UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email Britain’s July 4 election is less than a month away. The campaign has already produced drama and disputes, even before the parties unveil their manifestos with detailed lists of promises in the coming days.This week saw Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Labour Party rival, Keir Starmer, spar in their first televised debate, and populist firebrand Nigel Farage return to dent Conservative hopes of retaining power after 14 years in office.Here are some things we’ve learned: FARAGE IS BACK — AND THE TORIES ARE WORRIED Populist firebrand Nigel Farage, whose years of invective against the European Union helped push Britain out of the bloc, sent tremors through the campaign when he announced Monday that he would run for Parliament at the helm of the right-wing party Reform U.K.Days earlier, Farage had said he wouldn’t be a candidate because it was more important to support his ally Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election in November.Farage has failed in seven previous attempts to win a House of Commons seat but stands a good chance of ousting the Conservative incumbent in the eastern England coastal town of Clacton-on-Sea.Reform is unlikely to win many other seats, but Farage’s return caused gloom in Conservative ranks. In 2019 the Farage-led Brexit Party, precursor to Reform, decided not to run against the Conservatives in hundreds of seats, a move that helped Boris Johnson secure an 80-seat Conservative majority.Now Reform could siphon votes from the Tories across the country, helping Labour and the centrist Liberal Democrats win more seats.“The Farage intervention makes a very bad election for the Conservatives potentially even worse,” said Philip Cowley, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London. “There will be plenty of seats in which there will be a decent Reform showing. … (and) they take more votes from the Conservatives than they take from Labour.” TUSSLES OVER TAX The two men vying to become Britain’s next prime minister, Sunak and Starmer, debated on live television Tuesday. It was a tetchy, inconclusive event that saw neither land decisive blows.The most memorable — and contested — soundbite was Sunak’s claim that Labour’s plans would mean a 2,000 pound ($2,550) tax increase for every British household. Starmer didn’t rebut the claim until Sunak had said it several times, but then dismissed it as “garbage.”Labour claims the figure is misleading. For one thing, Sunak didn’t make clear that 2,000 pounds was the alleged increase over four years, not annually.It’s also based on disputed figures about Labour’s plans drawn up by the Conservative Party and then submitted to the Treasury for analysis. Sunak claimed the figure had been approved by “independent Treasury officials.”But it turned out that the top civil servant at the Treasury, James Bowler, had written to the Conservatives before the debate to say the figures “should not be presented as having been produced by the Civil Service.”Labour then went on the offensive, calling the figure fake news. Starmer said Sunak had “lied deliberately” with the tax claim. PERSISTENT POLLS The left-of-center Labour Party remains favorite to win the most seats in the 650-seat House of Commons. While major pollsters give varying figures, all show a double-digit Labour lead, with relatively little change since Sunak called the election on May 22.Pollster Ipsos gave Labour a 20-point lead, supported by 43% of voters to the Conservatives’ 23%, in a poll released Thursday. The pollster interviewed 1,014 U.K. adults by phone, and the margin of error was three percentage points.Cowley said that while things can change quickly in politics, “this is a government that’s tremendously unpopular, and people want rid of it.”“Once people have decided that, it’s very difficult to turn it around,” he said. MILKSHAKE MESS This week also saw the return of milkshakes as an instrument of political protest.Farage was doused with a McDonald’s shake as he left his boisterous campaign launch in Clacton. A 25-year-old local woman, Victoria Thomas Bowen, has been charged with assault.Milkshakes became an unlikely political weapon during Britain’s acrimonious disputes over Brexit after the 2016 referendum. Farage was one of several politicians splattered with a sticky beverage in 2019. “Milkshaking” — the act of dousing public figures in milkshakes — was officially recognized by Collins Dictionary the same year.Farage’s political opponents stressed that the sticky attack was no laughing matter in a polarized political atmosphere where threats against politicians are growing. Two British lawmakers, Jo Cox and David Amess, have been murdered in the past decade while meeting constituents.Labour’s law-and-order spokesperson Yvette Cooper said the dousing was a “disgraceful assault on Nigel Farage.”“Completely unacceptable and wrong. No one should face intimidation or assault in an election campaign,” she wrote on social network X. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailVoters are split over Rishi Sunak’s highly controversial claim in the TV debate with Sir Keir Starmer that Labour would put up taxes by £2,000 per person.More than one in three (34 per cent) believe the prime minister was telling the truth, according to an exclusive poll for The Independent.However, slightly more (38 per cent) say the claim was false while a total of 28 per cent said they did not know if it was true or false.The survey, by Redfield and Wilton, appeared to suggest not only that voters believed the Labour leader more but even identified him on balance as the debate winner from Tuesday night.A total of 38 per cent say he won the confrontation, while 32 per cent say Mr Sunak had the upper hand. The remaining 30 per cent said neither emerged as winner or declined to offer an opinion.The poll follows a fierce row over Sunak’s £2,000 Labour tax hike allegation. The Treasury chief mandarin disowned the figures and Sir Keir angrily claimed the prime minister had “lied.” The UK Statistics Authority is also investigating the Tories after the prime minister’s claim.For a third consecutive day, the row exploded again with the Tories claiming that Labour plans 10 new tax rises and providing a link to the Treasury analysis on the costs of the opposition’s spending plans. Their attack was partly based on claims Labour would introduce a “retirement tax” by not matching their triple lock plus commitment of not taxing the state pension.But Labour’s shadow chief Treasury secretary Darren Jones had already challenged the Tories to a debate on the £2,000 figure while Sir Keir had accused Mr Sunak of lying on the issue.Responding today, Tory chief Trasury secretary Laura Trott said: “The prime minister warned this week that Keir Starmer would put up taxes on working families by £2,094 to fill Labour’s £38.5 billion black hole.“After spending two days accusing others of lying and ordering his team to dodge questions from the media, the truth has now emerged: he is secretly preparing more than 10 new tax rises later this year. Keir Starmer has a long track record of breaking pledges.“He thinks he can coast to victory with a blank cheque then pretend he has a mandate to raise taxes, raid pensions and impose a Retirement Tax. He now urgently needs to level with the British people about which taxes he wants to increase and by how much.”Meanwhile, the poll also found that Mr Sunak scores badly compared to his opponents Keir Starmer and Nigel Farage on the right.When asked to choose between all three Sir Keir easily topped for poll for standing up for the UK best, standing up for the little guy, strong leader, most charismatic, tells it like it is, knows how to get things done, reprsents change, has ambition, can build a strong economy, can fix the NHS, and can deal with immigration.Mr Sunak did not top any categories while Mr Farage was first in stop the boats.Redfield and Wilton interviewed 2,000 adults online on June 5-6. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailTories in the nominally safe seat of Basildon and Billericay in Essex have spoken of their fury over the way in which party chair Richard Holden was forced on them as their general election candidate last night.It comes after embarrassing video footage of Mr Holden, recorded in February, emerged, in which he describes how he is “loyal to the North East” of England and denies he is seeking a safe seat elsewhere.Mr Holden was the MP for North West Durham, which ceased to exist following the boundary review, but rejected the opportunity to stand in neighbouring Bishop Auckland, which was won for the Tories by Dehenna Davison in 2019.Instead, his hunt for a safe seat became an issue of contention between ordinary party activists in local associations and the Rishi Sunak leadership team in CCHQ (party headquarters).Tory chair Richard Holden is now the candidate for Basildon and Billericay More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has been told that he has “misjudged the mood of the nation” by deciding to return early from the D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations to campaign in the general election.And he has been warned that he appears to have already handed the mantle of prime minister to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer who joined veterans this afternoon in Normandy.The criticism from Gulf War veteran Colonel Stuart Crawford came after Mr Sunak decided not to attend the major gathering of world leaders with veterans at Omaha beach this afternoon.A Conservative source confirmed that he had returned to campaign in the election instead.Sunak at an earlier D-Day event More

Nigel Farage claims people ‘loathe’ the Tories and Labour will win electionSign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA Conservative general election candidate has today quit after it emerged that he made lurid sexual comments about women. Magistrate Sam Trask pulled out of the race to stand in Bridgend, Wales after it was revealed that he once boasted his favourite bra size measuring technique was “hand sizing them by feel”. Confronted over the remarks, he apologised and said he had “decided to withdraw as a candidate”. It comes as a fresh row erupted for the Tories after an MP was deselected from the Scottish Tory party to make way for Douglass Ross, who previously claimed to only focus on Holyrood.The U-turn sparked a wave of furore with SNP campaign director claiming the decision to replace David Duguid, who recently had spinal surgery, represents a “day of shame for the Tories”.In response, Stewart Hosie blasted: “The way the Tories have treated Mr Duguid is indefensible. The nasty party just got nastier.”The PM suffered a further blow after he was branded “a man with no integrity” for accepting a further £5m from a donor accused of making racist comments about a senior MP, the Labour Party chair has claimed.Show latest update 1717685425Sketch | Sunak the underdog became a scrappy terrier – but will it change anything?In this piece, Joe Murphy asks: could Sunak’s performance turn him into a real contender?He writes: “Edifying it was not. But the first leader’s debate of the 2024 election was undeniably livelier than the dreary arguments between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn in 2019.“It started with all the worn-out clichés of the genre: drumming war music; two suited gladiators in front of moving screens that gave a queasy seasick feeling; a spotlight on super-calm Ms Etchingham, quite the ice queen.”Salma Ouaguira6 June 2024 15:501717684805 More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA Tory general election candidate has quit after lurid sexual comments he made about women were exposed.Magistrate Sam Trask was standing in the battleground seat of Bridgend in Wales, which the Conservatives narrowly won in 2019.But he pulled out of the race on Thursday after it was revealed he once boasted that his favourite bra size measuring technique was “hand sizing them by feel”.Click here for our live coverage of the general election campaign.Mr Trask, a magistrate whose role comes with the responsibility to “respect the dignity of all”, added: “Maybe have to make a more detailed inspection with my lips and tongue… for accuracy, of course.”Sam Trask was the Conservative candidate for Bridgend and has met Rishi Sunak More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe leader of the Scottish Tories, Douglas Ross, has announced that he intends to run for Westminster after previously planning to concentrate on the Scottish parliament.But the U-turn has come with huge controversy, after 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.The saga is the latest in a series of selection-related rows that have affected both the Tories and Labour. Yesterday, Tory members in the constituency of Basildon and Billericay were outraged at party chair Richard Holden being foisted on them on a one-man shortlist.Douglas Ross insists he can beat the SNP in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak accepted an additional £5m from Tory donor Frank Hester, who was accused of saying Diane Abbott “should be shot”, Electoral Commission figures show.In a major boost to the Tories’ campaign war chest, the prime minister accepted the donation in January after Mr Hester donated £10m to the Conservative Party last year. The latest data also revealed the Tories took a further £150,000 from Mr Hester. That donation was received on 8 March but accepted by the party on 14 March, three days after his comments were first revealed. His other donations were made before the story broke. Mr Hester allegedly told colleagues that looking at Ms Abbott makes you “want to hate all black women”, adding that the veteran Labour MP “should be shot”.Frank Hester allegedly made the comments in 2019 (Screengrab/PA) More