Labour and the Conservatives in scramble for votes on the final day of campaigning
Here’s Labour’s campaign ad this morning, invoking the Blitz spirit.
Let's get back on track. pic.twitter.com/nITBAzhJUO
A busy day all round. Johnson will be travelling from Yorkshire to the Midlands, Wales and London.
Continue reading...The mood may be one of despair, but this election is critical to the country’s future. The best hope lies with Labour, despite its flaws
Britain has not faced a more critical election in decades than the one it faces on Thursday. The country’s future direction, its place in the world and even its territorial integrity are all at stake, primarily because this is a decisive election for Brexit. The choice is stark. The next prime minister is going to be either Boris Johnson, who is focused on “getting Brexit done” whatever the consequences, or Jeremy Corbyn, who with a Labour-led government will try to remodel society with a programme of nationalisation and public spending.
Continue reading...John McDonnell to outline agenda for Labour government as general election campaign enters its final days
Good morning. We’re here, in the final stretch of the campaign. The country will go to the polls on Thursday, but before that happens, the parties are giving their pitches one final push.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell will outline the party’s plan for the first 100 days of a Labour government, while the party focuses on the benefit of its policies to the bank balances of voters, promising the public that a Labour government would put “money in your pocket”.
Continue reading...Shadow chancellor says sorry to Jewish community, adding party was ‘doing everything possible’ to tackle issue
The shadow chancellor has expressed his concern that the row over antisemitism in Labour may have an effect on the election result, adding that the party had “done everything we can possibly do” to tackle the problem.
In a BBC One interview on Sunday morning, John McDonnell apologised to the Jewish community for “the suffering we’ve inflicted on them”. He added: “I say to them, we’re doing everything possible and we are going to learn more lessons and we want to be the shining example of anti-racism that the Labour party should be.”
Continue reading...Eleventh-hour appeal to anti-Tory voters as poll shows Conservative majority halved
A cross-party alliance of opposition politicians has launched an 11th-hour appeal to anti-Tory voters to consider switching allegiance in Thursday’s general election, amid signs that a late surge of tactical voting in a few swing seats could deprive Boris Johnson of a majority in parliament.
The calls from senior Labour, Liberal Democrat and SNP figures come as a major poll suggests Johnson’s likely majority has been cut in half in the last two weeks – from 82 a fortnight ago to just 40 with four days to polling day.
Continue reading...Labour and Conservative party leaders clash over racism and NHS in final before polling day
Jeremy Corbyn accused Boris Johnson of having made “racist remarks” as the pair clashed over Islamophobia and antisemitism in their parties in a crucial head-to-head debate less than a week before polling day.
Corbyn made the allegation during the BBC One leaders’ debate on Friday as he defended himself against Johnson’s charge that his handling of antisemitism complaints within Labour was a “failure of leadership”.
Continue reading...Labour leader says: ‘Obviously I’m very sorry for what has happened’
Jeremy Corbyn has apologised to the Jewish community for antisemitic incidents involving Labour party members and said he was dealing with the issue.
The Labour leader said: “Obviously I’m very sorry for what has happened,” after being asked to apologise directly by presenter Philip Schofield, in an interview on ITV’s This Morning.
Continue reading...Gus John lambasts Justin Welby’s support amid church’s ‘woeful’ record on racism
A leading campaigner against racism has resigned from a Church of England advisory body in protest at the archbishop of Canterbury’s support for the chief rabbi’s comments last week on antisemitism in the Labour party.
Gus John, a respected author and academic, said: “As a matter of principle, I cannot continue to work with the Anglican church … after the archbishop of Canterbury’s disgraceful endorsement of the chief rabbi’s unjust condemnation of Jeremy Corbyn and the entire Labour party.”
Continue reading...Donald Trump has said he would not be interested in putting Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) on the table during trade talks with the UK even if it was ‘handed on a silver platter’.
Trump, who is in London for a Nato summit, said: ‘We have absolutely nothing to do with [the NHS], and we wouldn’t want to. If you handed it to us on a silver platter, we’d want nothing to do with it’
Continue reading...Questions about dissemination of documents do not mean they are fake, but poses new puzzle
Leaked documents said by Labour to prove that the NHS was “on the table” in trade talks with the US were initially disseminated online by anonymous posters operating in a way similar to a Russian information operation known as Secondary Infektion, according to a social media research firm.
A 19-page report published on Monday by the consultancy Graphika said that while it could not conclusively prove a Russian origin to the leak, the early distribution of the cache of files via Reddit, three German-language websites and an anonymous Twitter account reflected a method of operation seen repeatedly over recent years.
Continue reading...Lib Dem leader said leaders should be ‘very careful’ about relationship with US president, ahead of his arrival for Nato
Morning, Amy Walker here, I’ll be taking over the politics liveblog for the next hour or so.
The former head of the parole board, Nick Hardwick, has criticised government changes to the criminal justice system after London Bridge attacker Usman Khan was released from prison under licence.
PA Media reports a vigil will be held to pay tribute to the victims killed in the London Bridge terror attack and to honour the emergency services and members of the public who responded to the incident.
Continue reading...Party’s dossier contains dubious and outdated claims about Lib Dems and Labour
Conservative candidates in the general election have been issued with a detailed dossier on how to attack Labour and Liberal Democrat rivals which contains numerous rehashed and potentially misleading claims, the Guardian can reveal.
The documents accuse the Liberal Democrats of pushing “pro-pimp” policies and sex work as a career for schoolchildren.
Continue reading...Labour leader says documents leave Boris Johnson’s denials on post-Brexit US trade deal ‘in tatters’
Labour has obtained official documents showing that the US is demanding that the NHS will be “on the table” in talks on a post-Brexit trade deal, Jeremy Corbyn has said.
The Labour leader said the uncensored papers gave the lie to Boris Johnson’s claims that the NHS would not be part of any trade talks, and revealed that the US wanted “total market access” after the UK leaves the EU.
Continue reading...Labour leader denies antisemitism in the party has increased under his leadership
Jeremy Corbyn has insisted antisemitism in Labour has not risen under his leadership and resisted calls to apologise to Britain’s Jews, after the country’s chief rabbi claimed he had let poison take root in the party.
In an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Neil, the Labour leader declined four opportunities to apologise for the party’s approach to dealing with antisemitism, which has led a string of Labour MPs to resign and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to launch an investigation.
Continue reading...Labour leader says there is no place for antisemitism in party and it will not be tolerated
Jeremy Corbyn has reiterated his belief that there is no place in Labour for antisemitism and vowed it would not be tolerated following claims from the chief rabbi that he has allowed the Labour party to become poisoned with antisemitism.
Ephraim Mirvis on Tuesday accused the Labour leader of allowing a “poison sanctioned from the top” to take root in Labour, saying Jews were justifiably anxious about the prospect of the party forming the next government.
Continue reading...More than 3 million women who believe they have been left thousands of pounds out of pocket after steep increases to the state pension age are being promised compensation by Labour as part of a £58bn scheme designed to end a “historic injustice”.
Related: ‘The Tories stole my state pension when I was 60, now I want it back’
Continue reading...The Conservatives have taken a commanding 19-point lead over Labour with less than three weeks to go before voters head to the polls, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer.
Related: Poll models fail to spot voting variation in similar seats
Continue reading...Labour leader would negotiate new deal with EU, which would be put to a public vote alongside remain
Jeremy Corbyn would take a “neutral stance” in a future Brexit referendum, he has announced, after facing mounting pressure in recent days to pick a side.
Appearing in a special BBC Question Time programme, in which Boris Johnson was attacked over racism and Jo Swinson found herself on the back foot over Brexit, Corbyn confirmed for the first time he would not campaign either for leave or remain.
Continue reading...UK criticised for defying UN deadline to hand over control of Indian Ocean territory
Jeremy Corbyn has pledged to renounce British sovereignty of the remote Chagos Islands and respect a UN vote calling for the archipelago to be handed back to Mauritius.
In comments that appear to commit Labour to return the Indian Ocean islands, the party’s leader said on Friday he intended to “right one of the wrongs of history”.
Continue reading...Hubert Howard, a prominent Windrush victim, died recently without receiving compensation or a personal apology. Amelia Gentleman discusses his case. Plus: Polly Toynbee on the boldest Labour manifesto for a generation
Hubert Howard died on 12 November, three weeks after finally being granted British citizenship having arrived in London 59 years earlier. Howard spent much of the last two months of his life fighting for citizenship from his intensive care bed in hospital. He was granted it at the end of October when his lawyer informed the Home Office that he was critically ill and highlighted the urgency of his case.
Anushka Asthana talks about Howard’s life with the Guardian’s Amelia Gentleman, who recently met his friend Tyrone and his daughter Maresha and heard them describe the devastating impact his treatment by the Home Office had on his life. Amelia discusses why so many of the Windrush victims are still waiting for compensation and an apology from the government.
Continue reading...