UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe current leader of the trade union movement has warned Sir Keir Starmer that any failure to reverse “14 years of attacks on public sector pay” by a Labour government will not be accepted.Matt Wrack, the president of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), issued the warning amid concerns over the Labour leadership language on pay settlements.In a recent interview with The Independent, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting made it clear that he would not give striking doctors their 35 per cent pay rise demand. Sir Keir then was applauded on the televised leaders debate last night for saying the same.Asked if he was concerned about the language on pay by the Labour leadership, Mr Wrack said: “Yes, I think that is an issue that that needs addressing.”Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer during the ITV General Election debate (Jonathan Hordle/ITV) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak ended months of speculation on Wednesday and announced a General Election on 4 July.The prime minister, outside the steps of 10 Downing Street in the pouring rain, said: “Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future.”However, research has suggested the Labour Party has consistently been ahead in opinion polls. On average, Labour is on 44 points, 21 ahead of the Conservatives. Britain’s leading election expert Professor Sir John Curtice said the Conservatives face a “major challenge” to hold on to power and that the election is “for Labour to win”.The Tories may also face more challenges with undecided voters and tactical voting. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was soaked while making a speech outside No 10 (Lucy North/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThere will be six different types of voter at the forthcoming general election, according to new analysis by a leading pollster.The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) has identified six distinct categories of UK voter, based on responses to 12 questions put to the public.The groups have shared characteristics, such as gender or social class, and align on key political issues such as the economy or immigration.The underlying data is taken from the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey, the latest iteration of which will be released in full next week.Professor Sir John Curtice, senior research fellow at NatCen and professor of politics at Strathclyde University, said: “Much of the commentary on the election focuses on questions of performance. But elections are also influenced by voters’ values and their perceptions of politics and politicians. “The electorate is not just divided between ‘left’ and ‘right’, but also between ‘liberals’ and ‘authoritarians’, while many people sit in the middle and are not especially interested in politics. This poses particular challenges for the two main parties, who will have to reach out to voters well beyond their own ‘comfort zones’ to succeed.”Which type of voter are you?Middle BritonsMiddle Britons make up the largest group of voters, comprising more than a quarter of the electorate (26 per cent). They are mostly in the middle ground across political issues and are closest to a “typical” voter, with no clear political affiliation. They are hard for politicians to win over, and not that likely to vote.Well-Off TraditionalistsHighly politically engaged and likely to vote, many Well-Off Traditionalists live in the rural South East. This group holds socially conservative views that often align with Conservative policies. They make up 12 per cent of the electorate.If ‘Apolitical Centrists’ vote, they will probably choose either Conservative or Labour More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has sought to attack Sir Keir Starmer on national security over his past work as a defence lawyer on behalf of radical cleric Abu Qatada.In a fiery general election debate on ITV, the two leaders clashed over the issue of immigration and national security – with both seeking to criticise each other’s past work before entering parliament.While Sir Keir accused the Tory leader of profiting from betting against Britain while working at a hedge fund during the financial crisis, the Labour leader sought to highlight his own credentials in “dealing with terrorist plots” while director of public prosecutions.Abu Qatada fought plans to deport him from the UK More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailJust moments after the debate had ended, a flood of Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer’s most loyal lieutenants came flooding into the media’s so-called spin room.A herd of Westminster journalists had migrated from London to Salford’s Media City for the contest and were braced for bold claims from both sides about how their guy had won.The post-debate rush by Labour and the Conservatives to get their message across was the highlight of the night for hacks who had waited hours in a seminar-style room above the set of Coronation Street.The debate itself, not so much.Jonathan Ashworth stormed into the spin room with a dossier of so-called unfunded Tory spending commitments More