The BBC General Election debate between seven senior political party figures was watched by more than three million viewers, the broadcaster said.
An average audience of 3.2 million tuned in across BBC One and the BBC News Channel on Friday evening to watch the politicians clash over D-Day and support for war veterans, immigration and the state of the NHS, according to overnight ratings.
The line-up for the first multi-party debate in this year’s campaign featured Penny Mordaunt, the Conservative Leader of the House of Commons, 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.
The debate had a peak in viewers towards the end of the broadcast, as figures rose to between 3.3 million and 3.4 million, the BBC said.
That is an increase from their seven-way debate in the run-up to the 2019 General Election, when an average audience of 2.5 million watched Rishi Sunak, then the Conservatives’ chief secretary to the Treasury, Labour’s Rebecca Long Bailey, Liberal Democrat Jo Swinson, the SNP’s Nicola Sturgeon, Adam Price of Plaid Cymru, the Green Party’s Caroline Lucas and Richard Tice of the Brexit Party go head-to-head.
Anthony Mack, Reform’s original candidate in Clacton, Essex, will stand against Nigel Farage as an independent, ITV News is reporting.
V interesting, Anthony Mack, Reform's original candidate in Clacton, will stand against Nigel Farage as an independent
— Shehab Khan ITV (@ShehabKhan) June 8, 2024
I was at the ‘emergency press conference’ when Farage was asked if he had spoken to Mack before taking his spot, he simply said Mack always knew it could happen
Rachel Reeves said Labour will only commit to tax cuts once it can say “where the money’s going to come from”.
“I want taxes on working people to be as low as possible,” the shadow chancellor told the BBC while out campaigning in south-east England.
“Under the Conservatives the tax burden has reached its highest level in 70 years. That’s why I’ve committed not to increase the rates of income tax, national insurance or VAT.”
Asked whether, if Labour did maintain the ongoing freeze on tax thresholds, it would increase the burden on working families, she said: “The Conservatives have of course locked in those changes where the tax thresholds are frozen for the next few years.
“I would like to reduce taxes on working people but you have to be able to say where the money is going to come from if you make a pledge and a claim like that.
“The public finances are in a real mess after 14 years of Conservative government.
“I will never play fast and loose with the public finances… I will never make a pledge without saying where the money’s going to come from.”
Summary of the day …
The prime minister visited the north-east and Yorkshire on Saturday as he hit the campaign trail again, amid continuing criticism of his early return from D-day commemorations in Normandy on Thursday. On Friday night’s TV debate, party representatives – including Penny Mordaunt, the House of Commons leader – rounded on Sunak for leaving the D-day event early.
Transport secretary Mark Harper said he agreed with Rishi Sunak that it was a mistake to leave D-day events early. Asked whether he agreed with fellow Cabinet minister Mordaunt’s assessment that it was “completely wrong”, Harper said: “People make mistakes. The prime minister has made a mistake. He’s apologised for it. And he’s apologised to those that would have been particularly hurt by it.”
An opportunity for the media to ask questions of Rishi Sunak on Saturday was cancelled. The BBC’s Tom Symonds who was reporting from the Conservative election bus said journalists had been told it was “due to time pressure.” Sunak visited a walled garden at Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland, and a village fete in Great Ayton, North Yorkshire, where he was asked by a consultant about the NHS backlog as he arrived.
Keir Starmer said it was his “duty” to thank veterans at the international D-day event which the prime minister skipped, but did not answer a question on whether Rishi Sunak’s apology was enough. He spoke as he made a campaign visit to 3 Locks Brewing Company, a canal-side craft brewery in Camden on Saturday.
Starmer said there “won’t be any surprises on tax” when asked if he would be cutting taxes as part of Labour’s manifesto. During a visit to north London on Saturday, the Labour leader said: “All of our plans are fully costed, fully funded, none of them involving tax rises over and above those that we have already set out.”
Starmer also said he wants to level the playing filed for small businesses as he pledged to overhaul the business rates system. The Labour party leader was joined by Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden in Camden, where she voiced her support for the party’s Great British Energy plans. Starmer said Labour’s GB Energy plan is “very popular” with small businesses.
The Tories have sought to move on from the D-day row with new policy offers, including a pledge to axe stamp duty for first-time buyers on homes up to £425,000. They also set out their “Backing Drivers Bill” which would ban Wales-style blanket 20mph limits and reversing the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) expansion from inner into outer London.
Ed Davey said Rishi Sunak’s snub of a major international D-day event was “a letdown for our whole country”. On a campaign visit to Victoria Park in Newbury, Berkshire, the Liberal Democrats leader told broadcasters: “I’ve felt pretty cross about this. I’ve talked to veterans and they feel quite angry. So, I think they need to do more.” He urged the Conservatives to give some of the cash donated to the party by Frank Hester, a businessman who was embroiled in a racism row, to charity.
Davey denied that the Liberal Democrats are the party of nimbys for focusing on national parks amid a housing crisis and low economic growth. The Lib Dems vowed to plough £50m a year into maintaining three new national parks in their latest policy offer. Instead, Davey accused the Conservatives of being the party of nimbys, “but they’re also the party of developers”. He added: “They have a developer-led approach. We have a community-led approach.”
Scottish first minister John Swinney said Rishi Sunak had “completely destroyed” his credibility as prime minister by leaving D-day commemorations early. Speaking to journalists on the campaign trail in Livingston, West Lothian, he said: “The prime minister and especially the Conservative election campaign is now utterly in tatters.”
Swinney said former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has a “huge” contribution to make in the SNP’s general election campaign. Swinney would not be drawn on why his former boss had not been seen alongside him on the campaign trail so far, as he visited the Reconnect Howden Park Centre, where he met young performers on Saturday.
The claim made by the prime minister that Labour would raise taxes by £2,000 is “misleading”, the shadow business secretary said. Jonathan Reynolds said Labour, if it wins the election, would inherit some tax rises included in the government’s existing spending plans, but insisted there would be no additional taxes on households. “It is a lie,” he told BBC Breakfast on Saturday.
Tax rises “hiding in plain sight” that will cost UK households an average of £800 a year are already on the way whoever wins the general election, a leading thinktank has warned. While the Conservatives and Labour argue about what levies the other would introduce in power, the Resolution Foundation has warned that already announced measures will increase the total tax take by about £23bn a year by 2028-29.
A snap viewer poll taken after last night’s seven-party TV debate placed Nigel Farage as the winner. The poll, conducted by researchers More In Common, asked more than 1,000 viewers who won the debate, with 25% of those surveyed opting for Farage. Among those who voted Conservative in 2019, 47% placed the Reform leader at the top of the pile.
The BBC general election debate between seven senior political party figures was watched by more than 3 million viewers, the broadcaster has said.
The Home Office is facing a new Windrush-style scandal after a landmark high court ruling found that the home secretary acted unlawfully by failing to provide documents to thousands of migrants proving they are here legally.
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The Home Office is facing a new Windrush-style scandal after a landmark high court ruling found that the home secretary acted unlawfully by failing to provide documents to thousands of migrants proving they are here legally.
The charity Ramfel brought the legal challenge along with Cecilia Adjei, a healthcare worker and mother of two boys aged 17 and 11, who came to Britain from Ghana in 2000.
The charity said hundreds of thousands of migrants were potentially affected by the Home Office’s failure to provide confirmation documents showing that people who apply to extend their visas are here legally while the applications are being processed. This is known as “3C leave”, an automatic form of immigration status while they wait for the Home Office to process their application.
Some have their jobs put at risk while others face difficulties accessing higher education, healthcare and the right to rent a home because they cannot prove they are here legally.
The case echoes the problems faced by the Windrush generation, who were unable to prove they were here legally and so struggled to work, rent and access benefits.
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Viewer poll of Friday's seven-party debate places Nigel Farage top
A snap viewer poll taken after last night’s seven-party TV debate placed Nigel Farage as the winner, reports the Press Association (PA).
The poll, conducted by researchers More In Common, asked more than 1,000 viewers who won the debate, with 25% of those surveyed opting for Farage. Among those who voted Conservative in 2019, 47% placed the Reform leader at the top of the pile.
Labour deputy leader, Angela Rayner, was favoured by 19% of the respondents while 14% said there was no winner. Just 7% of those surveyed said Penny Mordaunt was the winner of the debate.
The ITV debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer was watched by an average of 5 million viewers, including those who watched on streaming service ITVX, the broadcaster said.
The head-to-head, moderated by Julie Etchingham, had a peak of 5.5 million across devices, according to overnight ratings.
This marked a sharp drop in ratings since the 2019 general election debate on ITV between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn, which was the only occasion the two leaders went head-to-head on TV during the campaign, and had an average audience of 6.7 million based on overnight ratings.
According to the PA, the record for the highest-ever TV ratings for an election debate in the UK was set in 2010, by the first leaders’ debate between Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg, which was broadcast by ITV and had an average overnight audience of 9.4 million.
Rishi Sunak received a largely warm welcome from punters at a village fete in Great Ayton, North Yorkshire, on Saturday afternoon reports the Press Association (PA).
At the fete, taking place in a village in his Richmond constituency, the prime minister met stall holders, chatted with members of the public and played a game of splat-the-rat.
The PA reports that Sunak was welcomed by applause from some who appeared to be local Conservative members, but a consultant who identified herself as only Chloe to the news agency asked the prime minister about the NHS backlog as he arrived.
The doctor, who told the PA that she had recently rejoined Labour ahead of the election, said she “wanted to know what his plan is for waiting lists” and said the government had left the NHS “completely unprepared” for the pandemic.
Tom Wilson, Labour’s candidate for the reorganised Richmond and Northallerton constituency that Sunak is seeking to hold, was also at the village event and at one point could be seen following the prime minister’s party at a distance, according to the PA’s reporting.
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Finally, here is that promised picture of Ed Davey out on the general election campaign trail today playing adventure golf while a Tyrannosaurus rex looks on.
Wokingham Family Golf in Berkshire advertise the spot as “a brand new 18-hole course taking golfers back to the drama and excitement of the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous ages”.
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The BBC general election debate between seven senior political party figures was watched by more than 3 million viewers, the broadcaster has said.
An average audience of 3.2 million tuned in across BBC One and the BBC news channel on Friday evening to watch the politicians clash, according to overnight ratings.
The lineup for the first multiparty debate in this year’s campaign featured Penny Mordaunt, the Conservative leader of the House of Commons, 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.
This might be the first TikTok general election, but it probably won’t be the first election decided by it for one simple reason: the video app’s British users are already likely to vote Labour.
“The problem is that almost everyone on TikTok is already on our side,” said one Labour campaign source. “We need to reach swing voters.”
TikTok’s relatively youthful user base and Labour’s enormous poll lead among younger voters has given the app a strange role in this election. There’s no doubt that tens of millions of Britons are consuming election content on the platform. It is an excellent place for memes to spread, embarrassing videos to go viral, and passionate political opinions to find an audience. And all the parties feel they have to engage with it.
Yet it is also seen within Labour as an unreliable way of carrying Keir Starmer’s core messages on economic or education policy to “Whitby Women” and the other precise groups of undecided voters who will decide dozens of marginal constituencies over the UK.
Even being on TikTok is a strong indicator that someone is already inclined to vote Labour, according to research by Deltapoll. They found TikTok users are 31% more likely to vote for Keir Starmer’s party than people of the same age and background who do not use the video app.
“The conclusion you can take from that is that you’re more likely to be a Labour voter if you use TikTok,” said Mike Joslin, a veteran digital campaigner who commissioned the research for his artificial intelligence start-up Bombe. “Other channels offer you more control over reaching undecided voters.”
You can read Jim Waterson’s full piece here:
On a sunny afternoon in the picturesque Hertfordshire town of Berkhamsted, recent graduate Sadie Bond is making an unusual apology to the local Lib Dem candidate, Victoria Collins. Bond says she is going to vote for Collins next month, but feels compelled to disclose her motivation. “It’s tactical, I’m afraid,” she says. “I’ve only ever really known a Tory government and I’m very much fed up with it. Everything feels a bit hopeless. I want Labour to come into power, but I know that isn’t going to happen in this constituency, so I’m voting Lib Dem.”
Far from being offended, the confession is music to the ears of Collins, who has been working to convince voters that she and the Lib Dems are the best vehicle for anyone simply wanting to stop the Tories here. While Harpenden and Berkhamsted is a new seat, it would be a solid brick in the Conservative blue wall in more normal political times. What makes the Lib Dem task here more intriguing is that this seat is sandwiched between two Labour targets – Hemel Hemstead and Welwyn and Hatfield. In the latter, Keir Starmer’s party hopes to fell cabinet minister Grant Shapps.
As a result, this corner of the county has become a testing ground for a tactical voting drive that could help turn a bad result for the Tories into an outright disaster. To pull it off, Lib Dems want voters in Wheathampstead to be clued up enough to back them, while anyone wanting to register an anti-Conservative vote a short amble away in Lemsford will have to know Labour is the best bet.
Alarmingly for Conservative HQ, many polling experts believe the conditions are ripe for a repeat of 1997, when tactical voting benefited Labour and the Lib Dems and cost the Tories dozens of seats, most notably the toppling of Michael Portillo in Enfield Southgate. This time, Shapps is among the big beasts who could suffer their own polling night infamy.
Tactical efforts came to little at the last election. Hopes among pro-Remain campaigners of an anti-Brexit tactical vote were dashed as Boris Johnson won an 80-strong majority. But conditions have changed. Peter Kellner, the veteran pollster, wrote in the Observer before the 1997 election that while he detected little “positive enthusiasm” for Labour, an electorate with “a burning desire to end 18 years of Tory rule” made for receptive tactical voting conditions. He believes similar ingredients are present today.
You can read Michael Savage’s full news feature for the Observer here:
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After trying his hand at tennis in Newbury, Berkshire, Ed Davey has arrived at an adventure golf course in Wokingham.
Davey is using the weekend to speak to voters in and around London and the home counties.
According to the Press Association, the Liberal Democrat leader was two over par on the first hole, flanked by a triceratops and a Tyrannosaurus rex.
Here is a photograph of Davey playing tennis earlier. Sadly, there are no images of him playing dinosaur-themed adventure golf on the newswires yet, but when they do arrive I will let you know.
Sturgeon has a 'huge' contribution to make in SNP election campaign, says Swinney
John Swinney has said former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has a “huge” contribution to make in the SNP’s general election campaign, report the Press Association (PA).
Sturgeon has kept a relatively low profile amid Police Scotland’s Operation Branchform investigation, which saw her arrested and later released without charge as officers probe the spending of £600,000 of SNP funds.
Her husband and former party chief executive Peter Murrell was charged with embezzlement as part of the probe. Former party treasurer and current MSP Colin Beattie was also arrested and released pending further investigation.
Charges have not been brought against Sturgeon or Beattie, and Police Scotland say the investigation “remains ongoing”.
In May, Sturgeon was quizzed by journalists on why she had not yet joined her former deputy – now first minister – to campaign for the party as part of the election.
Sturgeon replied: “I will be campaigning in the election from time to time, yes.” When pressed on whether she will campaign alongside the first minister, she added: “John will have his own programme and I will campaign in ways that I think are helpful to candidates.”
Swinney would not be drawn on why his former boss had not been seen alongside him on the campaign trail so far, reports the PA
Speaking as he visited the Reconnect Howden Park Centre, where he met young performers, Swinney told the PA news agency:
I welcome very much Nicola’s contribution to our election campaign. She is supporting a range of different candidates around the country and that’s good.
I work collaboratively and closely with Nicola, and welcome her participation in the campaign.
I think Nicola has got a huge amount to contribute to the SNP and the cause of Scottish independence.”
Planned opportunity for media to question Sunak 'cancelled'
The prime minister visited a walled garden at Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland, on Saturday’s campaign trail.
According to the Press Association (PA), an opportunity for the media to ask questions of Rishi Sunak did not take place as was originally planned, likely following the fallout on Friday of his early return from D-day commemorations in Normandy.
Earlier, the BBC’s Tom Symonds who is reporting from the Conservative election bus, said he’d been told that Sunak would not be talking to “the national media, and there will be no interviews”.
Symonds wrote: “A possible ‘huddle’ – when the PM takes a few questions from reporters off camera – has been cancelled. We’ve been told this is due to time pressure.”
At the garden, Sunak spoke with volunteers Margaret Lambert and Hilary Bellwood, who encouraged him to apply for an allotment garden, reports the PA.
Sunak also watered plants with Jane MacBean, Conservative candidate for Bishop Auckland.
The PA reports that members of the public could be seen gathered at a hillside above the garden to try to catch a glimpse of the prime minister within.
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Asked if he would be cutting taxes as part of Labour’s manifesto, Starmer said there “won’t be any surprises on tax”.
During a visit to Camden, north London, on Saturday, the Labour leader said: “All of our plans are fully costed, fully funded, none of them involving tax rises over and above those that we have already set out.”
Keir Starmer has said he wants to level the playing filed for small businesses as he pledged to overhaul the business rates system.
The Labour leader said:
We want to replace them with a system that works better, because at the moment there’s not a level playing field between businesses that are online and those that are sort of bricks and mortar.
It’s been a problem for a long time, the government hasn’t fixed it and small businesses have all gone through a really hard time in recent years.
So, that’s our plan, we want small businesses to thrive because they are the backbone of our economy and they need that stability in our economy, and they need to know that their energy bills are actually going to be lower and stable.”
Starmer was joined by Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden in Camden, where she voiced her support for the party’s Great British Energy plans.
She told PA news agency:
I think GB Energy is absolutely brilliant, I think it does everything that I care about.
Businesses don’t like being out of control of costs and energy is one of those costs that simply fluctuates beyond your control.”
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Starmer says Labour's GB Energy plan is 'very popular' with small businesses
Labour’s GB Energy plan is “very popular” with small businesses, Keir Starmer has claimed.
Great British Energy, with £8bn of investment, forms the centrepiece of Labour’s promise to decarbonise the electricity supply by 2030. This would stop well short of any form of renationalisation: GB Energy would be a state-owned investment vehicle and company working alongside and often in partnership with the existing private sector suppliers.
Speaking during his visit to the 3 Locks Brewery in Camden, the Labour leader said:
Everybody must remember for a small business you put your money in, you put yourself in, you put your whole self in, and they take risks.
They’ve had a really hard time with this government in recent years, so our plan is to support small businesses and give them that chance that they need.
That does involve replacing rates, because business rates put a real drag on businesses. It also involves stabilising the economy, of course, and Great British Energy, because what’s come up here, comes up with all small businesses, energy is too expensive.
What you can’t have if you run a small business is sort of costs that you can’t control, so Great British Energy, a publicly owned company for renewables, is very, very popular with small businesses.”
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Keir Starmer has said it was his “duty” to thank veterans at the international D-day event which the prime minister skipped.
The Press Association (PA) reports that Starmer did not answer a question on whether Rishi Sunak’s apology was enough.
On a campaign visit to 3 Locks Brewing Company, a canal-side craft brewery in Camden, the Labour leader told broadcasters:
I thought it was very important to be there myself as leader of the Labour party.
I took a little bit of time on Thursday just to contemplate what it must have been like for those young men to run up the beach at 17, 18, 19 years old, into gunfire.
And of course, this was allied troops. This was different countries all working together, that international effort, and to consider that they didn’t share a uniform, they didn’t share flags, they didn’t share a language, but what they did share was a determination to carry out the task that was asked of them, which led to the liberation of Europe.
I found that very, very moving. I thought it was my duty to thank the veterans who were there on their own behalf, but also on behalf of those that didn’t return.”
Keir Starmer has met young people who are voting for the first time this year.
The Labour leader pulled the first pint of the day at 10.55am at 3 Locks Brewery in Camden.
Scrapping the Rwanda scheme, helping young adults through the cost-of-living crisis and bettering education were key priorities for the students he spoke to, the Press Association (PA) reports.
According to the news agency, Starmer was heard saying “if all else fails”, he will be back at the brewery on 5 July.
Asked if Sunak should consider his position, Swinney said: “The prime minister has been totally and utterly damaged, and rendered useless by the actions he took in Normandy.”
According to the Press Association, Swinney said that the Tory party’s campaign was “over”, adding: “It’s finished for the Conservatives and it’s finished for Rishi Sunak.”
Scottish first minister says Sunak has “completely destroyed” credibility as PM over D-day absence
Scottish first minister John Swinney said Rishi Sunak had “completely destroyed” his credibility as prime minister by leaving D-day commemorations early.
Speaking to journalists on the campaign trail in Livingston, West Lothian, the Press Association (PA) reports Swinney as saying:
I think Rishi Sunak’s credibility is completely destroyed by his departure from D-day early and the insult he delivered to the veterans who had travelled to Normandy for that solemn occasion.
It also, frankly, was a desertion of the international responsibilities of the prime minister.
The prime minister and especially the Conservative election campaign is now utterly in tatters.”
The prime minister is not the first party leader to make bad decisions during the heat of a general election campaign, writes Tom Ambrose.
In fact, Rishi Sunak’s early departure is just one of a long list of political gaffes made during a general election campaign, says Ambrose, who has helpfully put together a list of some of the most memorable election gaffes.
You can read it here:
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Ed Davey has denied that the Liberal Democrats are the party of nimbys for focusing on national parks amid a housing crisis and low economic growth.
The Lib Dems vowed to plough £50m a year into maintaining three new national parks in their latest policy offer.
He told the PA news agency:
No, far from it. You’ll see when we publish our manifesto we’ve got ambitious plans on housing as well, but the right houses in the right places.
But people don’t just want houses, they want to know that there’s the environment there to enjoy. And investing in the environment is right to deal with the nature crisis.”
Davey accused the Conservatives of being the party of nimbys, “but they’re also the party of developers”. He added: “They have a developer-led approach. We have a community-led approach.”
People are “flabbergasted” by Rishi Sunak’s decision to skip a major international D-day event, the Liberal Democrats leader has said.
Asked whether he was buoyed by the fiasco potentially boosting his party’s electoral prospects, Ed Davey told the PA news agency during a visit to Newbury:
No, I share the concerns of veterans and people across the country who feel really let down and are upset, and indeed some very angry.
One of the best privileges of being a prime minister is to represent our country at these important events that mean so much to people.
D-day was one of the most important dates in our country’s history. It was the 80th anniversary. Some of those veterans will never, ever see a major commemoration again.
I think people are just flabbergasted by what the prime minister did.”
Ed Davey asked “what about the potholes?” as he criticised the Conservatives’ plan to support drivers.
The Liberal Democrats leader was asked about the Tory pledge to reverse the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) expansion from inner into outer London.
On a campaign visit to Newbury, Berkshire, he told broadcasters:
The Conservatives have had a year to do this since the Labour mayor brought it in, they’ve not done it. It’s funny that they come up with these policies at election time.
What’s really angered a lot of people I’ve spoken to, people in the home counties like Surrey and Sussex and Hertfordshire and Kent, who drive into London, who are paying for Ulez, they didn’t get any help for a car scrappage scheme.
It was the Liberal Democrats championing their cause in parliament, asking the Conservatives – they’d given help elsewhere to a car scrappage scheme. They didn’t in London.
So, I’m afraid the Tories should look themselves in the mirror. And they claim to be the party of motorists – what about the potholes? What about all the roadwork delays?
I can’t really take the Tories seriously given their record on potholes and roadworks.”
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Ed Davey says Sunak's D-day absence was 'a letdown for our whole country'
Ed Davey has said Rishi Sunak’s snub of a major international D-day event was “a letdown for our whole country”.
On a campaign visit to Victoria Park in Newbury, Berkshire, the Liberal Democrats leader told broadcasters: “I’ve felt pretty cross about this. I’ve talked to veterans and they feel quite angry. So, I think they need to do more.”
He urged the Conservatives to give some of the cash donated to the party by Frank Hester, a businessman who was embroiled in a racism row, to charity.
Davey said:
I think the Conservative party should give £5m of that donation to a veterans charity. I think if they did that, then people might be able to draw the line.
But it’s such a letdown for our whole country and our history, particularly for our brave veterans.”
There was a second general election TV debate – but the prime minister’s decision to leave D-day commemorations early dominates Saturday’s front pages.
The Guardian leads with “Furious Tories turn on Sunak over D-day snub”, reporting that the prime minister has “provoked fury” from the Conservative grassroots after he was forced to apologise for skipping a key part of the D-day commemorations in northern France.
The Telegraph’s focus is elsewhere as it flags a Conservative stamp duty manifesto promise with “Sunak to axe stamp duty for first-time buyers”.
The Times is one of the few papers that does reference the second election debate – but it connects it to the D-day incident with “Mordaunt hits out at ‘completely wrong’ PM”.
THE TIMES: Mordaunt hits out at ‘completely wrong’ PM #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/G8JC13TJck
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) June 7, 2024
The Express instead focuses on the prime ministers’ apology with the headline “Truly Sorry!” as it covers what it describes as a “contrite” Rishi Sunak and his “unreserved” apology.
The Mirror is not so gracious – declaring “Sunak’s D-Day shame” with “It’s over” splashed on its front page.
The i weekend echoes other coverage of Conservative fears over the impact this will have on the election with the headline “Tories in despair as Sunak D-day gaffe ‘destroys’ election hopes”, quoting party insiders and a senior figure.
Scotland’s Daily Record is scathing with “War Zero” as its headline. On its front page it quotes first minister John Swinney describing Sunak’s D-day departure as “a breathtakingly terrible decision”.
The FT Weekend has “Sunak accused of handing ‘gift’ to Reform by skipping D-Day event.
Just published: front page of the Financial Times, UK edition, Saturday 8 June https://t.co/YAnDKhqLBP pic.twitter.com/tifALaXvgJ
— Financial Times (@FT) June 7, 2024
And in the Daily Star, “Stupid Boy” is the headline with a mock-up of Sunak in a scene from Dad’s Army.
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Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer, Ed Davey and Adrian Ramsey will all be taking part in the Big Help Out today.
The mass volunteering campaign organised by the Together Initiative, a coalition of UK businesses and organisations, runs from 7-9 June and is expected to see millions take part in various events over the weekend.
According to the Big Help Out, Sunak will help restore a community garden with a charity in Yorkshire this morning, while Starmer plans to join in with some community gardening in London this afternoon
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey take part in animal therapy at a care home and Green co-leader Adrian Ramsay will join Mencap in Norwich this afternoon, helping out in their local shop with other volunteers.
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Sunak promises to cut stamp duty up to £425k for first-time buyers
Stamp duty on homes up to £425,000 will be scrapped for first-time buyers, Rishi Sunak is expected to pledge in the Conservatives’ election manifesto.
Stamp duty land tax currently applies to sales over £250,000 and the change would affect 200,000 households annually. The move to ditch the tax altogether, as reported in the Telegraph, has been committed to in the Tory manifesto being launched next week.
The threshold figure for stamp duty is currently scheduled to fall to £125,000 from March 2025, ending a “temporary” relief period, meaning the levy will apply to cheaper – and likely a greater number of – purchases.
The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has said the Conservatives will not increase capital gains tax, stamp duty or the number of council tax bands, or “undertake an expensive council tax revaluation”.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) associate director, David Phillips, had previously called for the abolition of stamp duty, saying: “It is one of the most economically damaging taxes levied by the government, significantly increasing the cost of moving and gumming up both the housing and labour market.”
It is the latest policy to be trailed before the Tories and Labour reveal the full extent of their manifesto commitments for the general election next week.
The Tories have sought to move on from the D-day row with new policy offers, including a pledge to axe stamp duty for first-time buyers on homes up to £425,000, reports the Press Association (PA).
They also set out their “Backing Drivers Bill” which would ban Wales-style blanket 20mph limits and reversing the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) expansion from inner into outer London (see 9.30am BST).
Rishi Sunak will promote the policies as he campaigns on home turf this Saturday, while Keir Starmer is expected to set out Labour’s plans for small businesses, including an overhaul of the business rates system to help high street shops compete with online giants.
The Liberal Democrats would plough £50m a year into maintaining three new national parks, according to their weekend policy launch.
If you’re waking up this morning and missed last night’s seven-party debate, here is a quick run down of the Guardian’s coverage of it:
Peter Walker wrote on how Labour and the Tories renewed clashes in an ill-tempered second election debate:
Jack Seale gave the election debate two out of five stars in his review, which he described as a “seven-way brawl”:
The Guardian’s political correspondent, Eleni Courea, drew out the key takeaways from Friday night’s debate. You can see what those are here:
John Crace gave us his honest opinion here:
Andrew Sparrow did a play-by-play, including snap verdicts, of the BBC election debate. If you want to revisit yesterday’s politics liveblog, you can find it here:
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Lib Dems to promise £1.5bn reform of carer’s allowance including debt amnesty
The Liberal Democrats will commit to a £1.5bn overhaul of carer’s allowance, including a £20-a-week boost for more than 1 million people who devote their lives to looking after frail, ill and disabled loved ones, in their general election manifesto.
An ongoing Guardian investigation has revealed that tens of thousands of unpaid carers have been forced by the government to pay back huge sums – and in some cases have faced criminal prosecution – for minor and accidental breaches of carer’s allowance earnings rules.
Proposed reforms to be unveiled on Monday by the Lib Dem leader, Ed Davey, will include a write-off of £250m of carer’s allowance overpayment debts run up by more than 100,000 carers, and measures to help carers earn more through part-time paid work.
Davey, who is a carer himself, said the proposals were designed to give family carers a fair deal and put a stop to what he called the “shameful hounding” of unpaid carers by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The Guardian’s revelations about the scale and human impact of avoidable carer’s allowance overpayments have caused shock and outrage, while the brutal treatment of vulnerable claimants has led to comparisons with the Post Office scandal.
Campaigners, MPs and academics have called for major changes to carer’s allowance, which is seen by critics as outdated, poorly designed and out of step with the needs of unpaid carers, the modern labour market and the demands of an ageing society.
You can read Patrick Butler’s full piece here:
Away from the election campaign, the transport secretary has said that the reintroduction of restrictions on carrying liquids over 100ml at six regional airports in the UK is a “temporary measure”.
The change will come into effect from midnight on Sunday and will affect passengers travelling from London City, Aberdeen, Newcastle, Leeds/Bradford, Southend and Teesside airports.
All of the airports have next generation security checkpoints (NGSC) in operation, which create a 3D image of what is inside passengers’ bags and had allowed them to scrap the rule.
Mark Harper said airline passengers should “check with their airport what the rules are” on carrying liquids over 100ml amid some confusion over the restrictions.
He told BBC Breakfast on Saturday:
The announcement we’ve made, which comes into force from midnight tonight, actually only affects six regional airports and about 6% of those travelling.
For most passengers, actually, the rules haven’t changed at all yet and won’t therefore change tonight. People should just check with their airport what the rules are or the processes are at a particular airport.
We’ve reintroduced that rule while updates and changes are made to the scanning equipment at airports to make sure we can continue delivering our world-leading levels of aviation security.
It’s a temporary measure and we’ll set out when that can be reversed in due course.”
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The business secretary, Kemi Badenoch, is being pressed to question the Royal Mail bidder Daniel Křetínský on his business links, after the Guardian raised questions about a series of controversial global property deals connected to the Czech billionaire’s longtime business partners.
Badenoch is scheduled to meet the tycoon next week to discuss his £3.57bn bid for the 500-year-old institution, which will be subjected to a review under the National Security and Investment Act.
The government has not said it has any fundamental objection to the takeover, which is being led by Křetínský – a billionaire so enigmatic that he has been called the Czech Sphinx.
The takeover promises to be a huge headache for the next government. The board of Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distribution Services (IDS), last month backed Křetínský’s takeover, which will be put to shareholders in September.
Dave Ward, the general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, said: “The government must give this takeover the highest level of scrutiny possible. The failed privatisation of Royal Mail and the deliberate and gross mismanagement of the company by its own board have created the circumstances for this takeover bid. It simply cannot be right that the only examination of this bid comes from that board and from individuals who would profit financially in any takeover.”
The Labour party did not respond to invitations for it to comment.
You can read Simon Goodley’s full report on this story here:
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Transport secretary Mark Harper said he disagrees that the claim made by the prime minister that Labour would raise taxes by £2,000 is “misleading”.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Saturday, Harper was told that the programme director at the Institute for Government, Nick Davies, had said that using his team’s research to justify the figure is “misleading”. Harper replied: “I don’t agree.”
It also follows a comment made by the shadow business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, on BBC Breakfast earlier, (see 8.59am BST) in which he called the claim “a lie”.
Asked on BBC Breakfast whether the Tories would stick by their claims, Harper said his party would continue to say Labour would cost working households an extra £2,000 in tax.
He said: “The costings are either Treasury costings or in a couple of cases they are the Labour party’s own workings. We’ve made reasonable assumptions, not outlandish assumptions.”
The claim has been criticised by the UK statistics watchdog for failing to make clear the sum totalled over four years.
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Tories pledge to reverse Ulez expansion and limit 20mph roads in Wales
The Conservatives have promised to introduce a law that would unilaterally reverse the expansion of London’s clean air zone and limit the use of 20mph routes in Wales, overturning the choices of voters in both places.
In a pledge that, if implemented, would mark a significant reversal of devolution, the Tories said they would immediately introduce a backing drivers bill, which would use Westminster powers to quash local say over parts of transport policy.
One element would reverse the most recent expansion of London’s ultra-low emissions zone (Ulez), which widened to the perimeter of the capital the area in which older and more polluting vehicles must pay a daily charge.
This would happen despite London’s voters having endorsed the idea in May, when Khan was reelected as the city’s mayor for a third term, easily beating the Conservative candidate, Susan Hall, whose main pledge was to scrap the expansion.
A spokesperson for Khan said of the proposal: “This is desperate stuff from the Tories – a party completely devoid of ideas.”
The bill would also use Westminster powers to overturn local decisions on 20mph zones and so-called low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), a widely used planning technique that tries to keep through-traffic away from smaller residential streets.
Tax rises of £800 a year coming whoever wins UK election, thinktank finds
Tax rises “hiding in plain sight” that will cost UK households an average of £800 a year are already on the way whoever wins the general election, a leading thinktank has warned.
While the Conservatives and Labour argue about what levies the other would introduce in power, the Resolution Foundation has warned that already announced measures will increase the total tax take by about £23bn a year by 2028-29.
Neither party has committed to axing the moves from recent budgets and autumn statements, which include the continuation of the six-year freeze to income tax and personal national insurance thresholds and next spring’s reversal of temporary cuts to business rates, fuel duty and stamp duty land tax.
Freezing existing tax rates increases revenue for the Treasury, since inflation and resulting pay rises mean more people are pulled into the higher-rate tax band, a process known as fiscal drag. Income tax thresholds have been frozen since 2022 and are expected to remain so until April 2028.
The sum the Treasury is raising from taxes is at a historic high, the Resolution Foundation found, because of increases in corporate tax revenue and taxes on higher earners. The share of taxpayers paying a higher marginal rate of 40% or more has risen from one in 10 of the population in 2010 to one in six in 2023, the equivalent of 3 million more people. However, some middle-income earners are better off because of this year’s cuts in national insurance contributions.
You can read Hazel Sheffield’s full piece here:
Transport secretary says it was a mistake for Sunak to leave D-day events early
In an interview with BBC Breakfast on Saturday, Transport secretary Mark Harper said he agreed with Rishi Sunak that it was a mistake to leave D-day events early.
Asked whether he agreed with fellow Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt’s assessment that it was “completely wrong”, Harper said:
I don’t know what the detail was of putting the prime minister’s schedule together, which, as he said, was done some time ago before the election campaign was called.
But look, it was a mistake. People make mistakes. The prime minister has made a mistake. He’s apologised for it. And he’s apologised to those that would have been particularly hurt by it.”
“I agree with the words that he set out in his remarks yesterday when he was interviewed about it,” added Harper.
The fall out from Sunak’s decision to leave Thursday’s 80th D-day anniversary events early continues. In Friday night’s seven-party debate, party representatives – including Penny Mordaunt, the House of Commons leader – rounded on the prime minister for leaving the D-day event early.
Mordaunt said what happened was “completely wrong – and the prime minister has rightly apologised for that, apologised to veterans but also to all of us, because he was representing all of us”.
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Claim by PM that Labour would raise taxes by £2,000 is "misleading", says shadow business secretary
The claim made by the prime minister that Labour would raise taxes by £2,000 is “misleading”, the shadow business secretary has said.
Jonathan Reynolds said Labour, if it wins the election, would inherit some tax rises included in the government’s existing spending plans, but insisted there would be no additional taxes on households. “It is a lie,” he told BBC Breakfast.
Reynolds said:
If we were to form a government after the general election on 4 July, we would inherit the government’s spending plans.
Now, I’ll be candid, there are in those plans tax rises. I mean, the personal allowance we all get in terms of our income tax, that is set to be frozen for several years.
So, we are ambitious about how we think we can grow the economy to give people better times ahead, but I will be candid and say those are the plans that we would inherit.”
He added: “But Keir [Starmer] is absolutely right to say there won’t be additional taxes under a Labour government when it comes to things like income tax or VAT.”
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In case you’re missing Andrew Sparrow this morning, here is his snap verdict on the seven-party debate. It’s worth a read alongside your morning tea or coffee.
Seven-party debate - snap verdict - how they all did - https://t.co/c8gSLICMuY
— AndrewSparrow (@AndrewSparrow) June 7, 2024
Chief of the defence staff Adm Sir Tony Radakin has declined to criticise Rishi Sunak over his decision to leave the D-day 80th anniversary events early.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s a contentious political issue. It’s obviously being debated. It would be wrong for me to comment.”
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Labour and Tories renew clashes in ill-tempered second election debate
Labour and the Conservatives renewed hostilities in the second TV debate of the campaign, with Angela Rayner and Penny Mordaunt clashing over taxes, defence and the cost of living in a series of bad-tempered exchanges.
In an echo of Tuesday’s head-to-head debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, Mordaunt, the Commons leader, several times raised the much-criticised idea that Labour would increase household taxes by £2,000, bringing derision from Rayner, and corrections from the BBC One host, Mishal Husain.
Another recurring theme of the seven-way debate was representatives of the smaller parties clashing with Nigel Farage, as the Reform UK leader made contentious points on areas including immigration, crime and net zero.
The wide-ranging debate, with a series of topics raised by audience questions, was occasionally unruly as the seven participants jostled for attention. But there were regular disputes between Mordaunt and Rayner, the Labour deputy leader, who were placed next to each other in a lineup decided by lots.
An early example saw Mordaunt point her finger at a clearly unimpressed Rayner, as she used a question on the D-day commemorations to accuse Rayner and other senior Labour figures of wanting to “end our nuclear deterrent”, saying Starmer would not be credible as a world leader.
“You can keep pointing at me, but you’re the party that have cut the armed forces, crashed the economy and left us in a real mess,” Rayner replied.
You can read Peter Walker’s full piece on Friday night’s TV debate here:
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Opening summary
Good morning, and welcome to our continued coverage of the 2024 general election campaign.
Transport secretary Mark Harper said he agreed with Rishi Sunak that it was a mistake to leave D-day events early.
Asked whether he agreed with fellow Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt’s assessment that it was “completely wrong”, Harper told BBC Breakfast on Saturday:
I don’t know what the detail was of putting the prime minister’s schedule together, which, as he said, was done some time ago before the election campaign was called.
But look, it was a mistake. People make mistakes. The prime minister has made a mistake. He’s apologised for it. And he’s apologised to those that would have been particularly hurt by it.”
Harper also said: “I agree with the words that he set out in his remarks yesterday when he was interviewed about it.”
In case you missed it, seven representatives from the UK’s main political parties clashed in a heated – and often chaotic – BBC debate last night.
Party representatives – including Penny Mordaunt, the House of Commons leader – rounded on the prime minister for leaving the D-day event early. Mordaunt said what happened was “completely wrong – and the prime minister has rightly apologised for that, apologised to veterans but also to all of us, because he was representing all of us”.
Mordaunt also took aim at Angela Rayner for having voted against renewing the Trident nuclear weapons system in the past and said that Labour’s “credibility is shot”; Rayner said her brother had served in Iraq and that she would “take no lectures” on the subject. You can catch other key takeaways of BBC general election debate here.
In other news, here are some of the main events planned for today:
Rishi Sunak will be campaigning in the north-east and Yorkshire. The Conservatives are hitting Sunak’s home turf, so expect to see the big blue battlebus somewhere in Yorkshire.
In Essex, the Conservatives are formally launching their Basildon and Billericay candidate. It is the party’s chairman Richard Holden who used to represent North West Durham. The drive from Crook in his previous constituency to Basildon is more than 260 miles.
Sir Keir Starmer will launch Labour’s plan for small businesses alongside Deborah Meaden this morning. According to the Press Association (PA) it will include a visit to a small business in north London.
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves will be campaigning in the south-east today alongside Mary Portas.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey will be campaigning in Newbury today.
SNP leader John Swinney will be on the campaign trail, joining local SNP candidate Hannah Bardell at the Howden Park Centre in Livingston.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar is also on the campaign trail backing local candidate Torcuil Crichton.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton will meet members of the Russian dissident community this morning.
The National March for Gaza will begin at Russell Square shortly after midday and travel along the Strand and Whitehall to reach the Palace of Westminster. It comes after Starmer on Friday confirmed recognition of Palestinian statehood as part of a Middle East peace process would feature in his party’s manifesto.
It is Amy Sedghi here today. If you want to get my attention then please do email me on amy.sedghi@theguardian.com.
Also, please note that comments will not be open on the blog until 10am.
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