Indy TV

Sir Keir Starmer has revealed his wife had to cheer him up after a “frustrating” first TV debate.The Labour leader went head-to-head with rival Rishi Sunak earlier this month, with a snap poll suggesting it was the prime minister who came out on top by a narrow margin.Speaking to LBC on Tuesday 18 June, Sir Keir explained that he was left frustrated by the format of the debate – which encouraged short, 45 second answers – and said his wife Victoria helped cheer him up afterwards.“I’m not good company when I’m in that place,” Sir Keir admitted.“Vic sort of cheered me up on that one – the second [debate] I thought went a bit better.” More

Good Morning Britain hosts grilled Nigel Farage on “who would benefit most” from Reform UK’s tax proposals on Tuesday morning (18 June).Farage yesterday unveiled his party’s general election manifesto – which he dubbed a “contract” with voters – including plans to “simplify” the tax system.“Who would gain most from your personal tax proposal? Somebody on the minimum wage, somebody on average earnings or somebody on £95,000 a year?” GMB host Ed Balls asked, beginning the clash.Mr Farage responded by suggesting the “poorest in society” would benefit most from Reform’s proposal – a claim that the hosts disagreed with. More

A Labour MP shredded the Conservative Party manifesto after claiming it was already in “tatters”.Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow paymaster general, suggested “the money is simply not there to fund any new tax cut proposed in Tory plans” as he spoke at a press conference on Monday 17 June.After pulling apart a newsletter Jeremy Hunt sent to his constituents, Mr Ashworth said the document “totally shreds the Tory manifesto and totally shreds any remaining credibility on tax and spend the Tories once had”.“To bring that point to you, I am going to shred the Tory manifesto, just as Mr Hunt has shredded all of the commitments,” he added. More

Nigel Farage has acknowledged that Reform UK would not form the government after the general election – but he said it was the first step on the road to the next contest which could be in 2029.Speaking in Merthyr Tydfil as he launched the party’s manifesto, Mr Farage said: “We are not pretending that we are going to win this general election, we are a very, very new political party.”“Our ambition is to establish a bridgehead in parliament, and to become a real opposition to a Labour government,” he added.Mr Farage went on to say that the Tories would not be able to provide opposition because “they spend most of their days arguing among themselves”. More

A Conservative general election victory will be “tough”, a cabinet minister has acknowledged, in the latest sign that the Tory campaign is now focused on saving as many seats as possible to form an effective opposition.Grant Shapps said on Monday 17 June that he is a “realist” and would not “try and pretend black is white” by claiming his party is on course for victory.He did, however, insist they are “fighting for every single last vote”.“I am entirely realistic about this, I know that we are the underdogs,” Mr Shapps told BBC Breakfast. More

A former subpostmaster who lost his livelihood in the Horizon IT scandal has accused Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey of “buffoonery” for his stunt-laden election campaign.Lee Castleton compared Sir Ed’s actions to those of former Tory prime minister Boris Johnson, adding that trust is “never going to be built” by “paddleboarding in Cumbria”.Sir Ed has come under fire for not doing more to help wrongly-convicted subpostmasters between 2010 and 2012 when he served as postal affairs minister in the coalition government.He has previously apologised for failing to see through the Post Office’s “lies” and insisted he is taking voters’ concerns seriously during a campaign in which he has visited a theme park and an assault course. More

Sir Keir Starmer has said he is prepared to “make enemies” to grow the economy.The Labour leader, who is hoping to be prime minister come July, made the comments during a BBC interview with Nick Robinson.When asked if he is prepared to “make enemies” when it comes to the economy, Sir Keir responded: “Yes. We’re going to have to be tough, we’re going to have to change the way things are done.”Labour this week set out their plan to turn around the country after 14 years of Tory “chaos” but warned there are no “quick fixes”. More

Nigel Farage taunted Rishi Sunak by channelling a song from rapper Eminem.Sitting in the back of his car, the beaming Reform UK leader was seen listening to the US singer’s 2002 track “Without Me” before repeating the lyrics “Guess who’s back”.The video, posted to X, tags one individual: The prime minister.It comes after a YouGov survey had Mr Farage’s party at 19 per cent and the Conservatives on 18 per cent in voting intention, in the latest blow to Tory hopes of returning to government. More