UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThere are just hours left to register to vote in the upcoming local, mayoral and police commissioner elections taking place on 2 May. Potential voters who have not yet registered, or are not sure if they are eligible, have until 11.59pm on Tuesday night to submit their application.This can be done online on the government’s register to vote website.Nearly 2,700 council seats in England are up for grabs across 107 local authorities, while 37 police and crime commissioners in England and Wales will also be chosen.Polls are also taking place to elect some of the most high-profile mayors in the country, including in London, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.Around 44 million people are estimated to be eligible to vote in the elections on 2 May, but as many as seven million people are either incorrectly registered or missing from the register entirely, according to the Electoral Commission, which oversees all elections in the UK.All voters in England and Wales will be able to cast a ballot in at least one election on May 2 More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA leading pollster has said Rishi Sunak made the “wrong political choice” cutting National Insurance in the spring budget, as 61 per cent of voters say there is zero per cent chance they will vote Conservative at the next election.Director of More in Common Luke Tryl said there was only a 5 per cent chance of a Tory victory at the next election as new research by the thinktank revealed the extent of Tory woes – as voters reject key policies and the party haemmorhages support across demographics. Polling by the thinktank shows that most voters feel that the government’s national insurance cuts won’t help them personally and would have instead favoured income tax cuts or other cost of living policies. Only 44 per cent of voters said national insurance tax cuts would help their personal financial situation, while 40 per cent said they would not at all. Meanwhile, 65 per cent of voters thought cutting income tax would be helpful, and 77 per cent and 73 per cent thought price caps on energy and basic goods respectively would have a positive impact on their personal circumstances.Jeremy Hunt unveiled a 2 per cent reduction in national insurance contributions in the spring budget More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has urged his cabinet to think of “future generations” and back his flagship smoking ban as he seeks to avoid humiliation at the hands of his own party. No 10 said the prime minister believes that “if we want to build a better future for our children” then the government has to tackle a habit that costs 80,000 lives a year. But he is braced for more than 50 Tory MPs to defy his call and vote against the plans, which would prevent those under the age of 15 ever buying cigarettes. The business secretary Kemi Badenoch, the environment secretary Steve Barclay and the Scotland secretary Alister Jack could also abstain when MPs vote on the plans later, according to reports.Among the high-profile opponents are former prime minister Liz Truss, who has vowed to vote against the Bill, arguing in favour of freedom of choice. Last week another former prime minister, Boris Johnson, described the plan as “nuts”.Former health secretary Lord Clarke has warned the move risks being difficult to enforce. “You will get to a stage where if you are 42 years of age, you will be able to buy them but someone aged 41 will not be allowed to,” he told The Telegraph. “Does that mean you will have to produce your birth certificate? It may prove very difficult to enforce. Future generations will have to see whether it works or not.”MPs will have a free vote on the ban, announced by the prime minister with great fanfare at last year’s Conservative party conference. The government has decided not to whip the vote, saying it is a matter of conscience. It is expected to pass as it has been backed by Labour. MPs are to vote on the proposed smokig ban More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailFor a prime minister in office for just 49 days, Liz Truss’s new book is jam-packed with jaw-dropping tales from her time in Downing Street.The ex-Tory leader, who took over from Boris Johnson in the summer of 2022, has offered a look behind the scenes in her memoir Ten Years to Save the West.From thinking “why me, why now?” after learning the Queen had died to suggesting Boris Johnson’s dog left fleas in No10, The Independent looks at the key revelations from the bombshell book.She thought ‘why me, why now?’ after Queen’s deathMs Truss has revealed that she thought “why me, why now?” when she learnt that the Queen had died – just two days after she had been sworn in as prime minister.Liz Truss thought ‘why me, why now?’ after learning the Queen had died More

Watch as a Home Office minister repeatedly dodges questions on whether the government has an airline “ready” to take asylum seekers to Rwanda.Laura Farris appeared on Sky News on Tuesday 16 April to discuss Rishi Sunak’s flagship deportation bill, which is currently bouncing between the House of Commons and the House of Lords in parliament.The prime minister has repeatedly said flights to Kigali will take off by spring, but has refused to name a specific date.Reports have also suggested that Rwanda’s state-owned airline turned down a government proposal to transport asylum seekers because it wanted to avoid being associated with the controversial scheme.Ms Farris repeatedly sidestepped Kay Burley’s question about whether an airline has been secured as she spoke on Tuesday. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch live as the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which would prohibit the sale of tobacco to people born after 1 January 2009 and restrict sale of vapes, is debated in parliament on Tuesday 16 April.MPs will discuss and vote for the first time on government plans to stop young people from ever smoking.Rishi Sunak sees the bill as a key part of his long-term legacy as he bids to “stamp out smoking for good”.However, the prime minister is set to face opposition to the legislation from within his own party.The bill has attracted condemnation from senior Conservatives including former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, who argue it impacts upon people’s freedoms.England’s chief medical officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, has rejected those “pro-choice” arguments and suggested resistance to the plan was “surprising”.Mr Sunak has granted his MPs a free vote on the issue later on Tuesday, with several expected to reject the plan – although with Labour supporting it, the measure is likely to comfortably clear its first House of Commons hurdle. More

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsIt was Winston Churchill who remarked, according to legend, that: “History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” And so he did, at some length, and with his customary eloquence (six substantial volumes to be exact). His monumental achievements in power helped the process along, it’s fair to say. In the case of Liz Truss, there is little she can do to change the verdict of history on her nasty, brutish and freakishly short time in office. Her ludicrous memoir merely confirms that fact.She was, is, and will forever be a national embarrassment, her only exceptional talent being an astonishing lack of self-awareness. It’s not a useful trait in a politician, and it’s a highly unattractive one in an author. She is just as much hard work on the printed page as she is off it.Liz Truss recounts her brief time in office in her new book More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak will give Rwanda £50m as soon as his flagship deportation bill becomes law, the Home Office has admitted.With the bill expected to gain royal assent this week, the UK will send Kigali the latest payment of cash despite no migrants having been sent to the east African nation.The policy is designed to let the government deport some asylum seekers to Rwanda, by deeming the country “safe” in British law, with the government expecting initial flights to take off in the coming months.But just a handful of migrants are expected to be sent to Rwanda before the general election, expected this autumn.Appearing before the House of Commons public accounts committee, Home Office permanent secretary Matthew Rycroft said Britain would hand Rwanda the £50m sum “as soon as we have royal assent”.Rishi Sunak’s flagship Rwanda scheme will head back to the Lords on Tuesday (Stefan Rousseau/PA) More