UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailSir Keir Starmer has announced plans to lower the voting age to 16 – as Labour and the Tories kicked off the first weekend of the general election campaign.On a campaign visit to Stafford, the Labour leader confirmed plans to follow Scotland and Wales in extending the vote to a further 1.5 million people, telling reporters: “If you can work, if you can pay tax, if you can serve in your armed forces, then you ought to be able to vote.”The “extremely straightforward” legislation will likely even appear as soon as the King’s Speech, a Labour source told The Times, which estimated that such a move could flip eight Tory seats red in England alone. It comes as Rishi Sunak is scrambling to find more than 190 candidates amid the largest exodus of Tory MPs since the Second World War, with 78 now announcing they are stepping down at the July election. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer looks on during a Labour general election campaign event in Stafford More

Labour Party ‘leaks Rishi Sunak’s campaign diary’ in new ad attacking gaffesSign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailSir Keir Starmer has sought to question why voters should have trust in Rishi Sunak’s general election proposals if Michael Gove appears to have “lost faith” in the PM by joining the record exodus of Tory MPs.On a visit to Stafford, the Labour leader said: “If he has effectively lost faith in what Rishi Sunak is putting before the electorate it does beg the question as to why the voters should have faith in what Rishi Sunak is putting forward. “They have effectively got off the bus, because they don’t think the bus is going anywhere, I do think that’s significant.”The first weekend of the general election campaign kickstarted with the Tories and Labour clashing over the economy, with Sir Keir focusing on the cost-of-living crisis, and chancellor Jeremy Hunt hinting at tax breaks for high earners.His shadow, Rachel Reeves, vowed to deliver financial stability with a Thatcher-style commitment to “sound money”.Sir Keir also confirmed he wanted to lower the voting age to 16.Show latest update 1716648797Starmer defends Labour’s worker’s rights packageSir Keir Starmer has defended Labour’s decision to rebrand its package of workers’ rights pledges following a backlash from one of the UK’s biggest trade unions.The party leader denied he was watering down policies on areas like zero-hours contracts, parental leave and sick pay after Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said the plans had “more holes than Swiss cheese”.It comes after the latest flare-up in a row over Labour’s New Deal for Working People, following reports it would go through a formal consultation process with businesses – potentially delaying or toning down the pledges.On Friday, Labour rebranded the New Deal as “Labour’s plan to make work pay”.Andy Gregory25 May 2024 15:531716646228Senior Tories ‘getting off the bus because it’s going nowhere’, claims StarmerSir Keir Starmer has attacked Rishi Sunak over the record exodus of Tory MPs, including longstanding parliamentarians such as Michael Gove.“Michael Gove has a reputation for delivery in government. So if he has effectively lost faith in what Rishi Sunak is putting before the electorate it does beg the question as to why the voters should have faith in what Rishi Sunak is putting forward,” the Labour leader was quoted by the Telegraph as saying during a vist to Stafford.“They have effectively got off the bus, because they don’t think the bus is going anywhere, I do think that’s significant.”Andy Gregory25 May 2024 15:101716645066SNP’s John Swinney defends challenge of ‘prejudiced’ probe sanctionJohn Swinney has defended his decision to challenge the sanction ordered against his colleague Michael Matheson, saying the process on a Holyrood committee was “damaged” by “prejudice” from one of its members, reports Neil Pooran.Holyrood’s Standards Committee backed a 27-day suspension for Mr Matheson following the row over a near-£11,000 data roaming bill on his parliamentary iPad.But the First Minister said he did not support the cross-party committee’s sanction as one of its members, Conservative Annie Wells, had previously made critical comments about Mr Matheson’s explanation for the bill, which Mr Swinney believes therefore prejudiced the decision.The Conservatives have said voters will punish Mr Swinney for his “shameful defence” of his former ministerial colleague.Andy Gregory25 May 2024 14:511716643348Tory candidate crisis memes go viralThe Tories started the election needing to find 191 candidates and now another 10 MPs including Michael Gove have decided they do not want to run bringing the total to 78.With candidates also deciding they would rather not put their names forward for what could be a thankless task in many constituencies the party’s crisis is now being mocked on social media.Memes of pictures with Mr Sunak with random voters with the message “do you want to be a Conservative candidate?” are circulating on X (formerly Twitter) and other platforms.Others have a lifeboat crew member asking the same question of asylum seekers on the Channel in a small boat.Another one is an image of Alistair Sim’s version of Scrooge from the 1951 adaption of A Christmas Carol shouting the same question from window.David Maddox, Political Editor25 May 2024 14:221716642688Sunak ‘hiding away in mansion’, Labour claimsLabour has accused Rishi Sunak of “hiding away in his mansion” as his predecessor Liz Truss urged him to scrap all net zero targets in order to win the election.The PM was out campaigning on Saturday morning as he met with local veterans in his constituency, though his plans for the rest of the day have not been publicly confirmed.Shadow paymaster general Jonathan Ashworth said: “While Rishi Sunak spends today hiding away in his mansion, Liz Truss is yet again reminding voters that he has no control over his party and desperate Jeremy Hunt is making more completely unfunded promises.“Five more years of the Tories will mean more of this chaos – with the British public left paying the price every single day.”The Conservatives say it is inaccurate to suggest Mr Sunak is not out on the trail, pointing to his meeting with veterans on Saturday morning.Andy Gregory25 May 2024 14:111716641480Government could be first in post-war history to end with British public worse off, think-tank saysThe current Conservative government may be on track to be the first since the Second World War in which the British public’s average disposable income is lower in real terms than when it took power in 2019, according to the Resolution Foundation.Andy Gregory25 May 2024 13:511716639316Tories would cause mini-budget disaster repeat, Reeves warns The shadow chancellor has criticised government plans for further “uncosted, unfunded tax cuts”, suggesting they would cause a repeat of the mini-budget in 2022.Speaking on a visit to a supermarket in west London, Rachel Reeves said: “I want taxes on working people to be lower, but the Conservatives have now put forward a number of uncosted, unfunded tax cuts similar to what Liz Truss did just 18 months ago.“The Conservatives haven’t learned that lesson and putting forward unfunded commitments is something that I would never do, because when you play fast and loose with the public finances, it is ordinary working people that pay the price.“We saw that with the Conservatives’ mini-budget, the risk of another five years of Conservatives is that they do exactly the same thing all over again.”Ms Reeves added that Labour’s manifesto was ready to be published. Jane Dalton25 May 2024 13:151716638116Scottish party leaders hit out at SNPScottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar is due to visit Wishaw in North Lanarkshire following the official launch of Scottish Labour’s campaign.Mr Sarwar said: “This chaotic and dysfunctional Tory government has let down Scots and put their own party interest ahead of the national interest – but the same is true of the SNP.“This is a pivotal moment for Scotland and a chance to reject the division and decline of both the Tories and the SNP.”Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross was joined by Stephen Kerr, the party’s candidate for Angus and Perthshire Glens, as he visited a railway station in Brechin.Mr Ross said: “Our campaign to beat the SNP and end their obsession with independence is going full steam ahead.”Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said it was time to “tear down the acid yellow wall of the SNP” as he campaigned in Mid Dunbartonshire, which he claimed would be the most tightly fought seat in Scotland.Keir Starmer Joins Anas Sarwar More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe boss of a childcare firm backed by Rishi Sunak’s wife and hosted at a Downing St reception has said she is backing Labour after she saw at first hand how Tory infighting and the toppling of prime ministers prevented the introduction of key policies that would benefit parents.Supporting Sir Keir Starmer in the general election, Rachel Carrell, the CEO and founder of Koru Kids, said the Conservatives “are not serious people” but Labour’s top team would give the UK the stability that is “absolutely essential to business growth and … getting necessary reforms through”. She also said that she looked forward to “living in a country with competent leadership” after it had lurched from “crisis to crisis, embarrassment to embarrassment” under the Conservatives.Her verdict will come as a blow to Mr Sunak, who was at the centre of a conflict-of-interest row over his wife’s shareholding in the company last year. Rishi Sunak was at the centre of a row over the shares his wife Akshata Murty had in childcare agency Koru Kids More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe UK will go to the polls in July after Rishi Sunak announced the date for the next general election – but scores of high-profile MPs will not be facing the electorate after deciding to stand down. Housing secretary Michael Gove and former business secretary Andrea Leadsom became the latest Tory MPs to announce they would not contest the next election, as the number of Conservative MPs deciding to stand aside hit a new post-war record. In his letter to constituents, Mr Gove cited the “toll” of public office as he said it was time to let “a new generation lead” following a political career spanning nearly 20 years.As of 25 May, more than 120 MPs have said publicly they were either standing down from parliament or not contesting their seat at the general election. Some 78 out of those were Conservative – a record number for the party. Veteran Tory MP John Redwood – notorious for once mumbling his way through the Welsh national anthem – also joined the list on Friday. Michael Gove has announced he will not be standing at the General Election (Jordan Pettitt/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailHe is soaked in Downing Street on his launch, drowned out by triumphant Blair’s anthem, his MPs are fleeing the battlefield and he visits a Titanic museum. When you think things cannot get worse for Rishi Sunak, they do. Is this the worst start to an election campaign in history?Those with a distant memory can recall Michael Foot’s 1983 election campaign for Labour with the manifesto dubbed by he late Gerald Kaufman as “the longest suicide note in history”. But what went down in folklore as the worst ever election campaign – one which nearly saw the destruction of Labour – may have found its match in catastrophic miscalculations and farce.There are a number of people apparently giving Mr Sunak advice – but whoever was responsible for getting the prime minister to visit the Titanic Museum should be sacked already. If the image of an unsinkable ship holed by an iceberg and sinking inexhorably to the bottom of a deep blue ocean is not a metaphor for what is happening to the Tories before our eyes, then nothing is.Sunak jets off to campaign More