Markus Andrews

A Tory MP has suggested Labour will win the general election.Paul Scully, who is standing down at the next vote, shared a bleak outlook for Rishi Sunak’s government. “There is a scenario we can get to, if we come up with a vision and sell that vision to the country, rather than just going from crisis to crisis… that you can get to a hung parliament or reduce the losses,” he told BBC Politics on Tuesday 7 May.”My personal view, is that Labour is going to win the election.” More

(Getty Images) Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email A Conservative MP has publicly admitted he personally expects the Tories to lose the next general election, when asked about Rishi Sunak’s claim that Britain is on course for a hung […] More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe former leader of the Green Party has sparked fury after quitting the London Assembly just three days after being re-elected to her seat.Sian Berry, who is standing to become an MP for the Greens in Brighton this year, passed the role to the party’s mayoral candidate, Zoe Garbett, instead.It means Ms Garbett, who received 9,646 votes in the London mayoral contest, will take Ms Berry’s place in the London Assembly without the need for a by-election.The Green Party’s Sian Berry quit the London Assembly three days after being elected More

Labour will fight the next election on the economy, the shadow chancellor has said as she dismissed suggestions the UK was heading for a hung parliament.In a speech in the City of London on Tuesday 7 April, Rachel Reeves said her party would use every day to “expose what the Conservatives have done to our country” and accused the government of “gaslighting” the public by claiming Britain had “turned a corner”.She said: “Instead of believing the prime minister’s claims that we’ve turned a corner, the questions people will ask ahead of the next election are simple.“Frankly, does anything in our country work better than it did when the Conservatives came into office 14 years ago?” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Prime Minister has declined to identify the “malign actor” behind a cyber attack on the Ministry of Defence (MoD) amid speculation China carried out the hack.The Government has confirmed that a third-party payroll system was hacked, potentially compromising the bank details of service personnel and veterans. A very small number of addresses may also have been accessed.Speaking to broadcasters in south-east London, Rishi Sunak said there were “indications that a malign actor” had compromised the database, but declined to attribute the attack to a specific state or “actor”.Grant Shapps, the Defence Secretary, will update MPs on the cyber attack later on Tuesday, but is also not expected to say who was behind it.Pressed on his stance on China, Mr Sunak said he had set out “a very robust policy” towards Beijing, taking the powers necessary “to protect ourselves against the risk that China and other countries pose to us”.He added that Britain was facing “an axis of authoritarian states, including Russia, Iran, North Korea and China” that “pose a risk to our values, our interests and, indeed, our country”.Mr Sunak sought to reassure the public that the MoD had already acted by taking the relevant network offline and offering support to personnel affected by the incident.Downing Street said the Government had also launched a security review of the contractor’s operations.The Government’s refreshed review of foreign and defence policy had cybersecurity “right at the heart of that, exactly these kinds of risks, particularly when it comes to state actors”.It is understood that initial investigations have found no evidence that data has been removed.But affected service personnel will be alerted as a precaution and provided with specialist advice. They will be able to use a personal data protection service to check whether their information is being used or an attempt is being made to use it.This is yet another example of why the UK Government must admit that China poses a systemic threat to the UK and change the integrated review to reflect thatSir Iain Duncan SmithAll salaries were paid at the last payday, with no issues expected at the next one at the end of this month, although there may be a slight delay in the payment of expenses in a small number of cases.The MoD confirmed Mr Shapps “will make a planned statement to the House of Commons this afternoon setting out the multi-point plan to support and protect personnel”.Ministers will blame hostile and malign actors, but will not name the country behind the hacking.The MoD has been working at speed to uncover the scale of the attack since it was discovered several days ago.Labour’s shadow defence secretary John Healey said: “So many serious questions for the Defence Secretary on this, especially from forces personnel whose details were targeted.”A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy said claims Beijing was behind the attack were “completely fabricated and malicious slanders”.Targeting the names of the payroll system and service personnel’s bank details, this does point to China because it can be as part of a plan, a strategy to see who might be coercedTobias EllwoodThey said: “China has always firmly fought all forms of cyber attacks according to law.“China does not encourage, support or condone cyber attacks. At the same time, we oppose the politicisation of cybersecurity issues and the baseless denigration of other countries without factual evidence.“China has always upheld the principle of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs. China has neither the interest nor the need to meddle in the internal affairs of the UK.“We urge the relevant parties in the UK to stop spreading false information, stop fabricating so-called China threat narratives, and stop their anti-China political farce.”The revelation comes after the UK and the US in March accused China of a global campaign of “malicious” cyber attacks in an unprecedented joint operation to reveal Beijing’s espionage.Britain blamed Beijing for targeting the Electoral Commission watchdog in 2021 and for being behind a campaign of online “reconnaissance” aimed at the email accounts of MPs and peers.China has always upheld the principle of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs. China has neither the interest nor the need to meddle in the internal affairs of the UKChinese embassy spokespersonIn response to the Beijing-linked hacks on the Electoral Commission and 43 individuals, a front company, Wuhan Xiaoruizhi Science and Technology Company, and two people linked to the APT31 hacking group were sanctioned.But some of the MPs targeted by the Chinese state said the response did not go far enough, urging the Government to toughen its stance on China by labelling it a “threat” to national security rather than an “epoch-defining challenge”.Conservative former leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith repeated those calls, telling Sky News: “This is yet another example of why the UK Government must admit that China poses a systemic threat to the UK and change the integrated review to reflect that.“No more pretence, it is a malign actor, supporting Russia with money and military equipment, working with Iran and North Korea in a new axis of totalitarian states.”Former defence minister Tobias Ellwood told the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme: “Targeting the names of the payroll system and service personnel’s bank details, this does point to China because it can be as part of a plan, a strategy to see who might be coerced.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA Muslim campaign group has issued Sir Keir Starmer with 18 demands in order to win back support lost due to his stance on Israel’s war in Gaza.The Muslim Vote, which aims to organise voters against MPs who did not back a ceasefire in the conflict, has called for the Labour leader to apologise for his early stance on Israel’s campaign against Hamas.And it has urged Sir Keir to promise to cut military ties with Israel and let Muslims pray in schools and for Labour figures to return “zionist money”.Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has lost voters over his stance on Gaza (Peter Byrne/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailDefence Secretary Grant Shapps will update MPs on a cyber attack on a database containing details of armed forces personnel amid reports China was behind the hack.A third-party payroll system has been hacked, potentially compromising the bank details of all serving personnel and some veterans. A very small number of addresses may also have been accessed.The Ministry of Defence (MoD) took immediate action when it discovered the breach, taking the external network – operated by a contractor – offline.Downing Street said the Government had also launched a security review of the contractor’s operations.But the Prime Minister’s official spokesman declined to comment on speculation about the origin of the attack ahead of a planned statement to the Commons on the incident by Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, saying only that the MoD had “acted immediately” to isolate the relevant network and support personnel affected by the incident.Mr Shapps is not expected to attribute the attack to a specific state or actor when he addresses MPs on Tuesday afternoon.Cabinet minister Mel Stride said the Government takes cybersecurity “extremely seriously” but also declined to place the blame on Beijing.He told Sky News, which first claimed China was behind the hack: “That is an assumption. We are not saying that at this precise moment.”But Mr Stride said the Government viewed Beijing’s government as an “epoch-defining challenge” and “our eyes are wide open when it comes to China”.Mr Stride confirmed the attack was on a third-party system rather than a MoD database but “nonetheless that’s still a very significant matter”.The Ministry of Defence acted “very swiftly” to take the database offline, he added.“We take cybersecurity extremely seriously. Our intelligence services do, our military does as well.”The Government’s refreshed review of foreign and defence policy had cybersecurity “right at the heart of that, exactly these kinds of risks, particularly when it comes to state actors”.It is understood that initial investigations have found no evidence that data has been removed.But affected service personnel will be alerted as a precaution and provided with specialist advice. They will be able to use a personal data protection service to check whether their information is being used or an attempt is being made to use it.This is yet another example of why the UK Government must admit that China poses a systemic threat to the UK and change the integrated review to reflect thatSir Iain Duncan SmithAll salaries were paid at the last payday, with no issues expected at the next one at the end of this month, although there may be a slight delay in the payment of expenses in a small number of cases.The MoD confirmed Mr Shapps “will make a planned statement to the House of Commons this afternoon setting out the multi-point plan to support and protect personnel”.Ministers will blame hostile and malign actors, but will not name the country behind the hacking.The MoD has been working at speed to uncover the scale of the attack since it was discovered several days ago.Labour’s shadow defence secretary John Healey said: “So many serious questions for the Defence Secretary on this, especially from Forces personnel whose details were targeted.”A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy said claims Beijing was behind the attack were “completely fabricated and malicious slanders”.Targeting the names of the payroll system and service personnel’s bank details, this does point to China because it can be as part of a plan, a strategy to see who might be coercedTobias EllwoodThey said: “China has always firmly fought all forms of cyber attacks according to law.“China does not encourage, support or condone cyber attacks. At the same time, we oppose the politicisation of cybersecurity issues and the baseless denigration of other countries without factual evidence.“China has always upheld the principle of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs. China has neither the interest nor the need to meddle in the internal affairs of the UK.“We urge the relevant parties in the UK to stop spreading false information, stop fabricating so-called China threat narratives, and stop their anti-China political farce.”The revelation comes after the UK and the US in March accused China of a global campaign of “malicious” cyber attacks in an unprecedented joint operation to reveal Beijing’s espionage.Britain blamed Beijing for targeting the Electoral Commission watchdog in 2021 and for being behind a campaign of online “reconnaissance” aimed at the email accounts of MPs and peers.China has always upheld the principle of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs. China has neither the interest nor the need to meddle in the internal affairs of the UKChinese embassy spokespersonIn response to the Beijing-linked hacks on the Electoral Commission and 43 individuals, a front company, Wuhan Xiaoruizhi Science and Technology Company, and two people linked to the APT31 hacking group were sanctioned.But some of the MPs targeted by the Chinese state said the response did not go far enough, urging the Government to toughen its stance on China by labelling it a “threat” to national security rather than an “epoch-defining challenge”.Conservative former leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith repeated those calls, telling Sky News: “This is yet another example of why the UK Government must admit that China poses a systemic threat to the UK and change the integrated review to reflect that.“No more pretence, it is a malign actor, supporting Russia with money and military equipment, working with Iran and North Korea in a new axis of totalitarian states.”Former defence minister Tobias Ellwood told the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme: “Targeting the names of the payroll system and service personnel’s bank details, this does point to China because it can be as part of a plan, a strategy to see who might be coerced.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailShadow chancellor Rachel Reeves will accuse the government of “gaslighting” the public about the economy, saying ministers’ over-optimistic statements are “out of touch” with Britons still struggling with the cost of living.The Labour frontbencher will seek to get ahead of the Tories’ response to a raft of economic data this week, arguing that Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak’s likely message of an improving economy is “deluded”.In a speech in the City of London on Tuesday, she will say voters at the general election have a choice between “five more years of chaos” with the Tories or “stability” with Sir Keir Starmer’s party.As Labour celebrates a string of victories in regional mayoral contests, local elections and a by-election in Blackpool South, Ms Reeves will say the results showed that people “voted for change”.Her intervention comes ahead of the Bank of England’s latest interest rates decision on Thursday and figures covering the economy’s performance over the first three months of this year on Friday.Economists are widely expecting the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee to keep rates at the current level of 5.25 per cent, despite political pressure from the government to start lowering rates before the election.Ministers may be more cheered by the Office for National Statistics’ quarterly GDP data, which is expected to show the UK has exited its recession.Ms Reeves will tell business leaders: “By the time of the next election, we can, and should, expect interest rates to be cut, Britain to be out of recession and inflation to have returned to the Bank of England’s target.”“Indeed, these things could happen this month. I already know what the chancellor will say in response to one or all these events happening. He has been saying it for months now: ‘The economy is turning a corner,’ ‘our plan is working,’ ‘stick with us.’ I want to take those arguments head on because they do not speak to the economic reality.”She will continue: “During the local elections I travelled across the country. I spoke to hundreds of people. I listened to their stories. And when they hear Government ministers telling them that they have never had it so good, that they should look out for the ‘feelgood factor,’ all they hear is a Government that is deluded and completely out of touch with the realities on the ground.”“The Conservatives are gaslighting the British public.”The shadow chancellor will describe the Conservatives’ record on the economy as having “crashed the car and left it by the side of the road”, and say that all they offer is “more of the same: low growth, higher taxes, and public services in deep decline”.Labour will fight the election, expected later this year, on the economy, Ms Reeves will say, vowing to put forward her party’s plan to boost growth and “raise living standards, resource public services, and let Britain compete in the world once again”.She will point to plans to establish a national wealth fund to deliver private and public investment, reform planning laws to build 1.5 million homes, and create 650,000 jobs in the UK’s industrial heartlands.The shadow chancellor, who has been careful to balance caution with a big ambitions for the economy, will say: “I know – warm words are not enough. I do not underestimate the challenges we face.”But, she will say, the constraints holding back Britain’s potential “are not immutable forces” and can be overcome with “vision, courage, and responsible government”.While the Conservative Party is historically more trusted on the economy and stewardship of public finances, polls suggest Labour’s approach of stressing the need for stability and sticking rigidly within balanced tax and spending rules is working.The party has heightened its attacks on what it calls “chaos and decline” under the Tories by launching a video series on a website dubbed “Conflix”.Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden said: “The personnel may change but the Labour Party hasn’t. Rachel Reeves still hero-worships Gordon Brown, who sold off our gold reserves and whose hubris took Britain to the brink of financial collapse.”“Labour have no plan and would take us back to square one with higher taxes, higher unemployment, an illegal amnesty on immigration and a plot to betray pensioners, just like Gordon Brown did.” More