UK

From national insurance to migration: Key takeaways from Conservatives’ general election manifestoSign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has insisted he had “absolutely not” lost hope of winning the 4 July general election despite Tory allies warned of the risk of Labour winning a “super-majority”.Defence secretary Grant Shapps claimed the Tories were fighting hard to prevent Labour from securing crashing win bigger than the 1997 landslide. The Tories fear the Blue Wall could be knocked down with chancellor Jeremy Hunt warned he faces a battle to save his Godalming and Ash seat, a key Lib Dem target.It comes as the Conservative party could make a surprising U-turn on its flagship pledge to bring National Service after the defence secretary suggested the scheme would last less than a month. The Tory manifesto confirmed the scheme would be a “year-long full-time placement in the armed forces or cyber defence”. But he today said it would be much shorter.The Green Party has launched its manifesto, which includes a pledge to raise taxes on the “super-rich”, and nationalise water, railways and energy companies, as well as scrapping university tuition fees. Meanwhile, Mr Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer are preparing to face a grilling live interview in front of an audience for Sky News in Grimsby.Show latest update 1718203772Poll: SNP and Labour tied in Scotland Salma Ouaguira12 June 2024 15:491718203224Conservatives mock Labour’s shadow transport minister Salma Ouaguira12 June 2024 15:401718203111Sunak ‘hardened on the battlefield’, Tory minister says A Conservative minister has said that Rishi Sunak has been “hardened on the battlefield” by almost a decade in Westminster. Postal minister Kevin Hollinrake told ITV: “We all kind of entered Parliament in 2015 full of the joys of spring.“And I think we’ve all got a dose of political reality, which I think every politician gets when they enter the fray.“So I think he’s been probably hardened on the battlefield.”Salma Ouaguira12 June 2024 15:381718202207SNP to focus election campaign on Brexit ‘damage’ and austerity The Scottish National Party wants to focus their election campaign on point out at the “damage” caused by Brexit and the “prolongued austerity” under the Conservative government. Scottish first minister John Swinney has promised voters that only his party will “protect Scotland’s values” after “14 years of cuts” from Westminster.Mr Swinney also said his party should have been invited to the Sky News leaders’ special event in Grimsby as the third largest party in the Commons. He said: “We should be represented on that panel, in that discussion, because we’ve got lots to say in this election.”First Minister John Swinney on an election campaign visit to an Asda supermarket More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA Tory MP who previously described Nigel Farage as a “true patriot” has put a picture of the Reform UK leader on her election leaflets.Dame Andrea Jenkyns has said the arch-Brexiteer is a “conservative to the core” and “one of the most influential politicians of our generation”.In fact, Dame Andrew admires Mr Farage so much that she has put a picture of the two fo them smiling together in a prominent position at the top of her re-election leaflet.As well as putting a picture of an opposing party leader on the handout it also contains no clear references to the Tory Party at all.Responding to the furore, she said on X, formerly Twitter: “Lots of excitement over my leaflet today… All conservatives must be prepared to come together to prevent a socialist supermajority and the end of Britain as we know it. #CountryFirst.”The threat of Reform to the Tory Party increased significantly after Mr Farage decided to stand in the Clacton-on-Sea seat last week.At a campaign rally he said that his goal was for the upstart party to effectively take over the Conservative Party and that he would be a “bloody nuisance” in Westminster if he succeeds in becoming an MP at his eighth attempt.The most recent poll indicates that Mr Farage’s party has moved to within one point of the Tories. The YouGov survey published after Mr Sunak launched the Tory Party’s manifesto on Tuesday, found Mr Farage’s party were on 17 per cent.Mr Sunak’s party is on 18 per cent, while Labour retain a 20-point lead, in the poll carried out between 10 and 11 June.The Independent exclusively revealed that Dame Andrea and former Leave.EU communications director Andy Wigmore attempted to make a deal between the Tories and Reform.Sources have suggested that Mr Sunak “was interested” but ultimately convinced not to go ahead by his advisers.Dame Andrea has previously admitted her admiration for Mr Farage and attended his 60th birthday party, along with former Tory Party leader Liz Truss.In a tweet, she said: “A pleasure to be invited to @Nigel_Farage‘s 60th birthday bash — a true patriot, conservative to the core, and, like him or loathe him, one of the most influential politicians of our generation. Cheers!”The Conservative Party has been approached for comment. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailPrime minister Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer will debate each other in a second live TV grilling tonight.It comes after broadcasters revealed their line-up of televised debates ahead of the general election on 4 July.The Conservative Party leader and the Labour Party leader first went head-to-head in a debate broadcast by ITV on 4 June.They will then be questioned on Sky News on 12 June live at 7pm, in front of an audience in the key seat of Grimsby.The two party leaders will face off against one another in a final head-to-head contest to be televised by the BBC on 26 June.Below is a full schedule of what each broadcaster has announced, including the date and time the programme will be aired, what format will be used and who will participate.The final head-to-head debate between Sunak and Starmer will take place on 26 June More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailPolling experts have warned Rishi Sunak he is running out of time to woo voters with the first ballots set to be cast in the election within days. Postal votes will start landing on doorsteps early next week, the Electoral Commission has told The Independent. With one in five now voting by post time is running out for the prime minister to turn around Labour’s 20-point lead in many polls. One polling expert told Mr Sunak it was “now or not at all”. Applications to register to vote have jumped sharply in the past week (Peter Byrne/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak complained the D-Day commemorations ‘ran over’ when he turned up late to the TV interview he skipped them for. The prime minister was condemned for failing to attend some of the events to mark the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy last week, so he could return home for a sitdown with ITV that is finally due to be aired on Wednesday evening.But despite leaving for that interview, Mr Sunak was still late for the pre-recorded chat – and apologised to the presenter before the conversation began.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak apologised to the presenter for turning up late to the interview More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Conservatives appear to have u-turned on Rishi Sunak’s flagship national service policy just a day after he announced it in his general election manifesto.Defence secretary Grant Shapps said the military aspect of the plan will see 18-year-olds take placements in the armed forces for just 25 days per year, despite the manifesto promising a “year-long full-time placement in the armed forces or cyber defence”.Labour said the policy had been “plunged into disarray” and confirmed the eye-catching plan had not been properly thought through.Click here for our live coverage of the general election campaign.Setting out the party’s plans in Silverstone on Tuesday, Mr Sunak promised to “invest in a new form of national service to give our young people the chance to enjoy new experiences, learn new skills and feel a sense of community, belonging and national purpose”.Grant Shapps plunged Rishi Sunak’s flagship policy into chaos More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe UK economy recorded no growth in April in a blow to Rishi Sunak’s hopes of turning around the Tory Party’s faltering election campaign.According to data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday, gross domestic product (GDP) was flat during the month, following growth of 0.4 per cent in March.This follows an estimated 0.6 per cent growth in the first quarter of 2024, which pulled the UK out of a small recession at the end of last year.It also comes just over a week before the next figures on inflation are released and a decision is made by the Bank of England on interest rates.The latest monthly figure will make grim reading for the prime minister who has made economic growth one of the central pillars of his general election campaign.In March he said this year will be “prove to be the year that the economy bounces back” after the downturn in 2023. Responding to the figures, chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “There is more to do, but the economy is turning a corner and inflation is back down to normal.”Prime minister Rishi Sunak has pegged much of his general election campaign on a recent record of economic improvement More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email The British economy failed to grow in April, official figures showed Wednesday, in a blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who has made the return of growth and a generally calmer economic backdrop a central pillar of the Conservative Party’s election campaign. The Office for National Statistics said wet weather dampened consumer spending and construction during the month. The flat monthly reading came after a 0.6% increase during the first quarter of the year, which Sunak has made much of on the campaign trail following a period of muted growth.Though monthly figures are vulnerable to short-term factors, the flat reading is likely to be used by opponents of the Conservatives in the run-up to the election on July 4. While Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt insisted the “economy is turning a corner,” his opposite number in the Labour Party Rachel Reeves said the “economy has stalled.”The latest growth figures come a week before the next round of inflation data and the Bank of England makes its next interest rate decision.Hopes within the Conservative Party that the bank would lower its main interest rate from the 16-year high of 5.25% have diminished after inflation failed to fall as much as hoped in April. Though inflation is down at an annual rate of 2.3%, it remains slightly above the bank’s target and is expected to tick up slightly in coming months. High interest rates — which cool the economy by making it more expensive to borrow — have helped ease inflation, but they’ve also weighed on the British economy.“A June interest rate cut looks improbable, with the Bank of England likely to be a little wary of shifting policy in the middle of a general election campaign,” said Suren Thiru, economics director at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.On Tuesday, Sunak pledged to cut taxes and reduce immigration in the Conservative Party’s manifesto for government if reelected. Labour, which is ahead in opinion polls, is due to publish its manifesto on Thursday. More