Category Archives: Labour

Nigel Farage claims young people have had their minds ‘poisoned’ with negative views about Britain – UK general election live

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Farage launches party manifesto in traditional Labour stronghold of Merthyr Tydfil

Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have been campaigning in Hampshire this morning. Stefan Rousseau from PA Media took this picture of them on the train.

The SNP has called for a social tariff that would guarantee cheap energy bills for people who are poor, disabled or elderly.

We believe that there are certain things that every citizen should have access to as a right. Healthcare free at the point of need, a social security safety net, pensions for older people, and free education including free university tuition.

But it is time that we recognised that these rights need to go further, to reflect the realities of the modern world.

Connectivity – fast broadband and good mobile phone connections – are critical to modern life. In fact, in rural Scotland and the Isles, it is critical to the whole future of the economy.
As more and more people work from home at least part of the week, often you literally cannot do your job without a decent internet connection. That’s why, to help people get jobs, keep jobs and keep more of their hard-earned cash, there should be a social tariff for broadband and mobile charges too.

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UK elections: what is tactical voting and how does it work?

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The campaign group Best for Britain has launched its guide on how to vote to have the best chance of ousting the Tories. We look at what tactical voting involves and what the group is recommending

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Tactical voting could defeat Tories in once safe seats, campaigners say

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Senior Tories such as Liz Truss and Jeremy Hunt could be for chop as well as once safe seats such as Maidenhead

The Conservatives could lose once safe constituencies such as Theresa May’s former seat in the coming general election, with nearly 40% of people willing to vote tactically to oust the Tories, a campaign group has said.

Setting out its recommendations for how people could maximise their chances of not electing a Conservative, Best for Britain said particularly efficient tactical voting could even unseat Liz Truss and Suella Braverman.

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Labour would try to improve UK’s post-Brexit trade deal with EU, says Reeves

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Shadow chancellor’s remarks mark shift in tone for party, which has preferred to not talk about Brexit so far

Labour would try to improve elements of the UK’s trade deal with the EU, Rachel Reeves has indicated, saying also that most financial services companies have “not regarded Brexit as being a great opportunity for their businesses”.

While Labour remains committed to not making any major changes to Brexit, the shadow chancellor’s comments show that the party could nonetheless make more policy moves on EU trade links than previously believed.

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Campaigners hope Labour will scrap two-child benefit cap once in No 10

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Manifesto has no pledge to end rule Angela Rayner called ‘inhumane’ but there have been hints at more to come

Senior Labour figures have been crystal clear in the past about the two-child benefit limit, with Angela Rayner saying it was “obscene and inhumane” and Jonathan Ashworth calling it “heinous”.

Yet, as expected, Keir Starmer’s safety-first manifesto lacked any promise to reverse it, and shadow ministers have been wheeled out to underline the need to make “tough choices” and avoid unfunded promises. Rayner has said Labour has to “prioritise”.

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Starmer faces further calls for Labour to axe two-child benefit cap

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IFS research shows 670,000 more children will be hit by policy by end of next parliament if limit stays in place

Keir Starmer is facing renewed pressure to scrap the two-child benefit limit, as research reveals that 250,000 more children will be hit by the policy over the next year alone.

Labour’s manifesto for government, published last week, included the promise of an “ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty”, but no mention of the two-child limit.

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Labour’s green plans will create 650,000 jobs, says Rachel Reeves

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Party begins week of campaigning on economy under pressure to say if it will raise taxes to pay for £7.3bn plans

Labour will create more than 650,000 jobs with its green investment plans, Rachel Reeves has said, as the party kickstarts a week of campaigning on the economy.

The UK shadow chancellor has revealed new details about the £7.3bn green investment vehicle that Labour intends to create after the election, saying it will help create hundreds of thousands of new industrial jobs.

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Labour sends activists to 13 seats where it fears losing Muslim voters over Gaza

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Concern continues after local elections and George Galloway win that party’s position on Israel-Gaza war still eroding support

Labour is directing activists to campaign in seats with substantial Muslim populations, over fears that some voters have been alienated by the party’s stance on Gaza.

Its campaigning efforts are mostly being concentrated on Conservative and SNP seats in an attempt to secure a potentially record-breaking majority. However, there are 13 Labour-held seats where Muslims make up at least a fifth of the electorate which the party is telling its activists to target.

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Labour and Tories would ‘both leave NHS worse off than under austerity’

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Analysis by leading experts the Nuffield Trust reveals that main parties’ manifestos would squeeze health spending

Labour and the Conservatives would both leave the NHS with lower spending increases than during the years of Tory austerity, according to an independent analysis of their manifestos by a leading health thinktank.

The assessment by the respected Nuffield Trust of the costed NHS policies of both parties, announced in their manifestos last week, says the level of funding increases would leave them struggling to pay existing staff costs, let alone the bill for massive planned increases in doctors, nurses and other staff in the long-term workforce plan agreed last year.

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Tories and Labour on course for lowest share of the vote since 1945

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Poll reveals historically low support for the big two, with smaller parties up by five points

Labour and the Tories are on course for their lowest combined vote share since the second world war, as the latest Opinium poll for the Observer shows a shift away from the main parties.

With all the parties having now unveiled their election manifestos, Labour has maintained a dominant 17-point lead over the Tories with less than three weeks to go until polling day. However, Reform and the Lib Dems are up two points each.

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Nigel Farage trying to destroy Tory party, says David Cameron – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our UK election coverage here

David Cameron has said that being prime minister was a “good apprenticeship” for serving as foreign secretary, in an interview with the Times.

Speaking about his decision to take the role, Cameron said he had told his family he was “going to really go for this job and give it everything I had”. In just over six months, Cameron said he had visited 35 countries as foreign secretary.

I really like having the focus. That juggling act, as prime minister, is incredibly difficult. You have to do so many different things and different topics. I loved the challenge of it, but it does mean you’re always frustrated.”

When I look at Starmer I think he’s sitting there with his fingers crossed to please, please, please let them pass judgment on Lettucegate, three prime ministers and all the rest of it.

I think we can win this election. Even when I was ahead in the polls in 2010, or somewhere behind in the polls in 2015, I used to say ‘can win’ rather than ‘will’ because it’s up to the public, it’s up to the country.”

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Keir Starmer promises no capital gains tax on sales of homes

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Labour leader rejects ‘desperate’ claim from Tory party that he has secret property tax plans

Keir Starmer has ruled out imposing capital gains tax on the sale of people’s homes and said it was “desperate” tactics from the Tories to suggest that he would.

The Labour leader said he could “absolutely” guarantee that would not happen.

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General election live: Farage claims he is ‘leader of the opposition’ and demands one-to-one debate with Starmer

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Reform UK leader says he should also take part in planned leaders’ debate on BBC

Introducing a cap on adult social care costs by October next year is part of Labour’s plan if they win the election, Wes Streeting has insisted, although the pledge did not appear in the party’s manifesto.

Asked whether he could make a firm commitment to bringing in the cap in October 2025, PA Media reports he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “That’s the plan, as things stand. We don’t have any plans to change that situation and that’s the certainty and stability I want to give the system at this stage.”

It’s going to take 10 years to build the kind of national care service that I think will last this country the best part of the next century. And that’s the scale of ambition that I have, that a Labour government would have. Change takes time, especially when the public finances are in the state they are and the catastrophic damage the Conservatives have done.

It’s been put to me repeatedly and to other Labour colleagues in recent days about the importance of honesty. And as we have said repeatedly, you know, our manifesto is a manifesto that’s fully costed and fully funded.

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Tories face new questions over Sunak aide who placed bet on July election

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Labour has asked what role Craig Williams played in election date discussions and when party knew about bet

The Conservative party is facing new questions over the role Rishi Sunak’s closest parliamentary aide played in pre-election discussions before he placed a bet on the poll date days before it was announced.

Labour has written to Richard Holden, the Tory party chair, demanding more answers on the scandal that has further marred the party’s bruised election campaign.

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UK general election opinion polls tracker: Labour significantly ahead of Tories as campaign continues

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Find out who’s up and who’s down in the latest polls – and how many seats each party is likely to win in the 2024 general election

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called the next UK general election for 4 July 2024.

After 14 years of Conservative rule, Keir Starmer’s Labour has been consistently ahead in the polls since the start of 2022.

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Rayner, Mordaunt, Farage and others quizzed on NHS in general election debate clash – politics live

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Party representatives asked how they would fix a health service that is ‘on its knees’

In more disappointing news for the Tories, the Times is publishing an opinion poll that says that Reform have now overtaken them. Its political editor, Steven Swinford, has recently tweeted the story.

According to Savanta, the Labour manifesto featured 34 pictures of Keir Starmer while the Conservative manifesto had no pictures of Rishi Sunak.

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Keir Starmer faces questions over cost of Labour manifesto

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Leader accused of being part of a ‘conspiracy of silence’ over economic challenges ahead as he launches wealth creation plan for government

Keir Starmer faced new questions over how Labour would pay to fix Britain’s broken public services as he vowed to “turn the page for ever” on held-back potential and to end political “pantomime” during the party’s manifesto launch.

The Labour leader said he saw “potential held back” everywhere he went as a result of a lack of housing, the cost of living crisis, low wages and inadequate healthcare for children.

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Starmer promises ‘long-term strategy’ in business-friendly Labour manifesto

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Labour puts economic policy and wealth creation at heart of pitch to win over former Conservative voters

Keir Starmer will put economic growth and wealth creation at the heart of Labour’s offer to voters as he launches a business-friendly manifesto targeted at former Conservative voters.

The Labour leader will launch his election manifesto in Greater Manchester on Thursday, promising to emphasise economic stability in a deliberate contrast to the Conservatives’ more policy-heavy offering earlier this week.

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General election live: Green party defends ‘ambitious’ spending plans at manifesto launch

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The Greens’ spending commitments include £50bn for the NHS and £29bn to insulate homes

In an interview with ITV due to be broadcast on Wednesday evening, Rishi Sunak says he went without “lots of things” as a child, including Sky TV.

Sunak was pressed in the interview by the ITV journalist Paul Brand to give examples of things he didn’t have a child to which he replied: “There’ll be all sorts of things that I would’ve wanted as a kid that I couldn’t have. Famously, Sky TV, so that was something that we never had growing up actually.”

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‘A lot of people won’t vote’: Chingford voters unenthusiastic as Labour does battle with Faiza Shaheen

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Labour is fighting its former candidate in Iain Duncan Smith’s long-held seat, but local residents don’t appear bowled over by their election options

“The Tories really don’t deserve to be in but I’ll struggle to support Labour. I will have to vote. But it will be a struggle to vote.” David Cherry is out walking his dog, Bella, in the spring sunshine in Chingford Green park.

“It’s quite a depressing state, to be honest,” Cherry continues. “Neither of them give you a clear indication. They all talk, we all know nothing’s going to happen.”

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