Markus Andrews

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailJeremy Corbyn is set to stand against Labour as an independent candidate in Islington North at the general election.Mr Corbyn, the former Labour leader who was suspended from the parliamentary party following a row over antisemitism, is expected to announce he will contest the north London seat he has held for more than 40 years, The Daily Telegraph has reported.The move will come as a headache to Sir Keir Starmer, who has banned his predecessor from standing for Labour after he failed to apologise for his handling of antisemitism within the party.Following his suspension, Mr Corbyn said he had “no intention of stopping” fighting for his constituents in the seat he has represented since 1983. Jeremy Corbyn will stand against his old party is Islington North More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has scored an own goal by asking Welsh punters if they were looking forward to this summer’s football, depsite the national team not qualifiying for the Euros.Mr Sunak asked staff at a brewery in Barry, South Wales, on Tuesday if they were looking forward to the revenue the tournament would bring in.But one of the pub workers was quick to correct him on his mishap, following Wales’s play-off final defeat to Poland in March.“So are you looking forward to the football, to get people in? There’ll be people coming in, it will be a big summer of sport”, he said.One staff member interjected and said “Only if you support England!”, to which Mr Sunak awkwardly replied the hospitality industry was one the Conservatives supported.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak watching beer being bottled at the Vale of Glamorgan Brewery (Stefan Rousseau/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak ended months of speculation on Wednesday and announced a General Election on 4 July.The prime minister, outside the steps of 10 Downing Street in the pouring rain, said: “Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future.”However, research has suggested the Labour Party has consistently been ahead in opinion polls. On average, Labour is on 44 points, 21 ahead of the Conservatives. Britain’s leading election expert Professor Sir John Curtice said the Conservatives face a “major challenge” to hold on to power and that the election is “for Labour to win”.The Tories may also face more challenges with undecided voters and tactical voting. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was soaked while making a speech outside No 10 (Lucy North/PA) More

Rishi Sunak has explained why he decided to announce the general election date of 4 July while stood in the pouring rain on Wednesday, 22 May.The prime minister chose to make a statement at the lectern in front of the Downing Street steps rather than in the media briefing room that cost the taxpayer £2.6m, getting drenched in the process.Speaking to LBC the following morning, Mr Sunak said that his belief in tradition was behind his decision.“When you’re making a statement of that magnitude… I believe in just doing it in the traditional way, come rain or shine,” he said. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has finally fired the starting gun on the general election campaign, stunning Westminster by calling a snap poll for 4 July, ending months of speculation about what date the vote would be held.In a speech in the pouring rain outside No 10 Downing Street, the prime minister defended his record on the economy, national security and immigration as he set out the key battleground issues he intends to campaign on over the next six weeks.The election, he said, would be a choice between himself and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who vowed to end Tory “chaos” and bring back economic “stability” during his own election address.Voters will indeed choose between the two party leaders at the ballot box. But they will also select new MPs – 650 to be precise – and there are several Conservative Party big beasts at risk of being ejected from the Commons, with Labour commanding a 21 per cent lead in the polls, according to one tracker.Jeremy HuntJeremy Hunt More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Conservatives and Labour have held talks to work out what outstanding legislation can be rushed through parliament to become law before the Commons closes for the general election. Compensations for victims of the subpostmaster scandal This is due to become law after the House of Lords finished scrutinising it on Thursday. But an 11th hour attempt by peers to exonerate more subpostmasters caught up in the scandal has been quashed amid the scramble. Members of the Lords believed 13 cases of those whose convictions were upheld by the Court of Appeal, or were refused permission for their case to be heard, would be added to the remit of the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill, as part of backroom talks over the ‘wash-up. The ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office More

Rishi Sunak asked Welsh brewery staff if they were looking forward to football later this summer as a potential source of revenue, despite the national team not qualifying for the Euro 2024 tournament.The prime minister met voters at the Vale of Glamorgan Brewery in Barry with Wales secretary David TC Davies and Vale of Glamorgan MP Alun Cairns.Mr Sunak, who is teetotal, discussed his party’s support for the sector during a brief campaign stop.His question about the football was met with a brief moment of silence before laughter erupted. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThere was a noticeable lack of enthusiasm among Tory MPs expected to join Rishi Sunak in the ExCel in east London where he was holding his first rally. Instead, many chose to drown their sorrows.Several rolled their eyes when asked why they were not with the prime minister on Wednesday evening, consoling themselves with drinks in parliament’s Strangers Bar as the enormity of what had just happened sank in.Mr Sunak’s bold move to call an early general election on 4 July had caught nearly everyone by surprise, especially those who had planned a week’s break on a sunny beach well away from British shores and driving rain which had hours before soaked the prime minister.It did not take long though for a nickname for the election to emerge from the clatter of pints of beer, wine glasses and gin and tonics. One ex-minister said: “This really is the kamikaze election. We are not sure who will come out of this with their seats.”Prime Minister Rishi Sunak watching beer being bottled at the Vale of Glamorgan Brewery (Stefan Rousseau/PA) More