UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailNigel Farage is making an “emergency” announcement about the general election, with speculation mounting that the former UKIP leader will launch his latest bid to become an MP.One source has told The Independent that the honorary president of Reform UK will declare he is going to stand for parliament in Clacton, in Essex. However, neither Farage or Reform would confirm or deny this.The seat is seen as a soft target with the pro-Remain former actor Giles Watling defending the seat for the Tories.Click here for our live coverage of the general election campaign.The honorary president of Reform UK has so far shied away from seeking a seat in the general election, but rumours have been swirling that he will run in Clacton.It is understood that Mr Farage has been looking at the Essex seat for a number of months because it was previously held by Ukip’s Douglas Carswell and had a high vote in favour of Brexit.Mr Farage had announced last week that he had been taken by surprise by the early election called by Rishi Sunak and did not have time to stand as a candidate.Farage is expected to run in Clacton More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Labour Party has turned an attempt by Rishi Sunak to mock them into a viral post that looks like he is endorsing them. The Conservative Party’s latest post on TikTok shows the prime minister explaining “Labour’s policy for our country’s future” on a flipchart.The short video sees him turn over the cover to show a blank page, before capping a pen in his hand, placing it down and walking off-camera.The short video sees Rishi Sunak turn over the flipchart cover to show a blank page More

Rishi Sunak was photobombed by Liberal Democrats campaigners on a boat as he spoke to rowers in Oxfordshire on Monday, 3 June.The prime minister was visiting a riverside rowing club as Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper and a group of activists rode past on the water holding orange diamond-shaped voting placards.Campaigners could be seen waving at the PM and media following him.Of the stunt, a Lib Dem source told media: “This is just another small boat Rishi Sunak can’t deal with.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA Labour candidate for a seat in east London is being investigated over an allegation of sexual harassment.Councillor Darren Rodwell, the leader of Barking and Dagenham Council and Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Barking, has been accused of “inappropriate touching” of an attendee at an event last month.The Independent has seen the details of the allegations made to Labour’s complaints unit by a party member on Friday. It comes after another Labour MP was suspended from the party last week after a complaint about his behaviour.Mr Rodwell’s alleged victim said she met him for a coffee while at an event, believing the meeting was set up to discuss a development in Barking.In the communication to the party, the complainant said: “After 10 to 15 minutes, he started asking personal questions which I was not happy to answer. He was ordering more drinks for himself.“As I was obviously not happy to be present and was looking for a way to leave, he started touching my hands and legs in a sexual way. “He clearly had other ideas about the meeting. He touched my legs and body inappropriately and I’ve made it clear to him that I did not want him to touch me and left the meeting immediately.”The complaint file reads: ”The complainant has received confirmation that an investigator will be contacting her in regards to the allegations.”Labour has declined to comment on what it calls an ongoing disciplinary matter, however, the allegation now raises questions over whether Mr Rodwell will still be allowed to stand in the election.Last week, former Brighton Kemptown MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle was suspended by the party over “historic allegations” and prevented from standing as a candidate.The Independent has also contacted Mr Rodwell but has not received a response.Rodwell with Sadiq Khan during the London mayor’s reelection campaign this year More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailKemi Badenoch stumbled over how her plans to overhaul equality laws would work if the Conservatives win the general election.The women and equalities minister has promised to redefine the legal definition of the term “sex” to mean biological sex and not “redefined meanings of the word”. She has said the shakeup will improve the safety of women and girls in single-sex spaces.Click here for our live coverage of the general election campaign. But, grilled over the specifics of how the changes will be implemented, a tetchy Ms Badenoch floundered and accused BBC presenter Mishal Husain of “trying to trivialise what is a very serious issue”.Kemi Badenoch faced questions about what paperwork would be needed to assign prison places to transgender people More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailDiane Abbott has deleted a tweet accusing Sir Keir Starmer of lying about how much respect he has for her.The veteran Labour MP, who has been at the centre of a storm over whether she would be allowed to stand for the party at the general election, accused Sir Keir of being dishonest in claiming that he has “more respect for Diane than she probably realises”.In an interview with The Observer, the Labour leader said: “Although I disagree with some of what she says, in terms of the battles she’s been through and the terrible insults she has had to rise above, I’ve actually got more respect for Diane than she probably realises…Click here for our live coverage of the general election campaign“She was the first Black woman MP and has always had to fight for everything. She’s not like any other candidate.”Sharing the article in a now-deleted post on X, formerly Twitter, Ms Abbott said: “More lies from Starmer.”Diane Abbott has said she intends to ‘run and win’ as a Labour candidate More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch as Sir Keir Starmer spoke to pitch Labour as the “party of national security” as he sought to draw attention to defence matters during the general election campaign on Monday, 3 June.The Labour leader is expected to meet with forces veterans and party candidates when he campaigns in north west England.He is expected to reaffirm his pledge of a “nuclear deterrent triple lock” and a proposal to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).Rishi Sunak has said that he wants to meet the 2.5 per cent target by 2030 although the opposition party has not outlines its timeline, only clarifying that they will do so when economic conditions allow. The nuclear deterrent triple lock involves a commitment to construct the four new nuclear submarines in Barrow-in-Furness, maintaining Britain’s continuous at-sea deterrent, and the delivery of all future upgrades needed for the submarines to patrol the waters, Labour said. More

Kemi Badenoch clashed with a BBC Radio 4 host over questioning on Liz Truss’s appearance on a “far-right” podcast.The former prime minister was interviewed on the Lotus Eaters platform founded by Carl Benjamin, who previously joked about raping MP Jess Phillips.Hope Not Hate said it is “completely irresponsible” for any MP or candidate to share a platform with “far-right activists.”Asked whether it was appropriate for a Tory candidate to appear on the platform, the women and equalities minister told Mishal Husain: “We’ve had lots of scenarios of BBC presenters saying things that are inappropriate.“I don’t know about the show… I don’t like making comments on things like that that I don’t know… It is trivial, it is unserious.” More