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Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailMeet the world’s first completely Artificial Intelligence-generated MP candidate, aiming to revolutionise democracy itself when he stands in Brighton on July 4.The mastermind behind AI Steve, Steve Endacott, who calls himself a capitalist with a socialist conscience, said he will merely be a vessel for his AI alter-ego. He will stand and if he wins, he will physically attend Parliament to vote on policies decided upon by his bot sidekick.The AI will answer constituents’ concerns and questions using a rendition of Steve Endacott’s actual voice and an avatar. It is designed by Mr Endacott’s team of “ten young kids”, as he calls them, at his firm Neural Voice.‘We are serious’, Steve Endacott who voices the AI tells The Independent More

Minister denies Rishi Sunak will quit before general election after D-Day blunderSign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Liberal Democrats have vowed to reverse Brexit as part of a long-term process to restore the UK-EU relationship, and they will start by joining the Single Market if elected. At the manifesto launch event in London, Sir Ed Davey has also promised “to save the NHS” with a £9bn promise to fix the health and care system if they get into power.A day before the Tories unveil their own, Labour has claimed it will be the “most expensive panic attack in history” when it is unveiled on Tuesday. Shadow paymaster general Jonathan Ashworth has said the document will be “littered with unfunded commitments”.Reform UK has also kicked the manifesto week by unveiling the party’s economic policies. Richard Tice promised to raise the threshold of income tax to £20,000 while Nigel Farage said the party is now a key “Labour challenger” on the polls. Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak has been facing questions about rumours that he could be standing down from the campaign trail. But the prime minister has said he will continue fighting despite the D-Day fiasco. Show latest update 1718031251Reform candidate says UK should have ‘taken Hitler up on his offer of neutrality’ instead of fighting NazisSalma Ouaguira10 June 2024 15:541718030659Labour not ruling out borrowing to fund manifesto promisesWith Labour set to unveil their manifesto on Thursday, Jonathan Ashworth has refused to rule out borrowing to pay for the pledges. The shadow paymaster general said: “Let me absolutely clear about our plans. We will always put sound public finances first.“We have seen what happened with the Conservatives when they played fast and loose with the public finances. It means working people across the country are now paying more on their mortgage.“Every single commitment that we put forward on our manifesto will be fully funded and fully costed and you will know where every penny piece of the investment is coming from.” Salma Ouaguira10 June 2024 15:441718029466Labour: Tory manifesto ‘most expensive panic attack in history’Jonathan Ashworth has claimed the Conservative manifesto will be the “most expensive panic attack in history” after is unveiled on tomorrow. The shadow paymaster general added: “Tomorrow you will see a document littered with unfunded commitment after unfunded commitment, a desperate wish list, the most expensive panic attack in history.“From a weak, desperate prime minister who, in the chaotic scattergun of announcements which he has made in his campaign to date, has not even bothered to make his sums add up.”He added: “The Tory sums do not add up. The money is simply not there.”( More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has broken his silence and vowed to carry on “until the last day of this campaign” as he tried to draw a line under last week’s D-Day row. He also expressed the hope that “people can find it in their hearts to forgive me,” as he said he “absolutely didn’t mean to cause anyone any hurt or upset”.Mr Sunak has been accused of going into hiding after he faced an outpouring of criticism for leaving the commemoration early. One cabinet minister was even forced to deny the Tory leader would quit ahead of polling day on July 4. But the Prime Minister said he would not stop “fighting for the future of our country”. And he hit back at Nigel Farage‘s claim that the Tory leader does not understand “our culture”, condemning the remarks as not “good for our politics or indeed our country”.Follow our live coverage of the general election campaignPrime Minister Rishi Sunak has set out Tory plans to recruit 8,000 extra police (Justin Tallis/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLabour’s plan to levy VAT on private school fees will not lead to larger class sizes in the state sector, Sir Keir Starmer has insisted.The Labour leader slapped down his shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry, who on Sunday said ending the charitable status of private schools could lead to bigger classes.Asked if Ms Thornberry was wrong, Sir Keir said: “Yes.” He added: “We’ve had the analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) on this, which says that there’ll be a negligible impact. So we’re very confident about that.””Bridget has got it right and Emily didn’t get it quite right,” Sir Keir told LBC. “Bridget is obviously the shadow secretary of state on education, and Emily just got the lines a bit wrong there.”Keir Starmer said Emily Thornberry had ‘got the lines a bit wrong’ when she said class sizes could go up under Labour plans More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA candidate for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party has claimed the country would have been “far better” off if it had “taken Hitler up on his offer of neutrality” instead of fighting the Nazis. Ian Gribbin, who is standing in Bexhill and Battle, also wrote online that women were the “sponging gender” and should be “deprived of health care”.He also described Winston Churchill as “abysmal” and praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the BBC.A Reform spokesman said the comments were not “endorsements” but “written with an eye to inconvenient perspectives and truths”. Leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage (James Manning/PA) More

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UKSign up to our Brexit email for the latest insightIt’s been more than four years since the UK officially left the European Union, but that doesn’t mean the conversation about Brexit and its impact is over.On Monday, Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, pledged to push for Britain to rejoin the European single market and eventually the EU. Unveiling his general election manifesto, Sir Ed said repairing the UK’s damaged relationship with Europe will lower shop prices and create more job opportunities for young people across Europe.He emphasised that the Liberal Democrats are a “pro-European party” and that Britain “needs to be back at the heart of Europe.” In his speech, he also criticised the Conservatives for damaging the UK’s relationship with its closest neighbours.Now we want to know what you think. Do you think the UK should rejoin the European single market? Should Brexit, as Sir Ed is suggesting, be reversed? And does the Lib Dem’s freshly unveiled manifesto give you food for thought as polling day looms?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 emailSir Ed Davey has promised to push for Britain to rejoin the European single market and eventually the EU.The Liberal Democrat leader said fixing the UK’s broken relationship with Europe will drive down prices in shops and widen opportunities for young people to work throughout the bloc.Launching his general election manifesto, Sir Ed said Britain “needs to be back at the heart of Europe” and stressed the Lib Dems “are a pro-European party”.But he accused the Conservatives of having “poisoned Britain’s relationship with our nearest neighbours” and “undermined trust in the UK”.“We are being really clear that it is not going to be easy,” the seasoned Lib Dem said.Follow our live coverage of the general election campaign hereLiberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey stressed his party has ‘put health and care at the heart’ of its manifesto, but the document also includes the aim to ‘fix the UK’s broken relationship with Europe’ More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailDouglas Ross is to step down as Scottish Conservative leader after the general election and will also quit Holyrood if he is elected as an MP.The Scottish Tory made the announcement in the wake of the row over his decision to stand in the Aberdeen North and Moray East constituency.Former UK Government minister David Duguid had wanted to fight the seat, but the Scottish Conservative Party management board ruled ill health meant he should not stand, with Mr Ross confirming last week that he would put himself forward for the constituency.Click here for our live coverage of the general election campaign.It comes after Mr Ross, who is also an MSP, had previously vowed he would step down from Westminster to focus on Holyrood and his role as party leader.Douglas Ross has announced he is quitting as Scottish Tory leaderIn a statement released on Monday, Mr Ross said: “I am committed to fighting and winning the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency.“Should I be given the honour to represent the people and communities of this new seat, they should know being their MP would receive my complete focus and attention.“I will therefore stand down as leader following the election on July 4, once a successor is elected.“Should I win the seat, I will also stand down as an MSP to make way for another Scottish Conservative representative in Holyrood.”Mr Ross sparked fury when he announced he intended to run for Westminster after previously planning to concentrate on the Scottish parliament.His 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.Mr Ross had said he intended to step back from Westminster politics to focus on his duties at Holyrood. More