UK

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA leading expert has warned Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives not to “overreact” to dire poll predictions they are heading for a bloodbath at the election. A bombshell survey suggests the party could be left with just 53 MPs – and Rishi Sunak would not be among them.But Lord Hayward, who is also a Tory peer, said that the party had lost fewer than predicted seats in the council elections in May.“And I see no evidence to believe (the polls) are any more accurate six weeks later than they were then,” he said. Bombshell polls suggest Rishi Sunak is heading for disaster More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Gambling Commission is investigating a second Tory candidate for taking a bet on the date of the election who may have had inside knowledge ahead of Rishi Sunak’s surprise announcement.The candidate understood to be under investigation is Laura Saunders, who is running for the Tories in Bristol North West and has worked for the party since 2015. It was also revealed that she is married to Tony Lee, the Conservative Party’s director of campaigns.This follows an admission by one of the prime minister’s closest aides Craig Williams that he “took a flutter” on the election date just days before it was announced.Two candidates linked to the prime minister’s inner circle are being investigated over betting on the election date More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailProfessor Sir John Curtice has warned that the polling evidence in the election so far suggests that the Conservatives are heading for their worst ever result “by a country mile”.The polling guru was reacting to the latest polls including the MRP surveys which yesterday suggested a potential Tory wipeout leaving them with as few as 53 seats.In one scenario Rishi Sunak would become the first sitting prime minister to lose his seat with the previously ultra safe Richmond and Northallerton falling to Labour.The polls suggest that other big figures like Penny Mordaunt, James Cleverly and Jeremy Hunt are all on the cusp of being ousted too. Another one in peril is Tory party chairman Richard Holden who caused outrage when he forced the Billericay and Basildon association to accept him as their candidate in a one person shortlist for what had appeared to be a safe seat with a majority of more than 20,000.Prof Sir John Curtice has warned the Tories are heading for a record defeat (Strathclyde University/PA)Prof Curtice noted that the polls show both Labour and the Tories are down three points each since the beginning of the election to 41 percent and 21 percent on average respectively.He noted that the 62 percent “will be a record low combined vote for Labour and the Conservatives.” He added that the 21 percent for the tories is “a record low” for them as well.Reform are up five points since the election began mainly because of Nigel Farage’s decision to stand according to Prof Curtice. The Lib Dems are up two points to around 11 percent and the Greens are holding at six points, he noted.Prof Curtice noted that the MRP polls try to work out what is happening geographically rather than trying to apply straight swings across the country.He noted that it showed further bad news for the Tories because they are down between 11 percent at the most optmisitic and 21 percent at the worst end in the areas that they have traditionally been strongest.This suggests that the blue wall Tory safe seats are now very much in danger of falling to Labour and the Lib Dems.Prof Curtice said: “The Conservatives are at the moment heading for the worst performance since the First World War, since the advent of the mass franchise, by a country mile. “Secondly, not even the More in Common poll suggest they go to quite reach that lowest ever number of seats in the House of Commons, which is 156 all the way back in 1906.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailArtificial intelligence will allow pupils to continue conversing with Holocaust survivors even when they are no longer alive.The technology for schools in the UK will aim to “immortalise” real Holocaust survivors and their stories through life-like conversations with pupils.The programme has been launched at a time when antisemitism is rising in the country and the number of Holocaust survivors is dwindling.Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, who created the programme, said it is vital that young people learn about the Holocaust as conspiracy theories and misinformation continue to be spread on social media.She told the PA news agency: “I think the challenge we’ve got with Holocaust education sadly is that there are people who deny the Holocaust, who distort the Holocaust, who use the Holocaust to make other points that they want to make, abuse the memory of the Holocaust.“So this is also about holding it up and saying this is the experience of a real person and you can hear about it and see the site that they are talking about.”Ms Pollock added that there had been an “explosion of antisemitism” in recent months – which includes “inappropriate use of Holocaust language”.Currently, Holocaust survivors share their experiences with thousands of pupils every year, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for survivors who are in their 80s and 90s to travel across the country to speak to pupils first-hand and soon the Holocaust will no longer be in living memory.But now speech-to-text recognition AI search technology, combined with a filming technique using a nine-camera rig, has created virtual 3D versions of Holocaust survivors which can answer 1,000 questions from pupils.AI understands the question and then plays the survivor’s recorded answer to give pupils the feeling of a natural conversation with the Holocaust survivor.Using virtual reality (VR) headsets, students will also be able to explore key sites linked to the survivor testimonies, including their pre-war home towns and the concentration camps where they were imprisoned.It is hoped the technology will ensure that young people have memorable experiences learning about the Holocaust for generations to come.Ms Pollock told PA: “We’re just facing the reality that Holocaust survivors are getting older and frailer and fewer. They are in their later years.”She added: “Let’s not wait till that moment where we don’t have anyone here. Let’s do it now and gradually embed this sort of programme in schools.”Manfred Goldberg, who survived Stutthof concentration camp and a death march, is the first to feature in the programme for pupils across the UK.The 94-year-old, who has shared his testimony with young people in hundreds of schools over 20 years, said pupils have told him in the past that hearing his story was “an experience of a lifetime” and it changed their lives.Mr Goldberg, from north London, told PA: “That is a very powerful reaction and that is what keeps me going at my age to continue doing what I’m doing.”He added: “I think one basic and highly important factor is the one we seem to have cracked now and that is that all these people for decades to come will be able to hear the words of a Holocaust survivor.”Mr Goldberg spent five days being filmed within a green screen rig, from multiple angles at once using special volumetric capture cameras, and he answered more than 1,000 questions to ensure his virtual self could answer almost any question a student may pose about their experience of the Holocaust.He said: “Never during those dark days of the Holocaust did I ever imagine that one day I would see myself, and my story, immortalised in this way.Schools are doing all they can to combat the rise in antisemitism and other forms of prejudice, by teaching pupils about different faiths and how to build and maintain positive relationships with their peers. This technology will provide another tool with which to do thisPepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the ASCL“I have spoken to thousands of pupils over the years – perhaps now I will make it millions. If this is my legacy, it will be a truly remarkable one.”The Testimony 360 programme was officially launched on Wednesday at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Camberwell, London.Virtual testimonies from three other Holocaust survivors are set to be rolled out in schools from 2025.Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “This new technology will help staff bring this vitally important topic to life for future generations of students and ensure they understand the significance of this period of history.“Schools are doing all they can to combat the rise in antisemitism and other forms of prejudice, by teaching pupils about different faiths and how to build and maintain positive relationships with their peers. This technology will provide another tool with which to do this.“However, schools are facing growing challenges as a result of harmful material and disinformation being posted on social media and need swift action to be taken to prevent this.“The next government needs to stand up to the technology giants and ensure they stop hatred from spreading across society via their platforms.”A Unesco report this week warned that generative AI could be used by bad actors to seed disinformation and antisemitism around the Holocaust. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA number of top Tory ministers are set to lose their seats in the upcoming general election as the Conservative’s faltering campaign grinds on, according to a new shock poll.In devastating news for prime minister Rishi Sunak, YouGov’s poll has predicted 14 Tory big beasts are set to lose their seats to Labour, the Liberal Democrats, Reform UK and Plaid Cymru.The Conservatives would drop to just 108 seats, losing 257 of the seats they won in 2019, according to YouGov’s most recent projection. Labour would win a huge majority of 425 seats, up by 223.Follow live updates hereAmong those set to be outsted are Jeremy Hunt, Penny Mordaunt, Mel Stride, Alex Chalk, Mark Harper, Grant Shapps and Gillian Keegan.Here, The Independent takes a closer look at the Tory candidates set to lose their seats.Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt is set to lose his seat under a new prediction by polling company YouGov More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Conservatives are facing a historic defeat at the election after a bombshell new poll suggested the party could be left with just 53 MPs – and Rishi Sunak would not be among them. Adding further misery to a raft of dire poll results for Mr Sunak, it also shows him on course to become the first sitting prime minister to lose his seat. And the Tories could be left battling the Lib Dems to avoid third place, with Sir Ed Davey’s party set to gain 50 MPs. The Savanta and Electoral Calculus polling analysis puts Labour on track to take 516 seats, with an estimated majority of 382 – twice the size of Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide – suggesting that recent Tory warnings of a Labour “supermajority” are correct.Rishi Sunak has had a disastrous election campaign so far More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailGeorge Galloway has vowed to withdraw the UK from Nato and pledged to offer workers the option of retiring at 60 in a giveaway spree announced for voters as he launched his party’s vision for the UK.Mr Galloway, leader of the Workers Party of Great Britain, presented his 34-page manifesto supported by a smattering of supporters and some of the 154 candidates standing for Westminster representing his party.He committed to “all workers having the option of retiring at 60”, raising the tax-free allowance from £12,570 to £21,200 for two million low-paid workers, and boosting social housing in his voter giveaways.Then, he warned the world is edging closer to nuclear “Armageddon”, but went on to pledge to scrap the UK’s nuclear weapons, and withdraw the country from Nato.Leader of the Workers Party of Britain George Galloway holds a copy of the manifesto during his party’s manifesto launch on Wednesday More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Tories have confirmed that “have spoken to” one of of their celebrity candidates after she liked what critics describe as antisemitic material online.Rose Hulse, a former figure skater who married aristocrat Richard Hulse, liked posts on social media referring to a Jewish candidate as a “fiend of Israel” [sic], and another that said Starmer was “tap dancing to #AntiSemitismIsAllThatMatters”.Ms Hulse, who is now a social media streaming entrepreneur orginally from the US, has apologised for liking the tweets but Mike Katz, chair of Jewish Labour Movement, has called for her to be investigated.In May this year, the parliamentary candidate for Bristol North East liked a tweet that described Keir Starmer as a “double crossing political prostitute who went from bending the knee at #BlackLivesMatter to tap dancing to #AntisemitismIsAllThatMatters”.Rose Hulse (centre) was selected by the Tories to fight Bristol North East More