UK

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has defended his claim that there will be a hung parliament after the general election, despite Tory MPs and polling experts describing it as “wishful thinking”.The prime minister said the result was not a “foregone conclusion”, and repeated his insistence that the result would be closer than current opinion polls suggest.Those current opinion polls point to a Labour landslide, with the Tories on average 20 points behind.Rishi Sunak defended the claim the general election will lead to a hung parliament More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailJohn Swinney is the new first minister in waiting having been named SNP leader after any potential rivals pulled out of the race.The former deputy first minister was the only person to put himself forward to succeed Humza Yousaf, who is expected to formally step down this week.Mr Swinney will then face a vote at Holyrood, which will likely see him appointed the Scottish Parliament’s nominated candidate to be the country’s seventh first minister.John Swinney made his first speech as new SNP leader in Glasgow on Monday (Jane Barlow/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Liberal Democrats will try to force Rishi Sunak into calling a June general election by tabling a motion of no confidence in the government on Tuesday.Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey will table the motion as soon as parliament returns after a brutal set of local elections for the Conservatives.The motion is unlikely to pass, as it would need the backing of Conservative MPs to bring down Mr Sunak’s government, but Sir Ed said the PM should not be allowed to “desperately cling on to power”.Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey alongside Tory ‘dinosaurs’ in Winchester (Stefan Rousseau/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 conceded the Conservatives may not win the next general election, but made the extraordinary claim there would be a hung parliament. The prime minister is braced for continued fallout after the weekend’s local election results, with Tory rebels warning him to change course after a dire set of local election results. But Mr Sunak claimed the performance shows Britain is on course for a hung parliament, claiming voters would not want to see Sir Keir Starmer “propped up in Downing Street” by the SNP or smaller parties. The most recent YouGov poll puts Labour 26 points ahead of the Tories.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak claimed there would be a hung parliament after the election More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has called in Tory MPs for two mini summits in a desperate bid to calm nerves after last week’s local election drubbing.As furious plotters accused their colleagues of “giving up on beating Labour” and “accepting their fate”, as efforts to topple Mr Sunak stalled, the PM invited backbenchers to attend “local elections presentations” later this month.The summits will be held by Mr Sunak, Tory chairman Richard Holden and Conservative campaign director Isaac Levido.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will try to calm the nerves of Tory MPs after dire local election results More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailTrade union leaders have warned Sir Keir Starmer that Labour cannot take their members’ votes for granted in the upcoming general election if promises of a new package on rights have been betrayed.The warning is an ominous message for Sir Keir despite Labour’s successes in the local elections last week, amid claims the party may struggle to form a majority. Splits have already emerged with some Labour voters either staying at home or backing alternative leftwing candidates over their leader’s support for Israel with the war in Gaza. In an exclusive interview with The Independent, TUC president Matt Wrack, who is also general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), revealed that he and other union leaders have arranged a crunch meeting with the Labour leader.It follows reports that Labour has “watered down” a policy document on workers’ rights, denied strongly by the party.Matt Wrack, new TUC president, is set to hold a crunch meeting with Sir Keir (Clive Gee/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Liberal Democrats made “historic and stunning” gains in the local elections, Sir Ed Davey has said.The Lib Dem leader travelled to Dorset to greet winning councillors, as the party eyed up its chances at Tory-held constituencies ahead of a general election.In the councils which went to the polls on May 2, the Lib Dems won more seats overall than the Conservatives did.Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey alongside Tory ‘dinosaurs’ in Winchester (Stefan Rousseau/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA combination of 18 months of bad weather, Brexit and other international events have left confidence in British farming at an all-time low, the National Farmers Union (NFU) has revealed.NFU President Tom Bradshaw has warned that the collapse in confidence has seen 7,000 agricultural businesses close down since 2019 and is now imperilling food security in Britain.The NFU’s annual Farmer Confidence Survey was taken between November 2023 and January this year, and Mr Bradshaw noted that if it had been taken today the word “crisis” would need to be added.He described a “perfect storm” including volatility caused by the war in Ukraine and the effects of covid. While he did not mention Brexit by name Mr Bradshaw listed a number of post-Brexit changes including to the subsidy regime and new international trade deals.Food security could become a problem in the UK More