a question by a disguised Tory councillor at a distribution centre in Derbyshire. More

Sir Keir Starmer has responded after Jeremy Corbyn announced he is standing as an independent candidate in the general election.The former Labour leader said today (24 May) he will stand in his constituency of Islington North, vowing to be “an independent voice for equality, democracy and peace”.Mr Corbyn has been suspended by Labour since 2020 after he refused to fully accept the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s findings that the party broke equality law when he was in charge and said antisemitism had been “dramatically overstated for political reasons”.Sir Keir responded to Mr Corbyn’s announcement when he appeared on BBC Breakfast on Friday. More

Sir Keir Starmer says he will take part in televised election debates with Rishi Sunak.The Conservatives are pushing for six TV debates, one each week of the campaign, but it’s expected Labour will commit to two.Writing in The Telegraph, Mr Sunak claimed Sir Keir does not have the “courage” to face him.That challenge was put to the Labour leader on Good Morning Britain on Friday (24 May), and he offered a clear response.“We will have debates, of course. They are a tradition, a part of the electoral cycle,” Sir Keir said.“I could do one, I could do one hundred, I know what he’s going to say.” More