UK

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailPenny Mordaunt was forced to open the second televised election debate with an apology and admission that her leader Rishi Sunak was “wrong” over leaving the D-Day commemorations early in another bad night for the Tories.But the Tory cabinet minister sought to make the seven-party event into a two-way fight between herself and Angela Rayner, who stood next to her in the line-up, in what another panellist SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn described as an “unedifying” row.The lineup also included Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper, Plaid Cymru’s Rhun ap Iorwerth, Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer and Reform UK’s Nigel Farage.From left, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, leader of Plaid Cymru Rhun ap Iorwerth, Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper, Stephen Flynn of the SNP, co-leader of the Green Party Carla Denyer, deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner and Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt, take part in the BBC Election Debate hosted by BBC news presenter Mishal Husain (Stefan Rousseau/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThey ducked it out for an hour and a half on prime time television on a Friday night. Here we look at some of the key moments from the BBC’s first multi-party debate, which saw seven senior political figures clash ahead of the election. Facing off were Conservative cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner, Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, Plaid Cymru’s Rhun ap Iorwerth, Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer and Reform UK’s Nigel Farage.“Completely wrong”Penny Mordaunt did not hold back as she began the debate, criticising the prime minister’s widely condemned decision to leave the D-Day commemorations early.“No prime minister at all”SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn also weighed in on the Tory leader and his D-Day snub, saying a PM who put his own personal career before public service is “no prime minister at all”.Angela Rayner and Penny Mordaunt More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailKeir’s Starmer’s election campaign has suffered a blow after Labour’s largest union donor Unite refused to endorse the party’s manifesto. The decision by the union was such a shock it even caught some shadow cabinet members by surprise. Party figures had described a crunch meeting on Friday, in which shadow ministers, union representatives, MPs and Labour members gathered to set the final manifesto, as “positive”.But it is thought that the party’s stance on practices like fire-and-rehire meant it could not support the plans. Keir Starmer holding a card bearing Labour’s pledges More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA seven-leader debate on Friday saw fireworks fly on our TV screens yet again, as the UK’s general election campaign continues to hot up.Hosted by Mishal Husain on BBC One, leading figures from the UK’s major political parties were all in attendance.Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt represented the Conservative Party. She was joined by deputy Labour Party leader Angela Rayner.Daisy Cooper, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats and Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, also took part.Stephen Flynn represented the Scottish National Party, Rhun ap Iorwerth appeared for Plaid Cymru and the Green Party was represented by co-leader Carla Denyer.It came after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer went head-to-head on Tuesday.We want to know what you made of the BBC debate. Did it help change your mind about any of the major parties? Who came out on top for you? And who should be holding their head in their hands?Share your thoughts by adding them in the comments — we’ll highlight the most insightful ones as they come in.All you have to do is sign up and register your details — then you can take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen.Make sure you adhere to our community guidelines, which can be found here. For a full guide on how to comment click here.Join the conversation with other Independent readers below. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Conservatives’ election campaign was hit by chaos as two candidates announced they were pulling out less than an hour before nominations closed. It is unclear whether the Tories have been able to select a candidate for every constituency in the UK. At least five people on the candidates list have told The Independent that they refused to contest unwinnable seats.Rishi Sunak (PA) 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 set to be prime minister for a decade, Tory supporters want Nigel Farage to succeed Rishi Sunak as leader and many of them fear their party faces extinction.These are among the shock findings of an exclusive poll for The Independent by Redfield and Wilton.It shows that 45 per cent of all voters believe Labour will win not just this election but the next one too. With a parliamentary term lasting up to five years that could see Sir Keir retaining the Downing Street keys until around 2034.Only 19 per cent of the public do not expect Labour to record two successive victories.The poll makes depressing reading for Mr Sunak – but indicates that the rise of Mr Farage, bidding to win his first Commons seat, also has serious implications for Labour.He is the clear choice of both the public, and crucially Conservative supporters, to be next Tory leader if as expected the party loses on July 4 and Mr Sunak resigns.Asked to choose a successor from a list comprising the six current Tory leadership favourites and the Reform Party leader, Mr Farage wins among both groups.Only Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt runs him close.Among the electorate as a whole, 19 per cent want Mr Farage as next Conservative leader, followed by Ms Mordaunt on 15 per cent. None of James Cleverly, Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Priti Patel and Robert Jenrick polled more than six per cent.Mr Farage is even further ahead with those who voted Conservative in 2019. A total of 22 per cent of this group want him to be next Tory leader, with Ms Mordaunt on 16 per cent and the rest way behind.Nigel Farage has caused a stir by entering the general election campaign (James Manning/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has accused his critics of politicising D-Day after he was forced to make a grovelling apology for leaving the commemorations early to take part in a TV interview.After he was widely criticised for cutting short his visit to France the prime minister conceded he had blundered.“It was a mistake and I apologise,” he said. But he later claimed the events should not be politicised and called for the focus to be on veterans when challenged over his D-Day ceremony snub. Rishi Sunak left 80th anniversary D-day commemorations to record to a TV interview while foreign secretary Lord Cameron remained 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 urged to give £5 million from a Tory donor at the centre of a race row to a veterans’ charity. The Liberal Democrats said it was the “least that our veterans and service personnel deserve” after the prime minister made the decision to leave the D-Day commemoration events early on Thursday. Earlier this week it emerged Rishi Sunak accepted an additional £5m from Tory donor Frank Hester, who has been accused of saying Diane Abbott “should be shot”.The money was a major boost to the Tories’ campaign war chest, after Mr Hester donated £10m to the Conservative Party last year, Electoral Commission figures show.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaking during the UK national commemorative event for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, held at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer, Normandy. He later returned early to the UK. (Jane Barlow/PA) More