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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

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailFormer award-winning BBC journalist David Campanale is suing the Liberal Democrats for allegedly deselecting him because he is a practising Christian.The revelation comes after The Independent disclosed that a petition demanding he is reinstated as the candidate for Sutton and Cheam in south London had been backed by the bishop of Winchester Philip Mounstephen who warned that Liberal greats like William Gladstone would no longer be welcome in the party.Since then the GoCitizen petition has been supported by 20,000 people and the bishop of Guildford Andrew Watson has added his support.In a further move today, court papers have been filed against the Lib Dems for discrimination and victimisation against Mr Campanale.Ed Davey’s party is being sued More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailSir Keir Starmer is more trusted by the British people than Rishi Sunak the modern infrastructure that Britain needs in the future built, a new poll has revealed.The research, commissioned by pro-growth campaign group Britain Remade, found that the Labour leader was 2 to 1 over the prime minister (34 per cent to 16 per cent) to deliver projects such as new homes and transport schemes.Britons also think the country doesn’t build enough. The poll, carried out by Opinium, found that more than half (52 per cent) of voters said we don’t build enough sources of clean energy.Another half (49 per per cent) say we don’t build enough transport links and just under half (45 per cent) agree that the UK doesn’t build enough new homes in and around major cities.The findings were revealed as Britain Remade released its plan, that includes 64 policies, to get the country building again.As part of the plans, the campaign group said there needs to be a radical overhaul of current planning rules and regulations. For example, the campaign group said that it can take up to 13 years for an offshore wind farm to go from being an idea to generating power despite construction only taking two to three years.Keir Starmer is more trusted than Rishi Sunak to deliver infrastructure projects More