Markus Andrews

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailTikTok has unveiled plans to launch online election centres on the platform as part of its efforts to support electoral integrity during 2024.The video-sharing site said more than two billion people in more than 50 countries were expected to go to the polls this year, and that its election centres would be used to point people to trusted information.Concerns have been raised about the potential impact of social media on elections this year, with artificial intelligence fuelling new waves of misinformation and disinformation in the form of manipulated media and deepfakes.TikTok said it would launch a Local Election Centre in the UK in early April, ahead of local elections in May, which had been created in partnership with fact-checking firm Logically Facts.AI-generated content brings new challenges to our industry, which we’ve proactively addressed with firm rules and new technologiesTikTok blog post The online centre would provide users with verified voting information, including when, where and how people could vote, as well as links to resources from the Electoral Commission.On TikTok, people would be directed to the centre through prompts on relevant election posts or searches.The company said it was planning to introduce similar centres in other countries around the world, tailored to each election.In the UK, TikTok said it would also produce a range of educational videos with Logically Facts, encouraging users to consider the information they consumed around elections.These videos would be featured on the election centre.Alongside 20 other leading tech companies, we recently pledged to help prevent deceptive AI content from interfering with this year’s elections through proactive collaborationTikTok blog post In a blog post discussing the company’s approach to elections in 2024, TikTok said it was also already making specific efforts to combat AI-powered misinformation, and this would continue during elections.“AI-generated content (AIGC) brings new challenges to our industry, which we’ve proactively addressed with firm rules and new technologies,” the company said.“We don’t allow manipulated content that could be misleading, including AIGC of public figures if it depicts them endorsing a political view. We also require creators to label any realistic AIGC and launched a first-of-its-kind tool to help people do this.“Alongside 20 other leading tech companies, we recently pledged to help prevent deceptive AI content from interfering with this year’s elections through proactive collaboration.“As technology evolves in 2024, we’ll continue to improve our policies and detection while partnering with experts on media literacy content that helps our community navigate AI responsibly, including working with industry through content provenance partnerships.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailSuella Braverman will appear at a major Conservative conference alongside right-wing Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orban next month.The former home secretary and Mr Orban have been unveiled as a keynote speakers at the National Conservatism (NatCon) conference in Belgium.Mr Orban is widely seen as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in the European Union and has been accused of launching a crackdown on gay rights and press freedom.Ms Braverman faces a backlash over her decision to attend the NatCon conference in Brussels Ms Braverman, who was sacked by Rishi Sunak in November after accusing Metropolitan Police chiefs of bias in their handling of the pro-Palestine protests, risks a backlash for appearing alongside the Hungarian prime minister.Mr Orban has previously spoken at the annual conference of the International Organisation of the Family (IOF), described by the Human Rights Campaign as a “dangerous group of activists spreading anti-LGBT rhetoric and promoting laws and policies that criminalise LGBT people”.He has also implemented a Russian-style law forbidding discussions about LGBT+ issues in schools.A Hungarian news outlet, Hungary Today, said the “woke British press” was already in “uproar” over Ms Braverman’s appearance at the conference.The Liberal Democrats criticised Ms Braverman over her plans to “share a platform with a far-right authoritarian”. Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesman Layla Moran said: “No politician should be sharing the stage with an ally of Vladimir Putin as he carries out his barbaric invasion of Ukraine.”She added that it was “staggering” that a former home secretary “would think that this is the right thing to do”. “From cries of a conspiratorial deep state to sharing a platform with a far-right authoritarian, the Conservative Party has gone completely off the rails,” she added. A backer of Ms Braverman dismissed the controversy around the conference, telling the Daily Telegraph: “MP speaks at same event as another EU leader.”Hungarian prime minister Victor Orban has been accused of a clampdown on press freedom and LGBT+ rights Ms Braverman used a speech at the last NatCon conference, in London last May, to set out her hardline vision for British Conservatism and railed against “experts and elites” amid claims of fresh government splits over immigration.The then home secretary launched into a tirade against multiculturalism, “political correctness”, transgender people and identity politics.She also said the government “needs to get overall immigration numbers down” and said some immigrants needed to “learn English and understand British social norms”.The conference is the project of a think tank called the Edmund Burke Foundation, which declares its aim to be “strengthening the principles of national conservatism in Western countries”.When Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski attended the conference in Rome in 2020 alongside Mr Orban he was forced to apologise by the party and faced calls to be kicked out.A spokesman for the Conservatives said at the time: “Daniel Kawczynski has been formally warned that his attendance at this event was not acceptable, particularly in light of the views of some of those in attendance, which we utterly condemn, and that he is expected to hold himself to higher standards.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailPolice are reviewing claims that Angela Rayner may have broken electoral law in the early 2010s when she lived between two council houses in Stockport.On Monday the police confirmed that a detective chief inspector had been assigned to reconsider the case, just days after Ms Rayner accused the Conservative party of attempting to “smear” her and insisted that controversy about her tax affairs was “manufactured”.Police had originally said that Ms Rayner would not face an investigation over claims she gave false information about where she was living for the electoral roll, but have now confirmed in a letter to deputy Tory party chairman James Daly that they will “review the circumstances”, according to the Times. Mr Daly, the MP for Bury North, said Greater Manchester police had failed to properly investigate claims the Labour deputy leader may have broken the law.The original investigation was triggered by former Conservative party deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft, who suggested that she failed to properly declare her main residency in his book Red Queen? The Unauthorised Biography of Angela Rayner, leading some to suggest that Ms Rayner may owe capital gains tax on the sale of her property.Deputy Labour Party leader Angela Rayner (PA)Government guidance says tenants can apply to buy their council home through the right-to-buy scheme if it is their “only or main home”.HMRC rules state married couples or civil partners can only count one property as their primary residence.Earlier this month, Greater Manchester Police said there was no evidence that Ms Rayner had committed any offence after Mr Daly had asked them to investigate if she had given false information.According to the Times newspaper Cheryl Hughes, a detective chief inspector at Greater Manchester police, wrote to Mr Daly on Monday: “I have read your letter outlining your concern over the lack of investigation into the matters you raised in your initial complaints to GMP on the 25th February regarding Angela Rayner MP.“Following receipt of your recent letter dated 13th March 2024, I have been requested to review the circumstances you have outlined to reassess our decision around an investigation. I will update with the outcome.”The Labour MP has staunchly defended her actions and insisted that there had been “no unlawfulness”.She told BBC Newsnight: “I’ve been very clear there’s no rules broken. They [the Conservatives] tried to manufacture a police investigation … I got tax advice which says there was no capital gains tax. It’s a non-story manufactured to try and smear me.”Ms Rayner has maintained that she formally lived apart from her husband for the first five years of their marriage between 2010 and 2015. Greater Manchester police have been approached for comment. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has mocked his predecessor Liz Truss after being quizzed about her deep state conspiracies. Ms Truss, Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister, has previously blamed the “deep state” for “sabotaging” her tax-cutting plans from Kwasi Kwarteng’s notoriously disastrous 2022 mini-budget.She has echoed the rhetoric of Donald Trump, who claimed a secretive network of powerful officials and state institutes were plotting his downfall. In a recent article for Fox News TV she said: “In too much of the free world, the left has been in charge for too long and the results are all too plain to see. Their agents are only too active in public and private institutions and what we have come to know as the administrative state and the deep state.”Mr Sunak was questioned about the comments by MPs at the Commons Liaison Committee on Wednesday. Tory MP William Wragg asked the prime minister: “What are your thoughts or comments on your predecessor when she says she was undermined by, quote, ‘the deep state’.”Mr Sunak laughed as he replied: “I think that’s probably a question for her rather than me.”Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was quizzed about conspiracies Mr Wragg pressed him on the issue again: “Is there a deep state? Are you part of it? Am I part of it?”The laughter continued as the Tory leader replied: “Probably a question for her… I probably wouldn’t tell you if I was, would I? And we wouldn’t tell anyone else either, would we?” Ms Truss has previously been criticised for her claims stating she had seen it for herself first-hand as unnamed figures and bodies “sabotaged my efforts in Britain to cut taxes, reduce the size of government and restore democratic accountability”.She has struggled to explain what she means by the deep state.Liz Truss continues to blame shadowy figures for her failed tenure as prime minister Her brief period in No 10 is best remembered for her catastrophic mini-Budget which sent the pound into a nose dive and sparked a crash in the markets.The failed PM is now striving to place herself at the forefront of a new brand of right-wing politics, recently lauching her so-called Popular Conservatism movement. The Popular Conservatism group claims it is not a direct challenge to Mr Sunak’s leadership, but it wants to pile pressure on the prime minister to cut taxes, adopt hardline policies on immigration and leave the European Convention on Human Rights. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLabour has a 99 per cent chance of winning the next general election in a bruising blow to the Tories, Sir John Curtice has said.The polling guru said the chances of the Conservatives being able to turn around their chances were small, and added that “the Labour party will be in a much stronger position to negotiate a minority government than the Conservatives because, apart from possibly the DUP, the Conservatives have no friends in the House of Commons”.The leading psephologist’s warning to Politico will pille yet more pressure on beleaguered Conservatives following the resignation of two cabinet ministers who are stepping down at the next election.Robert Halfon unexpectedly quit as skills, apprenticeships and higher education minister, while James Heappey followed through on his stated intention to step down as armed forces minister ahead of exiting parliament at the general election.His departure means 63 Conservative MPs have said publicly they are either standing down from parliament or not contesting their current seat at the general election.Sir John Curtice is Britain’s leading pollster The resignations follow a series of appalling opinion poll ratings for the Conservatives, most recently culminating in the Telegraph-Savanta poll tracker which put the Tories at their lowest rating since the aftermath of Liz Truss’ disastorous mini-budget which forced her from office, on 24 percent. Labour are consistently holding a 20 point-lead, adding to the speculation that the party will storm to victory and form the next government. As the House of Commons goes into recess, Rishi Sunak is gearing up for his biggest challenge yet as the local council elections loom on May 2. His party are set to face mass losses as the country kicks back against depleted local council funding, the cost of living and discontent with the ruling party.Mr Sunak launched his local election campaign earlier in the week, attacking Labour leader Keir Starmer for “arrogantly” taking voters for granted and “assuming he can just stroll into No 10”.But a recent poll by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher have said Conservative losses are “inevitable” and if the party repeat their “poor performance of 2023, when the NEV put them below 30%, they stand to lose up to 500 seats – half their councillors facing election.”Mr Sunak has urged unity amongst his colleagues in the face of the poor surveys and Tory infighting. Some backbench MPs have privately warned that a dire performance during the locals could force another a leadership election – or push the prime minister toward calling an early general election. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailMPs have launched a fresh bid for an investigation into Sir Keir Starmer‘s handling of last month’s Gaza ceasefire vote, which led to chaotic scenes in the Commons. A parliamentary motion signed by more than 50 MPs is calling for the privileges committee to investigate “whether undue pressure” was placed on the Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle. It has been signed by a number of senior Tories as well as the Westminster leaders of two parties – the SNP and Plaid. The Labour leader has previously denied that he “threatened the Speaker in any way” over the contentious vote. There were angry scenes at Westminster after Sir Lindsay was accused of ripping up the parliamentary rule book to select a Labour amendment on the war in the Middle East. Had the Speaker not acted Sir Keir could have faced a potentially damanging rebellion, as a number of members of his frontbench broke ranks to back a ceasfire. In the wake of the row, the Speaker was accused of breaking Commons rules to benefit Labour and dozens of MPs signed a petition calling for a vote of no confidence in his leadership.He later apologised saying he had made a mistake. But he said he had been acting with good intentions, after threats were made to the safety of MPs. The motion, submitted by senior Conservative MP William Wragg, says: “This House notes the Speaker’s decision on selection and calling of amendments on 21 February 2024 was not in accordance with the established precedent for Opposition days”.“And accordingly considers that… the matter of whether undue pressure was placed on Mr Speaker in relation to the decision on selection and calling of amendments on 21 February, should be referred to the Committee of Privileges.”Sir Lindsay is also under pressure after he failed to call Diane Abbott, the former Labour MP who now sits as an independent, during a discussion of alleged racist remarks made about her by a Labour donor. More