UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA former army reservist whose blog has been praised by ex-defence secretary Ben Wallace has ripped apart Rishi Sunak’s plans to reintroduce National Service.The author of the Thinpinstripe blog is a former civil servant at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and writes under the pseudonym “Sir Humphry”.His analysis of the Tory pledge to add 30,000 teenagers to the armed forces ranks every year has raised serious questions about the costs of the project.He warned that bringing an extra 30,000 people into the armed forces would require a roughly 300 percent expansion of the military training pipeline.Rishi Sunak speaks with British troops in April (PA) More

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UKSign up to our Brexit email for the latest insightLord Heseltine has warned that the 2024 general election campaign “will be the most dishonest in modern times” because of the refusal of the main parties to debate the consequences of Brexit.The former deputy prime minister, who fell out with the Conservatives over leaving the European Union, has written exclusively for The Independent explaining how the big issues in this general election – the economy, immigration and defence – all need to be debated in the context of the UK’s relationship with the EU.But he claimed that Labour and the Tories are too scared to discuss Brexit because of the potential impact on their voter bases.It comes as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer uses his first keynote speech of the election to focus the campaign on himself personally in a presidential style push for victory. But noting that Sir Keir and Rishi sunak are avoiding discussing “the elephant in the room”, Lord Heseltine wrote: “Both major parties are afraid of losing votes to the hard right. Labour needs to rebuild its red wall while the Conservatives run scared of Reform.”However, he argued that almost no major issue can be discussed without reference to the subject which has, in effect, dominated British politics since the EU referendum in 2016 and arguably since the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 which shattered John Major’s government.Michael Heseltine has warned about Brexit and the general election More

Rachel Reeves has ruled out increases to income tax or national insurance if Labour are elected in this year’s general election.Speaking on BBC One’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg on 26 May, the shadow chancellor pledged that there would not be a “return to austerity” under their government, noting that she would not put forward “unfunded proposals”. Ms Reeves has joined Sir Keir Starmer in his view that taxes on working people should be lower.”I don’t want to make any cuts to public spending which is why we’ve announced the immediate injection of cash into public services,” she added. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWes Streeting has set out a three-word vision of the guiding philosophy of a Labour government if, as expected, it wins power on 4 July.The shadow health secretary had echoes of Tony Blair’s New Labour when he promised that his party would be “compensatory, not confiscatory”.Mr Streeting was in discussion with The Independent’s editor-in-chief Geordie Greig in front of an audience at the Hay Festival, discussing the election, politics and his book One Boy, Two Bills and a Fry Up.Mr Greig noted that the UK is now “in the foothills of an election campaign” and asked: “Where is Labour going to find out that common centre ground? What is the formula? What are the words?”Wes Streeting insists Labour is a party which celebrates success and encourages ambition and aspiration More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailNigel Farage signalled a return to right-wing shock tactics for his Reform UK party, as he used his first election interview to attack Muslims in the UK for “not sharing British values”.Speaking to Sir Trevor Phillips on Sky News this morning, Mr Farage accused Rishi Sunak of “not being a leader” and instead being “a follower of focus groups” who is “not willing to tackle the real issues in this country”.He was dismissive of Tory plans to reintroduce compulsory national service for school leavers, describing the policy as “a joke” but then stunned Sir Trevor by launching into an attack on millions of voters.The ex-Brexit leader is hoping to capitalise on the Tories’ poor performance in the polls, which has seen his Reform Party now at 14 per cent, just five points behind the Conservatives.In a prickly exchange, Mr Farage said: “We have a growing number of young people in this country who do not subscribe to British values, in fact loathe much of what we stand for.”Nigel Farage revealed he had planned to run as an MP, but the early election call ruined his plans More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has announced that 18-year-olds would be made to do national service if the Tories win the general election.It is the Conservatives’ first major policy proposal since Mr Sunak hastily announced the general election in the pouring rain on Wednesday afternoon, with his party now scrambling to find some 190 candidates amid a post-war record exodus of Tory MPs.The prime minister insisted on that his plans for mandatory national service would help unite society in an “increasingly uncertain world” and give young people a “shared sense of purpose”. In an apparent pitch to older voters, Mr Sunak said that volunteering could include helping local fire, police and NHS services, as well as charities tackling loneliness and supporting elderly and isolated people.Below we look at what we know about the plans so far. How would Rishi Sunak’s National Service scheme work?Much of the detail remains unclear, with the Tories saying they would set up a royal commission bringing in expertise from across the military and civil society to establish how the scheme would work in practice.This commission would be tasked with bringing forward a proposal for how to ensure the first pilot is open for applications in September 2025, and the Tories would then seek to introduce a new “National Service Act” to make the measures compulsory by the end of the next parliament.But broadly, the party said that young people would be given a choice between a full-time placement in the armed forces for 12 months or spending one weekend a month for a year “volunteering,” in their community.Teenagers who choose to sign up for a placement in the forces would “learn and take part in logistics, cyber security, procurement or civil response operations”, the Tories said.Rishi Sunak met with veterans at a community breakfast during a party campaign event on Saturday 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 emailRishi Sunak has vowed to bring back national service for 18-year-olds to create a “renewed sense of pride in our country” if he wins the general election. Under the mandatory scheme, teenagers would be given a choice between a full-time placement in the armed forces for 12 months or spending one weekend a month for a year volunteering in their community.Labour branded the announcement “another desperate unfunded commitment”, which would cost an estimated £2.5bn each year, while armed forces veteran Justin Crump warned the “ill-thought through” plans would place an “enormous potential burden” on Britain’s military.It comes as Wes Streeting warned striking doctors he would not meet their huge pay demands, and has vowed he would be “a shop steward for patients” as health secretary. In an exclusive interview with The Independent, the shadow health secretary spoke of his plan to tackle of record waiting lists and the ongoing pay disputes, stating: “The NHS is not the envy of the world.”Show latest update 1716734699George Osborne not planning to help Sunak’s campaign, friend saysA friend of Tory former chancellor George Osborne has poured cold water on rumours he could help Rishi Sunak’s campaign.They were quoted as telling The Times: “George thinks Rishi is hopeless. He’s always thought he doesn’t have a big political brain and that Rishi has made two big calls in his career — backing Brexit and backing Boris — and that those are the two most catastrophic things to happen to this country in the last decade.”Andy Gregory26 May 2024 15:441716733222What is mandatory National Service and how would it work as Rishi Sunak announces schemeMuch of the detail remains unclear, with the Tories saying they would set up a royal commission bringing in expertise from across the military and civil society to establish how the scheme would work in practice.This commission would be tasked with bringing forward a proposal for how to ensure the first pilot is open for applications in September 2025, and the Tories would then seek to introduce a new “National Service Act” to make the measures compulsory by the end of the next parliament.But broadly, the party said that young people would be given a choice between a full-time placement in the armed forces for 12 months or spending one weekend a month for a year “volunteering,” in their community.Teenagers who choose to sign up for a placement in the forces would “learn and take part in logistics, cyber security, procurement or civil response operations”, the Tories said.Andy Gregory26 May 2024 15:201716732407Watch: ‘No return to austerity’ under Labour government, Rachel Reeves claims’No return to austerity’ under Labour government, Rachel Reeves claimsAndy Gregory26 May 2024 15:061716730989Sunak’s government argued on Thursday against national serviceLabour MP Richard Burgon notes that, only this week, Rishi Sunak’s government was arguing against its new policy of national service on the grounds that it “could damage morale, recruitment and retention and would consume professional military and naval resources”.Defence minister Andrew Murrison told Tory MP Mark Pritchard in a parliamentary response on Thursday – the day after Rishi Sunak called the general election – that: “The government has no current plans to reintroduce National Service. “Since 1963, when the last national servicemen were discharged, it has been the policy of successive Governments that the best way of providing for the defence of our country is by maintaining professional Armed Forces staffed by volunteers. “The demanding, increasingly technical, nature of defence today is such that we require highly trained, professional men and women in our Regular and Reserve Armed Forces, fully committed to giving their best in defending our country and its allies.“If potentially unwilling National Service recruits were to be obliged to serve alongside the professional men and women of our Armed Forces, it could damage morale, recruitment and retention and would consume professional military and naval resources. “If, on the other hand, National Service recruits were kept in separate units, it would be difficult to find a proper and meaningful role for them, potentially harming motivation and discipline. For all these reasons, there are no current plans for the restoration of any form of National Service.”Andy Gregory26 May 2024 14:431716730255Lib Dems mock Sunak’s plans for National ServiceThe Liberal Democrats responded quickly to Rishi Sunak’s plan to reintroduce National Service for school leavers with a campaign ad mocking the prime minister.With the hope of knocking down “the Tory blue wall” in the south of England, the Lib Dems posted on social media and emailed supporters a picture of General Kitchener’s famous First World War poster saying: “Your country needs you!”Lib Dem leader Ed Davey noted: “I never thought I’d be writing this. I agree with Rishi Sunak: we need millions of people to do national service.”He added: “We need millions of people to commit to serving their country in its time of need – by voting this Government out of office. I need you, Jack, to be part of our national service.“This is your moment. This is your time to sign up and to commit to a better future for our country.”David Maddox, Political Editor26 May 2024 14:301716728507Cleverly defends Sunak’s sodden election announcementThe Tories would have been criticised regardless of how they responded to the downpour that left Rishi Sunak sodden as he announced the general election, James Cleverly insisted this morning.The home secretary told Sky News: “Whatever way that we had responded to the rain, whether we’d moved the announcement, whether we had someone with an umbrella, you guys would have criticised us.”He added: “When people are going to the ballot box are they going to ask ‘was it raining when he made the announcement?’“Or are they going to ask ‘who was the person that was instrumental in the furlough programme that kept a roof over my head during Covid? Who was the person that got a grip of inflation … who was the person that started reducing the national insurance contribution’?”Andy Gregory26 May 2024 14:011716727367Sunak to miss Southampton’s Championship play-offRishi Sunak will not attend Southampton’s Championship play-off final against Leeds at Wembley Stadium on Sunday because he is meeting voters in the South East, it is understood.The Prime Minister is unable to go to the game because he is campaigning, but will be keeping a close eye on the score from afar this afternoon, sources said.Andy Gregory26 May 2024 13:421716726287Wes Streeting’s three-word formula for how Labour will governWes Streeting has set out a three word vision of the guiding philosophy of a Labour government if, as expected, it wins power on 4 July.The shadow health secretary had echoes of Tony Blair’s new Labour when he promised that his party would be “compensatory not confiscatory”.Mr Streeting was in discussion with The Independent’s editor Geordie Greig in front of an audience at the Hay Festival discussing the election, politics and his book One Boy, Two Bills and a Fry Up. David Maddox, Political Editor26 May 2024 13:241716725142Sunak to use key ‘levelling up’ post-EU funds to pay for national serviceRishi Sunak’s team have published “five things you need to know” on his X/Twitter account about his national service plans – which he says will partly be funded by money previously brought in to replace EU structural funding as a major part of the government’s levelling up agenda.The posts state: “Every 18-year-old will get the choice of how they do their National Service. Deciding to either serve their country in the Armed Forces or serve their community by volunteering”.This “bold new model will open up a world of opportunity” and “make sure young people in the UK get the same chance in life as their peers in allies like Sweden, Norway, Denmark and France”, he claims.He added: “Everyone will get the life-changing chance to learn from the best of the best – from the men and women of our Armed Forces, our inspirational NHS staff or the fire service. Gaining skills for life in everything from cyber to leadership.”Andy Gregory26 May 2024 13:051716723321Sunak’s national service scheme would be ‘enormous burden’ on military, veteran warnsRishi Sunak’s national service plans are “ill-thought through” and would be an “enormous potential burden” on Britain’s military, a military veteran of 25 years has warned.“From the military point of view, this is an enormous potential burden,” Justin Crump told Sky News. “It’s certainly not the solution to the military’s problems and I think everyone I’ve spoken to this morning still has their head in their hands slightly in the same way.“I think the aspiration is meritous around the fragmentation of society and the role of service within that and duty, which of course everyone in the armed forces ardently supports. “I think though the scheme, the idea of putting people towards the military for just a year, and the way it’s been described, is very ill-thought through. It would provide a huge distraction of what the military needs to do at the moment and doesn’t address its core funding needs – in fact it makes it worse.“So it’s very close to the sort of thing people might like to see, but I just think the military component of it feels very ill-thought through by comparison. And particularly, the very stark difference between spending a year in the military or spending two weekends a month closer to home.“Those are the big areas that have us scratching our heads a little bit at this point.”Andy Gregory26 May 2024 12:35 More

A Sky News presenter clashed with Nigel Farage after the former Ukip leader claimed there are British Muslims who “loathe” much of what the country stands for in a live interview on Sunday, 26 May.The Reform UK founder told Sir Trevor Phillips: “Some of the recent surveys [say] that 46 per cent of British Muslims support Hamas.”Sir Trevor previously wrote in the Times that his family heritage is Fulani and Mandinka Muslims.Clashing with Mr Farage, Sir Trevor asked the former politician: “Put yourself in the shoes of a British Muslim, can you imagine how offensive that feels?”Mr Farage responded by asking: “How many people from your community fail to speak English?” More