UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has moved to calm Tory nerves amid panic after Reform UK overtook his party in a damaging YouGov poll.On a day when Nigel Farage called for a head-to-head debate with Mr Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer, the prime minister tried to take back control of his own election campaign as he flew back from the G7 conference in Italy.The Reform UK leader began the day taunting the Tories with a video of him singing an Eminem song: “Guess who’s back? Back again!”Labour then accused the Tories of lying again after a cabinet minister claimed a Starmer government would introduce 18 new taxes, including a capital gains tax raid on people selling their homes. Rishi Sunak welcomes Pope Francis on day two of the 50th G7 summit at Borgo Egnazia, southern Italy More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailKeir Starmer has denied he is hostile to those who pay for private healthcare after he said he would never make that choice. The Labour leader said he “completely understand why people would go private”. His comments come a week after he was challenged on the issue in the first televised election leaders debate. He and the prime minister were asked if a loved one was “on a long waiting list for surgery, would you, if you felt that that was the only way forward, use private healthcare?”Rishi Sunak answered “yes”, but Sir Keir said “no”.Keir Starmer was interviewed by Nick Robinson More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailBoris Johnson has recorded campaign videos for a number of his Tory MP supporters as he continues to snub Rishi Sunak. The former PM said he was “passionate” that voters should re-elect ally Sir Simon Clarke, who tried to oust Mr Sunak as leader earlier this year warning that the party faced an electoral “massacre” if he remained in charge. Mr Johnson also urged voters in Peterborough to re-elect Paul Bristow and backed Nick Fletcher in Doncaster East. The videos appeared on X, formerly Twitter, just hours after a new poll showed Nigel Farage’s Reform party had overtaken the Conservatives for the first time.Former prime minister Boris Johnson (Jonathan Brady/PA) 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 emailNigel Farage has declared himself as the “new opposition” following a groundbreaking YouGov poll that put Reform ahead of the Conservatives for the first time in history. Speaking during a press conference in London, the party leader called Sir Keir Starmer to go on a head-to-head televised debate to challenge his policies on migration. With only three weeks before election day, the prime minister insisted the Conservatives will not come third at the general election and said they are “still fighting hard fore every vote”.Speaking from Italy where is attending the G7 leaders summit, Mr Sunak warned people against voting for Nigel Farage’s party as they will make Labour win and hand Sir Keir Starmer a “blank cheque”. It comes as Mr Farage claimed that postal ballot is open to fraud and intimidation adding “it happens in this country all the time” while he was quizzed by callers on BBC’s 5 Live. But the Electoral Commission has said that there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the UK.Show latest update 1718369289Reform UK press conference has now endedHere are the top lines from what Nigel Farage said: Mr Farage has declared Reform UK the new “opposition” after their leading YouGov poll result over the Tories.He has challenged Sir Keir Starmer to go face to face on a televised debate. The Reform leader refused to say how many seats he would like to win but claimed they are going to get “very substantial number of votes” at the general election. He said the Conservative party “will not be in power for a decade, maybe more” and they are “finished”. Mr Farage claimed Reform is a “long-term” project that is  “building of a big movement” ready for the next general election in 2029. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaks to the media during a press conference at The Wellington, central London, while on the General Election campaign trail More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLabour is mulling the biggest Whitehall shake-up in decades as Keir Starmer seeks to deliver on his key manifesto commitments. The move could see the Labour leader heading up new groups designed to cut through civil service silos and delays.Under the plans Labour could force departments to work together under ‘boards’ designed to pursue its “missions” for government, the Financial Times reports.These missions include creating economic growth, rebuilding the NHS, investment in green energy and tackling crime.Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer launches his party’s manifesto at Co-op HQ in Manchester More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak blew £50 of taxpayers’ cash on a custom stamp to film a gimmicky pre-election video boasting about his crackdown on student visas, The Independent can reveal.The prime minister sent a Downing Street staffer on the hunt in London for an ink-stamp in the shape of the word “stopped”, before slapping it on examples of visa applicants he was barring from Britain.Rishi Sunak said he wants to bring net migration to ‘sustainable levels’ (Justin Tallis/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Tories have launched an astonishing attack on Labour today suggesting that a Keir Starmer led government would be the first in history to levy capital gains taxes on people when they sell their primary homes.Such a move could cause a crash in the housing market and was based on Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner failing to respond to Tory cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt’s claim on capital gains tax on primary residents last night.The allegations came in the Tory response to Labour’s manifesto launch yesterday. it was part of a wider document produced by the Tories alleging Labour was planning 18 new taxes secretatly to make up what the Conservatives claim is £38.5 billion black hole in their manifesto pledges.While Sir Keir and his shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves have ruled out raising taxes on the big three – VAT, income tax and national insurance – they have left the door open on other taxes but insisted “there are no plans” to increase them. Laura Trott headed the tax briefing More