UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLabour has taken Rishi Sunak’s government to task in a new social media campaign focusing on the NHS, waiting lists and cancer treatment being at “breaking point” under the Conservatives. The video posted on X on Saturday shows scenes from a crowded hospital as patients wait to be seen, while text appears with stats of waiting lists for the NHS under Rishi Sunak’s government. A member of staff then says: “We’re at breaking point. It can’t carry on.“The queues at the corridor and the situation that the patients are in and the department’s in, it’s unsafe.”Text in the video then reads: “Under the Conservatives, our NHS is at breaking point. And if they are given five more years in power, waiting lists are predicted to hit 10 million.”It comes as both Labour and the Lib Dems have set out their pledges to cut cancer waiting times if either or both are able to form a government after the General Election on 4 July.Labour shadow health secretary Wes Streeting, who recently received treatment for kidney cancer, said, “thousands of patients have waited too long for tests, scans and treatment”.The Conservatives’ Health Secretary Victoria Atkins acknowledged there is “more to do” to improve cancer detection rates.Labour has claimed 700,000 cancer patients will wait too long for treatment if the Conservatives are given another five years” in government.The party said its plan to “catch cancer” involved delivering an extra 40,000 appointments, tests and scans a week at evenings and weekends, doubling the number of CT and MRI scanners, with new AI-enabled scanners, and the biggest expansion of NHS staff in history.Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer and shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting met patients and staff at Bassetlaw Hospital in Nottinghamshire this week More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailTrust in the Tories on tax has collapsed, a new poll has revealed, in another massive blow to Rishi Sunak as he tries to turn his party’s election fortunes around with less than three weeks to go.According to an exclusive poll by Techne UK for The Independent, Sir Keir Starmer has a trust rating of more than double that of Mr Sunak as postal votes are sent out this weekend in a crucial stage of the campaign.It comes after the Tories put all their efforts into using tax as the key dividing issue and launched an assault on Labour’s plans in a last-ditch bid to stop Sir Keir from winning power with “a supermajority” on 4 July.The gambit – involving chief Treasury secretary Laura Trott claiming Labour has plans for 18 secret tax rises, including a tax raid on selling homes – appeared to be an attempt to reverse the stubborn poll gap of around 20 points with Labour and see off a threat of being passed by Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.The Techne UK poll of 1,636 UK voters revealed that 36 per cent trust Sir Keir most on tax compared to just 16 per cent for Mr Sunak. In a further blow to the prime minister, he is level pegging with Mr Farage on the issue as Reform also polled 16 per cent.Rishi Sunak has put tax cuts at the heart of his pitch to the country, but a poll suggests more voters want to see spending on public services More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe general election campaign has seen another damaging week for Rishi Sunak as Labour is racing ahead in the latest weekend polls. The latest voting intention from Savanta for the Sunday Telegraph shows Labour take a 25-point lead on the Conservative Party- with Sir Keir Starmer’s party on 46 per cent of the vote, and the Conservatives on 21 per cent. This is the largest gap in a Savanta poll since the end of Liz Truss’ premiership, and the lowest-ever vote share for the Tories under Rishi Sunak. Labour is on course for a 262-seat majority, the data suggests.The analysis and modelling based on more than 40,000 surveys indicate Labour is ahead in 456 seats, with the Tories taking just 72.Labour is racing ahead according to the latest weekend polls More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailConcerns have been raised that the government plans to fly two migrants to Rwanda next week in a bid to influence the general election result.The Independent understands plans are in place to fly a person from Nigeria and another from Pakistan, who are in the UK illegally, to the East African country before the election on 4 July.The flight, if it takes place, would be on the voluntary scheme rather than the deportation plan, which Rishi Sunak legislated for before the election. Neither person will have crossed the Channel on a small boat.The voluntary scheme sees the migrants flown to Rwanda, where their board and lodgings are paid for and they are given cash.Sunak vowed to stop the boats, but his Rwanda deportation flights cannot happen until after the election More

Nigel Farage teases leader of the opposition credentials as he makes Tory party declarationSign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLabour and Nigel Farage have accused the Tories of a ‘con’ over plans to send more migrants to Rwanda during the election campaign. The Independent understands plans are in place to fly a person from Nigeria and another from Pakistan, who are in the UK illegally, to the East African country before the election on 4 July.But much like the first person who was sent in April, it is a voluntary move and so not an enforced deportation. It comes as Mr Farage claimed Reform UK is the “new opposition” following a YouGov poll that put his party ahead of the Conservatives for the first time.Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron has said Mr Farage is “incredibly divisive” and trying to “destroy” the Conservative Party.Tory leadership hopefuls are already lobbying for support to take over as the next head of the party as fears abound that disaster will come in the general election under Rishi Sunak, The Guardian reports. Show latest update 1718461813Labour calls for tactical voting to oust Tory leadership hopeful Kemi BadenochSam Rkaina15 June 2024 15:301718459935Starmer fears over right wing surge in EuropeLabour leader Sir Keir Starmer, whose party is leading the polls during the General Election, is “concerned” about the right wing “taking hold” in Europe.Taking a question about the 2024 EU elections, Sir Keir said: “In Europe, obviously, it’s a different picture in different countries, and so there isn’t one picture.“But, look, we’re a progressive party and I want to see progressive parties succeed in Europe, and I’m concerned where I see, you know, right or very right-wing politics taking hold.“Obviously, what’s important here in the UK is that we fight this General Election in the progressive way that we are and hopefully bring about the change that we need.”Sam Rkaina15 June 2024 14:581718458234Growth in the UK has been ‘missing’ Sir Keir Starmer said “growth” has been “the missing part” of Government since 2010, while on a visit to Bassetlaw Hospital in Worksop, Nottinghamshire.Pressed on whether his party’s economic proposals were confusing for voters, Sir Keir said: “I reject the idea that the only levers a prime minister has to pull are either the tax lever or the spend lever – there’s growth.“This has been the missing part for the last 14 years. It’s been the missing part of this general election campaign, frankly, a discussion about growth.“Our manifesto is a manifesto for growth and a serious plan for growth.“That’s what I set out we’re going to do, I’m planning on infrastructure and industrial strategy, on the national wealth fund, on GB Energy, these all ladder up to our argument on growth.”Sam Rkaina15 June 2024 14:301718456434’Voters will choose opposition leader, not Farage’Voters will choose who the Leader of the Opposition is, not Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, Sir Keir Starmer has said.The Labour leader told the press: “Well, I don’t think it’s for Nigel Farage to declare himself Leader of the Opposition.“I’m actually Leader to the Opposition just at the moment. I’m hoping to change that.“But, look, my focus is on talking to the voters directly, that’s why I’m out and about every day, because it’s their concerns and, at the end of the day, this is a contest.“But it is a choice between five more years of Conservative government after the failure of last 14 years, or turning a page and a Labour government will rebuild the country.“There are only two candidates for prime minister, Rishi Sunak and myself.”Reform UK leader Nigel Farage says his party will replace the Tories More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA phantom leadership election campaign is already under way to replace Rishi Sunak as Tory leader as his party braces itself for an expected defeat.But Kemi Badenoch, the long-time frontrunner to replace Mr Sunak among the bookmakers, is in a fight to hold on to her seat as polling suggests she could be ousted through tactical voting.Issy Waite, the Labour candidate for North West Essex – the reformed Saffron Walden seat in Tory blue wall heartlands – has claimed she is just 2 percent behind the trade and business secretary with three weeks to go before the election.Kemi Badenoch is now a Labour target (Jordan Pettitt/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailConcerns have been raised that the government plans to fly two migrants to Rwanda next week in a bid to influence the general election result.The Independent understands plans are in place to fly a person from Nigeria and another from Pakistan, who are in the UK illegally, to the East African country before the election on 4 July.The flight, if it takes place, would be on the voluntary scheme rather than the deportation plan, which Rishi Sunak legislated for before the election. Neither person will have crossed the Channel on a small boat.The voluntary scheme sees the migrants flown to Rwanda, where their board and lodgings are paid for and they are given cash.Sunak vowed to stop the boats but his Rwanda deportation flights cannot happen until after the election More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailIt’s been another topsy-turvy week on the campaign trail as the political parties released their election manifestos to try and compete for your vote at the general election on 4 July.The Independent has pinpointed these key moments:Starmer beats Sunak in second TV debate, poll revealsRishi Sunak suffered a fresh setback on Wednesday night after a snap poll found that Sir Keir Starmer won the TV debate by a substantial margin. Both leaders were given a real grilling by Beth Rigby on Sky’s Battle for Number 10, and took a number of tough questions from the audience in Grimsby. A YouGov survey after the debate had Sir Keir the easy winner on 64 per cent, with the prime minister trailing on 36 per cent.Disaster for Sunak as Farage’s Reform overtake Tories in pollIn another tough pill to swallow for the embattled prime minister the Tory Party was overtaken by Nigel Farage’s Reform UK for the first time in a national poll. A YouGov survey Mr Farage‘s party at 19 per cent and the Conservatives on 18 per cent in voting intention. Mr Sunak brushed off the disappointing polling and claimed there was time in the campaign for a comeback. Mr Farage said he believed it showed that Reform could not be the “voice of opposition.”Ed Davey vows to rejoin Single Market and eventually… to overturn BrexitThe Liberal Democrat leader said he will push for Britain to rejoin the Single Market and eventually rejoin the EU, at the party’s manifesto launch on Monday. Sir Ed said that the UK “needs to be back at the heart of Europe” and stressed the Lib Dems “are a pro-European party”. The manifesto, which has healthcare at its core, also promised a tranche of care policies that would be backed by a £3.7 billion investment.Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey tried his hand at an assault course in Kent while on the campaign trail on Thursday (Gareth Fuller/PA) More