UK

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Conservative Party chairman has been involved in a clash with a reporter as he attempted to dodge questions before an aide stepped in to end the interview.Richard Holden was being grilled by Sky News’s chief political Correspondent Jon Craig in Westminster on Sunday over the way he was chosen as an electoral candidate for the Basildon and Billericay constituency at the last minute this week.A bumbling Mr Holden repeatedly tries to avoid answering directly, but he is pressed by Mr Craig over the accusations of a “stitch-up” – and then an off-camera CCHQ advisor interrupts to complain about the questions and terminate the interview.In the clip shared on social media, Mr Craig begins by asking: “So you can’t justify the way you have been parachuted into Basildon and Billericay? You’re not deciding it’s a stitch-up and it’s anti-democratic?”Mr Holden pauses before replying with a deflection onto Labour: “Emily Thornberry today has admitted…”He is cut off by the journalist saying: “I’m going to stop you now. This is ridiculous. This is ridiculous! You said in an interview earlier this year you were bloody loyal to the North East. What happened to that?”The Tory press officer is now heard muttering “this wasn’t agreed” in the background.Mr Holden insists, “I’ve already answered these questions,” referring to an interview Channel 4, an answer rejected by Mr Craig, who responds: “That’s one broadcaster isn’t it? This is a pool interview for all the other broadcasters.”The unseen aide can be heard arguing: “These broadcasters agreed that the questions would be specifically…” before Mr Craig throws back: “No, nobody agreed! I’ve got a list here of questions from other broadcasters. Nobody’s agreed, absolutely not.”With a sheepish Mr Holden still in the camera shot, the advisor then asserts: “If that’s the way this is going to go, then we will just leave, because that’s not what we agreed to come here today to discuss.”A Labour source told HuffPost: “The Conservatives have spent another day in total chaos – running and ducking from scrutiny. They know their desperate, scattergun plans don’t stack up and think they can take the public for fools.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email Flemish nationalist parties dominated general elections in Belgium on Sunday as Prime minister Alexander De Croo’s liberal party took a hit, with difficult coalition talks to form a new government now looming. Despite polls predicting that the far-right, anti-immigration Vlaams Belang party would become the main political force in the country with 11.5 million inhabitants, the right-wing nationalist New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) retained its first spot, with an expected 22% of the votes, according to provisional results provided by the Interior ministry.The Vlaams Belang came in second position, with a share of 17.5%, ahead of the Socialist Voruit party, which garnered about 10.5% of the votes.De Croo’s party managed less than 7% of the votes, lagging well behind the far-left.Belgian voters returned to the national polls on Sunday, in conjunction with the European Union vote and elections for regional chambers.Sunday’s results will result in complex negotiations in a country divided by language and deep regional identities. Belgium is split along linguistic lines, with francophone Wallonia in the south and Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north, and governments are invariably formed by coalitions made of parties from both regions. Vlaams Belang has so far been blocked from entering governments as mainstream parties vowed to exclude it from power under a “cordon sanitaire” doctrine referring to the protective barrier put in place to stop the spread of infectious diseases.De Croo is in charge of a seven-party coalition government which was formed after almost 18 months of talks following the previous elections five years ago. The wait was even longer after the 2010 vote when the country needed 541 days to form a government, still a world record.As more than eight million Belgians took to the polls on a hot and sunny day, voters sometimes had to queue for hours before they could vote in Brussels, the country’s capital city.With some people struggling to cope with the hot weather, the Red Cross reportedly helped out and handed out bottles of water.There were also reports of irregularities, as some underage voters who were only allowed to cast their ballot in the European elections also managed to vote in regional and federal elections they were not entitled to take part in. Teenagers aged 16 and 17 were allowed to vote for the first time in the European elections, but Belgian citizens must be at least 18 to vote in the other elections.Following reports in local media Sunday that people under 18 voted in all three elections, Interior minister Annelies Verlinden told VRT news that “the errors appeared to have been limited” and that any complaints will be investigated. 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 accused of going into hiding after his disastrous decision to snub commemorations for the 80th anniversary of D-Day.After a senior minister was forced to deny he is considering quitting before the general election, Labour pointed to the fact the PM has not faced the media in more than 48 hours.Rishi Sunak has not taken questions from the media in 48 hours More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLabour’s general election candidate for Dover and Deal has said he would not have stood for the party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.Mike Tapp, who is fighting to replace Tory defector Natalie Elphicke in the battleground seat, told The Independent he did not feel he could trust the former Labour leader on defence and security.But the 39-year-old former soldier praised Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership and said now voters in the constituency “understand that Labour takes this seriously”.Labour’s general election candidate for Dover and Deal Mike Tapp with his dog, Scooby More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Conservatives are embroiled in a hypocrisy row over Rishi Sunak’s “backing drivers bill” to scale back Ulez, ban pay-per-mile road taxes and crack down on Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs).The prime minister said the bill would be part of his first King’s Speech if he is re-elected on 4 July, promising to end Labour’s “war on drivers” in London and Wales.But Mr Sunak was accused of hypocrisy after it emerged his own ministers had supported many of the measures he is now railing against.Follow our politics live blog for all the latest general election updatesAs chancellor, Mr Sunak reportedly drew up plans to introduce a pay-per-mile road pricing system. And in 2022 one of the PM’s own transport ministers, Huw Merriman, said London mayor Sadiq Khan should introduce a road pricing scheme to replace lost revenues from fuel and vehicle excise duties.Rishi Sunak railed against Labour’s ‘war on drivers’ More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailExclusive polling for the Independent can reveal that last week’s Diane Abbott-Labour row made “no difference” for 82 per cent of voters — in fact, it might have boosted Labour’s chances. Tensions erupted in the Labour Party when the Times reported that Ms Abbott would be banned from standing for the party, following an investigation into comments she made on racism and anti-semitism.Party leader Sir Keir Starmer was repeatedly evasive on whether Ms Abbott would be able to stand as a Labour candidate in her constituency of Hackney North and Stoke Newington. After deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner spoke out in support of Ms Abbott on Sky News, Sir Keir finally said she would be “free to go forward as a Labour candidate”.Amidst the turmoil, hundreds of people had gathered at Hackney Town Hall to “stand with Diane”, while some voters expressed anger at Labour’s treatment of Ms Abbott.But despite concerns over shedding the Labour vote, exclusive polling data shows that 8 in 10 voters were largely unmoved by the Abbott-Starmer row, and would not be changing their voting choices.In fact, 6 per cent of voters said that Sir Keir’s handling of the issue made them more likely to vote Labour. Meanwhile, 3 per cent were more likely to vote Conservative than before, and 4 per cent were less likely to vote at all.Among 2019 Labour voters, the row appeared to have a more divisive affect; 10 per cent were even more likely to vote Labour, but a further 10 per cent were more likely to abstain from voting.All this is reflected in the choice of candidates, with a view to not straying too far from this equidistance which currently represents the compass of the Labour Party.Techne UK chief executive Michela Morizzo said: “Enough time has now passed since the Diane Abbott candidate selection row for me to be sure that whilst the issue attracted a lot of media attention the overall outcome has been not to affect Labour vote share in the polls.“The support for Starmer comes partly from the Conservatives because of the mistakes that the Conservatives themselves have made.“Starmer has to manage a very varied audience of voters at the moment and it is difficult to identify their precise characteristics. “Until July 4th he must find a balance to maintain this success by making everyone happy. Let’s remember that it is easier to maintain left-wing votes by moving a little to the center than vice versa, because left-wing voters have no alternatives while right-wing voters have several, starting with the Lib Dems.”The latest Techne polls also show hardly any impact on Labour’s lead since questions arose over whether Ms Abbott could run for Labour in late May.Labour is currently polling at 44 per cent of national vote share, with a stable 24-point lead over the Conservatives. Both parties lost one point in the polls this week. More

Nigel Farage claims Rishi Sunak ‘not a patriotic leader’ after D-Day blunderSign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Conservative Party is facing electoral wipeout, the latest poll has revealed, as a close ally of Rishi Sunak’s was forced to deny speculation that the prime minister could quit before the general election on 4 July.Labour is set for a majority of 416 at the upcoming general election, leaving the Tories at just 37 seats, according to the new Deltapoll survey, which puts Sir Keir Starmer’s party on 46 per cent compared to the Conservatives on 21 per cent – with even the prime minister set to lose his Yorkshire seat.Mr Sunak is claimed to be despondent over the furious backlash to his decision to skip a D-Day memorial attended by other world leaders, and he appeared to dodge questioning on Saturday after a scheduled press event was cancelled during a campaign visit to a walled garden at Auckland Castle.With fierce critic Nadine Dorries claiming to have heard rumours on Saturday “that Sunak’s about to fall on his sword”, cabinet minister Mel Stride was forced to insist there was “no question” whether or not Mr Sunak would lead the Tories into polling day.Show latest update 1717943382Workers ‘desperate’ for change, says GMB union leaderWorkers are “desperate” for a change of government after 14 years of “chaos and failure” under the Conservatives, a senior union leader said.Gary Smith, general secretary of the GMB, told the union’s annual conference in Bournemouth that the building blocks of decency at work had been “hacked away” by the Tories.Workers had suffered low pay, long hours and insecurity and had had enough of the way the country has been run, he said.But Mr Smith also warned Labour that change cannot be just a “snappy election slogan”.He told delegates: “The Tories have imposed austerity, hollowed out our public services and left our economy in tatters.“They are agents of chaos and their time is up.“My challenge to Labour is to recognise that ‘change’ can’t be just a snappy election slogan. It must be brought to life in the reality of government.”Mr Smith said Labour’s New Deal for workers was a promising sign of the party’s plans in government, adding: “Our job is to hold the next Labour government to account and bring the New Deal to life.”“There is the prospect of a better future for workers,” he added, praising Labour for pledging to scrap the controversial legislation aimed at ensuring a minimum level of service during strikes.GMB general secretary Gary Smith More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA Tory minister has been forced to deny that Rishi Sunak will step down before the general election amid widespread anger at his D-Day snub.Work and pensions secretary Mel Stride said the prime minister will “absolutely” lead the Conservatives into the election.“There should be no question of anything other than that,” he told Sky News in an extraordinary moment.Follow our politics live blog for all the latest general election updates.It came after presenter Trevor Phillips said: “Lots of people will have looked at [his D-Day gaffe] and said this is the time, would it not be a courageous and moral act for him to announced… that he will now step aside to save seats which won’t be if he stays for the next four weeks?”Foreign secretary David Cameron took Rishi Sunak’s place at the ceremony More