UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLabour’s plan to levy VAT on private school fees will not lead to larger class sizes in the state sector, Sir Keir Starmer has insisted.The Labour leader slapped down his shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry, who on Sunday said ending the charitable status of private schools could lead to bigger classes.Asked if Ms Thornberry was wrong, Sir Keir said: “Yes.” He added: “We’ve had the analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) on this, which says that there’ll be a negligible impact. So we’re very confident about that.””Bridget has got it right and Emily didn’t get it quite right,” Sir Keir told LBC. “Bridget is obviously the shadow secretary of state on education, and Emily just got the lines a bit wrong there.”Keir Starmer said Emily Thornberry had ‘got the lines a bit wrong’ when she said class sizes could go up under Labour plans More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA candidate for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party has claimed the country would have been “far better” off if it had “taken Hitler up on his offer of neutrality” instead of fighting the Nazis. Ian Gribbin, who is standing in Bexhill and Battle, also wrote online that women were the “sponging gender” and should be “deprived of health care”.He also described Winston Churchill as “abysmal” and praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the BBC.A Reform spokesman said the comments were not “endorsements” but “written with an eye to inconvenient perspectives and truths”. Leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage (James Manning/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 insightIt’s been more than four years since the UK officially left the European Union, but that doesn’t mean the conversation about Brexit and its impact is over.On Monday, Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, pledged to push for Britain to rejoin the European single market and eventually the EU. Unveiling his general election manifesto, Sir Ed said repairing the UK’s damaged relationship with Europe will lower shop prices and create more job opportunities for young people across Europe.He emphasised that the Liberal Democrats are a “pro-European party” and that Britain “needs to be back at the heart of Europe.” In his speech, he also criticised the Conservatives for damaging the UK’s relationship with its closest neighbours.Now we want to know what you think. Do you think the UK should rejoin the European single market? Should Brexit, as Sir Ed is suggesting, be reversed? And does the Lib Dem’s freshly unveiled manifesto give you food for thought as polling day looms?Share your thoughts by adding them in the comments — we’ll highlight the most insightful ones as they come in.All you have to do is sign up and register your details — then you can take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen.Make sure you adhere to our community guidelines, which can be found here. For a full guide on how to comment click here.Join the conversation with other Independent readers below. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailSir Ed Davey has promised to push for Britain to rejoin the European single market and eventually the EU.The Liberal Democrat leader said fixing the UK’s broken relationship with Europe will drive down prices in shops and widen opportunities for young people to work throughout the bloc.Launching his general election manifesto, Sir Ed said Britain “needs to be back at the heart of Europe” and stressed the Lib Dems “are a pro-European party”.But he accused the Conservatives of having “poisoned Britain’s relationship with our nearest neighbours” and “undermined trust in the UK”.“We are being really clear that it is not going to be easy,” the seasoned Lib Dem said.Follow our live coverage of the general election campaign hereLiberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey stressed his party has ‘put health and care at the heart’ of its manifesto, but the document also includes the aim to ‘fix the UK’s broken relationship with Europe’ More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailDouglas Ross is to step down as Scottish Conservative leader after the general election and will also quit Holyrood if he is elected as an MP.The Scottish Tory made the announcement in the wake of the row over his decision to stand in the Aberdeen North and Moray East constituency.Former UK Government minister David Duguid had wanted to fight the seat, but the Scottish Conservative Party management board ruled ill health meant he should not stand, with Mr Ross confirming last week that he would put himself forward for the constituency.Click here for our live coverage of the general election campaign.It comes after Mr Ross, who is also an MSP, had previously vowed he would step down from Westminster to focus on Holyrood and his role as party leader.Douglas Ross has announced he is quitting as Scottish Tory leaderIn a statement released on Monday, Mr Ross said: “I am committed to fighting and winning the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency.“Should I be given the honour to represent the people and communities of this new seat, they should know being their MP would receive my complete focus and attention.“I will therefore stand down as leader following the election on July 4, once a successor is elected.“Should I win the seat, I will also stand down as an MSP to make way for another Scottish Conservative representative in Holyrood.”Mr Ross sparked fury when he announced he intended to run for Westminster after previously planning to concentrate on the Scottish parliament.His neighbouring Scottish Tory MP David Duguid was ruthlessly deselected by the Scottish Conservative management board at the last minute to make way for Mr Ross in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East.Mr Duguid, who was the MP for Banff and Buchan before the boundary changes, had recently had spinal surgery but was on course to make a full recovery. He had been readopted by his local party and told by doctors that he could campaign as long as he did not go door-knocking.Mr Ross had said he intended to step back from Westminster politics to focus on his duties at Holyrood. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailKeir Starmer is facing calls to be clearer on climate change as a new poll warns half of voters are unsure of Labour’s plans. The Survation figures also show that less than a third, 30 per cent, believe they know what the party would do in government. Greenpeace, which commissioned the poll, has launched a new campaign ‘Keir be Clear’ ahead of Labour’s general election manifesto launch on Thursday. The environmental group, which caused controversy last year when they draped 200 square metres of oil-black fabric over Rishi Sunak’s £2m manor house in Yorkshire, says Labour has the opportunity to win over voters who are hungry for change on the climate. Follow our live coverage of the general election campaignLabour has pledged to create a new green energy company (Danny Lawson/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailNigel Farage has dismissed calls by Tory rightwinger Suella Braverman for her party to embrace him in an election pact.The Reform UK leader told a press conference that he “likes Suella Braverman” but said it was “impossible” to believe Reform would want to join the “high tax, high immigration” Tories.He suggested that the former home secretary instead joins his party after the “inevitable” election defeat for the Conservatives.The former Ukip and Brexit Party leader confirmed that “all marriage plans are off” when it comes to him rejoining the Tories, a party he left over the Maastricht Treaty in 1992.Farage addresses the media today More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailFour Tory candidates have signed up to the pledges of Laurence Fox’s right-wing Reclaim Party in exchange for campaign donations of £5,000 each.The four Conservatives, Dame Andrea Jenkyns, Brendan Clarke-Smith, Karl McCartney and Marco Longhi, have promised to uphold Reclaim’s “four commitments to culture”.The commitments are to seek to pull Britain out of the European Court of Human Rights, repeal the Human Rights Act, ban gender reassignment for children and to reform the Equality Act.Laurence Fox said he founded Reclaim after being ‘cancelled’ for a BBC Question Time appearance More