UK Politics

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorA new study has found that posts from 10 “bot-like” X accounts spreading disinformation and hate have been viewed more than 150 million times ahead of the UK General Election.The accounts in question have shared more than 60,000 posts on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, since May 22, with those posts estimated to have been seen 150 million times, an investigation by non-governmental organisation (NGO) Global Witness found.Many of the posts from these 10 prolific accounts contain “extreme and violent” hate speech, disinformation, conspiracy theories and praise Russian President Vladimir Putin, the organisation said.It found that posts amplified by these bot-like accounts have spread Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia and transphobia, state that climate change is a “hoax”, that vaccines have created a “genocide”, and that Mr Putin is “the greatest president ever”.The investigation found the bot-like accounts by searching among hashtags on migration and climate change covering a wide spectrum of views, from #welcomerefugees to #migration and #stoptheboats.Frequent posting is considered to be a characteristic of a bot-like account (James Manning/PA) More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorA new study has found that posts from 10 “bot-like” X accounts spreading disinformation and hate have been viewed more than 150 million times ahead of the UK General Election.The accounts in question have shared more than 60,000 posts on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, since May 22, with those posts estimated to have been seen 150 million times, an investigation by non-governmental organisation (NGO) Global Witness found.Many of the posts from these 10 prolific accounts contain “extreme and violent” hate speech, disinformation, conspiracy theories and praise Russian President Vladimir Putin, the organisation said.It found that posts amplified by these bot-like accounts have spread Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia and transphobia, state that climate change is a “hoax”, that vaccines have created a “genocide”, and that Mr Putin is “the greatest president ever”.The investigation found the bot-like accounts by searching among hashtags on migration and climate change covering a wide spectrum of views, from #welcomerefugees to #migration and #stoptheboats.Frequent posting is considered to be a characteristic of a bot-like account (James Manning/PA) More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorRishi Sunak is set to begin a 48-hour blitz around the country with a desperate final appeal to voters to support him in order to “stop a Labour supermajority”.The prime minister will kick off a final push on the last two days of a dramatic general election campaign, with a speech claiming that just 130,000 voters could make the difference.He told demoralised supporters and party activists to remember the spirit of the England football team pulling level in the 95th minute on Sunday, saying: “It’s not over until it’s over.” It comes as:Sir Keir Starmer starts his own final push in the key battleground of the MidlandsA leading pollster warned the result will be much closer than the polls seem to indicateTory MPs in the North and Midlands said they believe they are in close fights and can winLabour privately warned the polls may have made their supporters complacentSupport for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK appears to be ebbingRishi Sunak says he has not given up hope More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorSir Keir Starmer is being urged to abandon Rishi Sunak’s “sneaky” post-Brexit wine tax if he wins the keys to Downing Street this week. Britain’s wine drinkers will have to pay a little-known “sauvignon surcharge” from February next year, as part of changes brought in after the UK left the European Union. As the prime minister uses the election campaign to repeatedly accuse Labour of planning secret tax rises if they get into power, experts and industry leaders have today called for his booze levy to be dropped. They warn that it will lead to products disappearing from the shelves, raise the price of some red wines by more than 40p a bottle, and increase the number of tax bands for wine from one to 30. Now, in a letter to the country’s next leader, seen by The Independent, they say the next government “must act” to avoid “needless cost increases and unnecessary red tape”.Experts warn some wines will become more expensive – and some could disappear from the shelves entirely 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 insightKeir Starmer is being urged to dump Rishi Sunak’s ‘sneaky’ post-Brexit wine tax if he wins the keys to Downing Street this week. Britain’s wine drinkers face a little-known ‘sauvignon surcharge’ from February, as part of changes brought in after the UK left the European Union. As the prime minister uses the election campaign to repeatedly accuse Labour of planning secret tax rises if they get into power, experts and industry leaders today call for his booze levy to be dropped. They warn it will lead to products disappearing from the shelves, raise the price of some reds by more than 40p a bottle and increase the number of tax bands for wine from one to 30. Now in a letter to the country’s next leader, seen by the Independent, they say the next government “must act” to avoid “needless cost increases and unnecessary red tape”.Experts warn wines such as red will become more expensive – and some could disappear from the shelves More

Sunak on FarageSign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWith three days to go until the general election, party leaders jump on the final week campaign trail. Sir Keir Starmer has said only the progressives can beat the far-right and blamed the surge on “disaffection among voters” amid popularity of Marine Le Pen’s nationalist party in France. The Labour leader said people feel the country is “too broken to be mended” and “can’t trust politicians” after 14 years of “Tory chaos”, but added: “Only progressives have the answers of the challenges that are facing us.”It comes as Labour holds a strong 24-point lead in latest polls on voter intentions, with the Tories struggling to close the gap. But candidates insist they will fight for every vote until the last whistle. Labour’s shadow environment secretary Steve Reed warned the Conservatives could still “sneak through at the end” to win as Thursday’s vote was still all to play for despite the successful polling results. Show latest update 1719845621Exclusive: Next prime minister urged to dump Sunak’s post-Brexit wine taxSir Keir Starmer is being urged to dump Rishi Sunak’s ‘sneaky’ post-Brexit wine tax if he wins the keys to Downing Street this week, Kate Devlin reports. Britain’s wine drinkers face a little-known ‘sauvignon surcharge’ from February, as part of changes brought in after the UK left the European Union.As the prime minister uses the election campaign to repeatedly accuse Labour of planning secret tax rises if they get into power, experts and industry leaders today call for his booze levy to be dropped.Salma Ouaguira1 July 2024 15:531719844866Corbyn tells Keir to be more like Blair Jeremy Corbyn has told Sir Keir Starmer to be more like Tony Blair and appoint “socialist figures” in his Cabinet if he gets into Downing Street. Speaking to i, the former Labour leader labelled Sir Keir’s leadership “authoritarian” and a “straitjacket of conformity”. He said his shadow cabinet contrasts with Sir Tony’s close allies including Left-wingers Frank Dobson and Robin Cook.The independent candidate said: “I don’t see any appetite for political diversity by the Labour leadership at all.”He added: “You’ve got to keep the trust of people. If they crush dissent in the Labour Party, which they’ve been very good at doing then they actually give themselves a fool’s paradise of agreement and they have driven the other people out, who are actually very constructive.”The criticism comes after the once-party colleagues fell out after Mr Corbyn was kicked out of the party. Sir Keir previously claimed he was “certain” his predecessor was going to lose the 2019 election. Britain Landmark Elections 1997 More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA Brexiteer Tory MP who used a picture of Nigel Farage on her campaign leaflet has fallen out spectacularly with his party Reform UK.Andrea Jenkyns claimed she was wooed by a pro-Brexit businessman acting on behalf of Reform who she says offered her jobs to defect.The MP has described a number of meetings with Arron Banks – including going to Nigel Farage’s birthday party as his plus 1 – as Reform under Richard Tice’s leadership tried to pressure her to switch parties ahead of the election.But the meetings prompted fevered speculation before the election that Ms Jenkyns might defect to Reform and led to revelations of her efforts to strike a deal between them and the Tories.Cheers! Nigel Farage at his birthday party with Aaron Banks and Andrea Jenkyns More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailAmid the national fallout from the betting scandal, three local party campaigns have been left without candidates, with many constituents now wondering who to support.As it’s too late to change the ballot papers, suspended candidates will still be listed with the party names while investigations by the Gambling Commission are carried out.As The Independent has found out, their campaigns have come to a halt, meaning significant implications not just for the party they represented but also for others vying for the now-undecided voters.Conservative Party support has been withdrawn for Laura Saunders (Bristol North West), and Craig Williams (Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr).And Labour’s Kevin Craig (Central Suffolk and North Ipswich) is no longer standing as a party candidate.If elected, they will sit as independent MPs, unless the parties restore their support following the watchdog’s inquiries.(From left to bottom right) Craig Williams and Laura Saunders had the support of the Tory Party withdrawn, and Kevin Craig lost the backing of Labour More