UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailBritain’s top trade union leader has warned Sir Keir Starmer that he will have to tackle a “dangerously underfunded” fire service as one of his first priorities on becoming prime minister.Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and president of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), has told the Labour leader that fire and rescue services are in a state of emergency.It comes as Starmer entering Downing Street as prime minister on 5 July is now seen as almost inevitable with Labour more than 20 points ahead in most opinion polls. Speaking to The Independent, Mr Wrack warned that the UK is “dangerously underprepared” for responding to fires, floods and extreme weather events, and has called on Keir Starmer to rapidly invest in the fire and rescue service when he enters Number 10.Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will have a lot in his inbox when, as expected, he becomes prime minister (Aaron Chown/PA)The FBU has claimed that responses to national emergencies and major incidents including wildfires, heatwaves, and flooding have been impeded by a lack of resilience over the past two years.It comes as he unveils the Firefighters’ Manifesto which sets out the FBU’s vision for the future of the fire service. It advocates investment to address a crisis caused by a lack of resources, deregulation and cuts. Firefighters are calling on all parliamentary candidates to pledge their support for the manifesto.Across the UK, one in five firefighter jobs have been cut since 2010 with 82 fire stations and 17 control rooms have been closed down.Fire and rescue services frequently fail to meet their own targets for fire cover. The average response time for fire brigades to arrive at the scene has risen to a record nine minutes and 12 seconds across England. This is an increase of more than a minute in the last 10 years.Several fire and rescue services across the UK have adopted a new policy of sending firefighters out in crews of three instead of the minimum of five firefighters needed to respond to incidents where lives are at risk.They are often forced to wait for additional crews to arrive before tackling a serious incident, wasting crucial time needed to save lives.The document highlights the case study of 19 July 2022, as temperatures soared, the London Fire Brigade had its busiest day since the Second World War and ran out of fire engines to respond to incidents. But 39 fire engines sat idle in fire stations because there were not enough firefighters to crew them.Matt Wrack, TUC president, has issued a warning to Starmer (Clive Gee/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailTory activists on a Conservative Party members’ Facebook group have given their support to Nigel Farage over his claims the west “provoked” Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.When The Independent showed Labour the leaked remarks on chatrooms a source described them as “worrying”.One party member in the discussion group claimed that Farage “has his finger on the pulse” of public opinion after Farage attacked Nato expansion and claimed it gave Putin the excuse he needed to invade Ukraine in 2022.It comes after a new poll of 10,000 voters suggests that Reform are still ahead of the Tories with Conservatives switching support to Farage’s party.Tory activists on a Conservative members only Facebook group have voiced support for Farage over his controversial comments attacking Nato over Ukraine More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailNigel Farage has come under fire for “cuddling up to the Kremlin” as a leading think tank accused his Reform party of poisoning the election debate. On another torrid day for the ex-Ukip leader, military experts queued up to criticise his claim that the West provoked Russia’s war on Ukraine. It follows days of condemnation both nationally and internationally over Mr Farage’s comments, which he made in a BBC interview on Friday night. In an apparent attempt to change the conversation, Mr Farage made another incendiary claim – that there had been an “invasion” of people arriving in the UK on small boats.Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said he would ‘never, ever defend’ Vladimir Putin, as he ramped up his row with Boris Johnson More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA leading think tank has accused Labour and the Conservatives of a “conspiracy of silence” as it warned voters that tax rises are likely in the next five years.The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) criticised the manifestos of both main parties, saying they leave voters “guessing” and casting their ballots in a “knowledge vacuum”.It also accused Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party and the Greens of poisoning the debate around the painful economic decisions ahead with what it described as unattainable pledges on tax. The next government faces a stark choice between making tax rises beyond what it promises in its manifesto, cutting spending, and increasing borrowing, the think tank warned. Paul Johnson, the director of the IFS, said it would be “a considerable surprise if no other taxes are increased over the next five years”, and that none of the main parties are facing up to the difficult choices ahead.“We’ve called this a conspiracy of silence, and that has been essentially maintained,” he said. “Regardless of who takes office, they will soon face a stark choice: raise taxes by more than they have told us in their manifesto, implement cuts to some areas of spending, or break their fiscal rules and allow debt to rise for longer.“That is the trilemma. What will they choose? I don’t know; the manifestos do not give us a clue.”Mr Johnson also accused Labour and the Conservatives of making “essentially unfunded commitments” to improve the NHS. Paul Johnson, director of the IFS appearing on the BBC One current affairs programme, ‘Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg’ More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailAlistair Carns’s decision to leave the Royal Marines after 24 years’ service to stand for Labour in the coming election came as a huge surprise. The colonel, who won the Military Cross in Afghanistan, was widely viewed as someone who would rise very high in the armed forces.Standing in Birmingham Selly Oak, he is one of 14 former services personnel to stand as prospective Labour candidates in this election, something that does no harm to Keir Starmer’s attempts to portray his party as one that can be trusted with the defence of the realm.Carns, who joined the Royal Marines at 19, was due to be promoted to brigadier this month, which at the age of 44 would have made him among the youngest in that rank. He has served in every major conflict this country has been engaged in for the last two dozen years.Much of Carns’s service history – 14 of his 24 years – cannot be made public for security reasons. He won his Military Cross during a six-month tour that began at the end of 2010. Those of us who reported from Afghanistan remember the fierce, sustained violence of this period as the Taliban made increasing use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and lethal ambushes.But it was during his last posting in a conflict zone that Carns began to think hard about how he could best address the challenges Britain faces in an increasingly dangerous world. The answer, he decided, was to enter politics.“We are seeing a completely different form of warfare. We are seeing, for example, the use of hundreds, thousands of drones, drones destroying battle fleets. How many drones have we got in the army? How many drones are in the navy? What lessons are we learning? Are we moving fast enough to keep up with the character of conflict, and if we go to war tomorrow, are we ready?” Carns says.“We need leadership, and at the moment, Keir Starmer, without a shadow of a doubt, is the person who can provide it. One of the biggest points for me is Labour’s reinvestment in national security being at the centre of the manifesto, and the simple reason is that you can’t have a growing and secure economy without national security in these dangerous times. These [matters] are intrinsically linked, as is our foreign policy. Labour governments have consistently funded defence more than the Conservatives.“I have worked for three defence secretaries in the national security structure, and I feel this gives me the ability to put plans into practice.”Carns says he decided to stand because ‘change is best delivered via the ballot box’ More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA high-flying Royal Marines colonel who has given up his military career to run for parliament has insisted that “only Labour can be trusted on defence”.Colonel Alistair Carns is one of 14 veterans standing for Labour at this general election, in a significant shift since Jeremy Corbyn was leader of the party in 2019.Col Carns was due to be promoted to brigadier at the age of 44, making him among the youngest in Britain to achieve that rank, but is instead campaigning to be the MP for Birmingham Selly Oak.The decorated military hero has spoken exclusively to The Independent about why he decided to go into politics.“We need leadership, and at the moment Keir Starmer, without a shadow of a doubt, is the person who can provide it,” he said. “Only a Labour government can be trusted to defend our country.“One of the biggest points for me is Labour’s reinvestment in national security being at the centre of the manifesto, and the simple reason is that you can’t have a growing and secure economy without national security in these dangerous times. These [matters] are intrinsically linked, as is our foreign policy.”‘Keir’s army’ of former military personnel join the Labour leader in Manchester More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA shock new poll appears to have confirmed that Reform holds a narrow lead over the Tories with just 10 days to go before the general election.According to the Redfield and Wilton survey of 10,000 voters polled after Nigel Farage made his comments blaming the west for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, his Reform UK are one point ahead of the Tories both unchanged on 19 percent and 18 percent.The findings have all top three parties unchanged from the survey on 19 and 20 June last week with Labour on top on 42 percent.Redfield and Wilton’s director of research Philip van Scheltinga told The Independent that the size of the survey meant “it was a very robust sample”.Farage still ahead of the Tories despite being described as pro-Putin More