UK Politics

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

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailKemi Badenoch has hinted she could make another run for the Tory leadership, if the party loses the election next month.During a debate hosted by the Institute of Directors and Bloomberg on Monday, the Business Secretary was asked about her intentions if Rishi Sunak is ousted on 4 July. She claimed there was “no better job” than Business and Trade Secretary, which she described as being “a lot easier and a lot less pressured than being prime minister”.But the senior Conservative suggested she could have bigger ambitions to become a Tory leader wannabe despite losing the 2022 contest.The Conservative right-winger, who is fighting for re-election in the redrawn North West Essex seat, said: “The fact of the matter is, I stood and I lost. And what terrifies me now is not not becoming leader, it is seeing Labour come in.“This is one of the things that I’ve found most difficult doing this job, that people tend not to know what it is, because I’m always asked the leadership question. We’re so interested in the personalities, in the gossip and so on.“We need to focus on this election. The choice is going to be between us or between them. Be afraid if it is them, is all I would say. And we will talk about leadership things after an election, but not before.”The former women and equalities minister is favoured by the right of the party More