UK

Hunt attacks Labour and says he refutes ‘myths’ the economy is worse under ToriesSign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailChancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled new tax cuts if the Conservatives win the general election as he accuses Labour of “playground politics” following Sir Keir Starmer’s speech on Thursday. Speaking from London, he hinted at further National Insurance cuts before the general election kicks off after Summer. He claimed Labour’s electoral pledges would cost tax payers £59 billion over the next four years and accused Labour of “lying” and labelled “fake news” their economic plans.He has also pledged “taxes will go down under a Conservative government” and accused Sir Keir Starmer of planning to hikes as “sure as night follows day”.Meanwhile, David Lammy has launched Labour’s foreign policy campaign pledge as he vowed voters to reinstall trust between the UK and the EU amid security threats. He added the country is currently facing key challenges around war and security, over-dependency with unfriendly states, and low growth around West.Show latest update 1715957584Comment: Jeremy Hunt just made the case for why you should vote LabourJeremy Hunt simply cannot decide whether he is a nice guy or a ruthless political operator. Salma Ouaguira17 May 2024 15:531715956936Prime Minister announces UK aid arrives in Gaza Rishi Sunak said a shipment of 8,400 temporary plastic shelters has been delivered to the Gaza Strip. Both the PM and Lord Cameron have urged Israel to allow at least 500 aid trucks a day into Gaza through land crossings.And to open as many routes as possible for aid to access the territory.Salma Ouaguira17 May 2024 15:421715956623MPs back law to help terminally ill Brits with pension paymentsThe House of Commons has cleared a proposal to ensure terminally ill people have access to payments for longer. The Bill’s sponsor Conservative MP Laurence Robertson earlier said: “It will provide financial assurance to those who have received the devastating diagnosis of a terminal illness and have also seen the sponsors of their pension scheme become insolvent.”The Bill covers two schemes, the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) and the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS), which provide funding to pensioners whose defined benefit schemes have become insolvent.Work and pensions minister Mims Davies added: “The changes this Bill makes will mean that members are able to rightly claim their compensation on the grounds of terminal illness if a medical professional confirms that they have less than 12 months to live, rather than the current six months.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe vaccines minister has spoken of the “overwhelming” death threats she receives, just days after the leader of Slovakia was shot in an assassination attempt. Maria Caulfield said threats on her life rose every time the House of Commons discussed jabs. The Slovakian prime minister, Robert Fico, was attacked on Wednesday during a meeting with his supporters. Mr Fico remains “between life and death”, his ally the Hungarian leader Viktor Orban said on Friday. The shooting, the first major assassination attempt on a European political leader for more than 20 years, has sent shockwaves through Westminster. Minister Maria Caulfield (PA) More

Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter from The Independent’s Race Correspondent Nadine WhiteSign up to our free fortnightly newsletter The Race ReportLondon mayor Sadiq Khan has labelled former US president Donald Trump racist, sexist and homophobic – and warned that Labour must do more to “call him out”.With Mr Trump challenging for the US presidency once again, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary David Lammy suggested during a bridge-building trip with Republicans in Washington last week that their presidential candidate in the upcoming elections was “often misunderstood” on European policy.But speaking after being re-elected for a third term as London’s mayor, Mr Khan insisted Mr Trump was far from misunderstood.Sadiq Khan has labelled former US president Donald Trump racist, sexist and homophobic More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailJeremy Hunt accused Labour of telling “a lie” about Tory tax plans as he launched his party’s fightback in a week where the starting gun on the election campaign was fired.In an unusually fiery speech by the chancellor, he claimed Labour’s attempts to scare voters about the future of the state pension was “disgraceful”.He also alleged that “the most conservative estimate” of Keir Starmer’s spending plans would cost £38.5billion and means “Labour will have no choice but to put up taxes further” to fill a £10billion black hole in government finances by 2028/29.Mr Hunt acknowledged that “difficult decisions” are needed because of the global financial shocks of the covid pandemic, and that war in Ukraine had meant he had been forced to increase taxes. However, he insisted that the election “will be framed about what the parties want to do about the tax burden”.Chancellor Jeremy Hunt blasted Labour’s economic plans (Aaron Chown/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA member of Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet has said he “misspoke” – to the tune of £70bn – about one of his party’s key green policies. Months after Labour faced criticism for scaling back plans to spend £28bn a year on environmental investments, shadow environment secretary Steve Reed appeared to suggest that figure had increased again. But he later said he “clearly misspoke” and insisted the cost of GB Energy was much lower. Labour’s pledge to create a state-owned clean energy firm is a key plank of its plans for government. The party believes it can create jobs, cut energy bills and help meet its 2030 clean power target. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused energy bills to skyrocket, Labour also argues it will help to make the UK less reliant on others. Labour wants to creat a state-owned clean energy company More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch as Jeremy Hunt delivered a speech on Friday, 17 May, promising further tax cuts if the Conservatives win the general election.The chancellor accused Labour of “playground politics” over attacks on the historically-high burden being borne by households and businesses following Sir Keir Starmer’s speech on Thursday.Speaking from London, Mr Hunt to vowed that “taxes will go down under a Conservative government” and has accused his shadow, Labour’s Rachel Reeves, of plotting hikes to fund the opposition party’s spending pledges.Mr Hunt claims Labour’s electoral pledges would cost tax payers £59bn over the next four years and accused the party of “lying” and labelled “fake news” their economic plans.It comes as Rishi Sunak’s attempts to kickstart the general election campaign have failed to move voters, a new poll has revealed.The prime minister has claimed the UK is facing a threat of nuclear war and that the Government needs to have a government strong on defence and security. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak’s attempts to kickstart the general election campaign with a threat of nuclear war and a need to have a government strong on defence and security has failed to move voters, a new poll has revealed.The Techne UK weekly tracker poll seen by The Independent has shown that Mr Sunak’s speech at the Policy Exchange thinktank has left his party rooted on just 21 percent, unchanged from last week.It also followed a week where pollsters – including Techne UK chief executive Michela Morizzo, Professor Sir John Curtice and Lord Hayward – all also warned that a Tory push to use “culture war” issues to win back voters would not save the Tories. Initiatives this week included tackling “woke activism” in the civil service with banning rainbow lanyards one of the measures proposed, and banning lessons about trans issues in schools.While the tactics of Mr Sunak’s appeared to have failed Labour maintained a 23-point lead although their support fell by 1 percent to 44 percent from last week.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appears to be on his way out of 10 Downing Street (PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWeak leadership, poor economic management and Brexit have dragged Britain out of the top 10 countries in a global index on good government.The decline of Britain under the Tories has been charted by the global Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI) which saw it take 11th place.At a time when Rishi Sunak has been under siege from his own Tory MPs, the UK’s place on the annual list was made worse by scores for “leadership and foresight” putting it in 20th place.It was also hit by coming 27th in “financial stewardship”. The findings come amid a report of an exodus by companies from the City of London.Prime minister Rishi Sunak steps out of 10 Downing Street. The UK was marked down for weak leadership More