Gauke said he would contest South West Hertfordshire seat he has held since 2005
The former Tory cabinet minister David Gauke has announced he will stand as an independent candidate at the general election.
The former justice secretary said he would contest the South West Hertfordshire seat he has held since 2005.
Continue reading...Hillary Clinton has said she is 'dumbfounded' as to why the UK government has not yet published a report on alleged Russian interference in British politics. Speaking to BBC's Radio 4 Today programme, the former US presidential candidate said: 'Every person who votes in this country deserves to see that report before your election happens.'
Continue reading...Simon Coveney says ‘law must apply to all’ after Conservative promise to end ‘unfair’ trials
Ireland has expressed concern over a Conservative party pledge to change the law to protect former soldiers in Northern Ireland from possible prosecution over deaths during the Troubles.
The Tories have promised to end what they describe as “unfair trials” of soldiers accused of unlawful killings in Northern Ireland by amending the Human Rights Act to exclude any case dating from before the act came into force in 2000.
Continue reading...Ex-secretary of state says it is unacceptable to keep report from public before election
Hillary Clinton has called Downing Street’s suppression of a report into potential Russian infiltration of British politics “damaging, inexplicable and shaming”.
The 2016 US presidential candidate told the Guardian it was “incredibly surprising and unacceptable that in your country there is a government report sitting there about Russian influence and your current government isn’t releasing it”.
Continue reading...Party leader announces election climbdown in effort to avoid splitting leave vote
Nigel Farage has said the Brexit party will not field any candidates against the Conservatives in the 317 seats they won at the last general election, after Boris Johnson committed to leaving the EU by 2020 and pursuing a Canada-style trade deal.
Farage said his party’s climbdown came after months of trying to create a leave alliance with the Tories, but he felt it was time to put the country before his party and make a “unilateral” move.
Continue reading...Party leader has stressed benefits of immigration, but some fear policy could hurt Labour in Tory seats
Labour activists are urging Jeremy Corbyn to incorporate the radical pro-migration policy passed at the party’s conference into its manifesto this week as the Tories prepare to weaponise the issue in the election battle.
Senior Labour figures are expected to meet on Monday to thrash out the details of the party’s policy, but a final decision will not be made until next weekend.
Continue reading...Returning infrastructure investment to 1970s levels may be undeliverable, says IFS
Labour and the Conservatives have triggered a public spending bidding war, promising massive programmes of borrowing that will return public investment to levels last seen in the 1970s, according to Britain’s leading experts on the public finances.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies said plans unveiled by Sajid Javid, the chancellor, and John McDonnell, his Labour shadow, would represent a decisive break with the past, but warned that a future government might have trouble delivering projects on the scale envisaged.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson pressed to drop Cairns after he quit as Welsh secretary over rape trial claims
Boris Johnson is facing calls to remove Alun Cairns as a Conservative candidate after the Welsh secretary resigned over allegations that a former aide sabotaged a rape trial.
Cairns stepped down following huge pressure in recent days over the actions of his former adviser Ross England, with the furore threatening to derail the Tory campaign in Wales.
Continue reading...Exclusive: leaked briefing note advises candidates not to sign up to non-approved pledges – but supporting shooting is allowed
Conservative candidates in the general election will be told not to sign up to specific pledges on protecting the NHS from privatisation and trade deals or tackling climate change, according to a leaked internal document from party headquarters.
The 11-page briefing note explains the party’s position on nine key areas and “strongly advises” prospective Tory MPs “against signing up to any pledges” unless they have been agreed from the centre.
Continue reading...No 10 refuses to clear release of report into Russian political interference before election
Boris Johnson was on Monday night accused of presiding over a cover-up after it emerged that No 10 refused to clear the publication of a potentially incendiary report examining Russian infiltration in British politics, including the Conservative party.
Downing Street indicated on Monday that it would not allow a 50-page dossier from the intelligence and security committee to be published before the election, prompting a string of complaints over its suppression.
Continue reading...Cross-party MPs vow to ‘promote compassion’ as part of #StopTheNastiness campaign
Leading politicians from major parties have signed a pledge to avoid hateful language during the general election campaign, as a growing number of MPs cite relentless abuse as their reason for stepping down from parliament.
The group Compassion in Politics has launched #StopTheNastiness, which aims to encourage candidates to “campaign with respect, call out hate, and promote compassion” over the next six weeks. It also urges the public to contact their local representatives and ask them to back the pledge, and calls on the media to avoid exacerbating abuse.
Continue reading...Labour’s candidate Ali Milani, 25, hopes student vote and Heathrow ‘betrayal’ could deliver shock result
If the ancient wood-panelled walls of the Crown and Treaty in Uxbridge could talk, they would speak to the perils of crossing parliament.
In the heart of Boris Johnson’s west London constituency, this former manor house hosted talks over the ill-fated treaty of Uxbridge in 1645, an abortive attempt to end the first English civil war, which arose from a battle between parliament and the executive and ultimately led to Charles I losing his head.
Continue reading...Victory for green groups follows damning scientific study and criticism from spending watchdog
The government has halted fracking in England with immediate effect in a watershed moment for environmentalists and community activists.
Ministers also warned shale gas companies it would not support future fracking projects, in a crushing blow to companies that had been hoping to capitalise on one of the new frontiers of growth in the fossil fuel industry.
Continue reading...Judged by votes, the PM is losing 8-15 after a century of days – and he hasn’t done much better elsewhere
Thursday was Boris Johnson’s 100th day in office – and when he took charge, he would have hoped that on Friday he would be spending the day celebrating Britain’s departure from the EU. Instead, it has been a rollercoaster ride of broken promises, false dawns and embarrassing defeats – and an election is looming.
Continue reading...US president claims on LBC Radio that Jeremy Corbyn would take UK to ‘such bad places’
Donald Trump has intervened in the UK’s nascent election campaign, calling on Boris Johnson to team up with Nigel Farage to form an “unstoppable force” and claiming Jeremy Corbyn would be “so bad for your country”.
Speaking to Farage on LBC Radio, the US president also said Johnson’s Brexit deal could prevent the UK from agreeing a trade deal with the US.
Continue reading...Labour leader says ‘it’s not about me’ as he launches party’s campaign
Jeremy Corbyn has declined to say whether he would step aside if Labour fails to win the 12 December election, insisting: “It’s not about me.”
Asked at his party’s campaign launch what he would do if his party failed to get in to government, he replied: “It’s not about me, it’s not about any of the people on this platform, it’s not a presidential election, it’s about each and every one of us.”
Continue reading...Commons debating fresh attempt by government for December ballot
The Labour MP Stephen Doughty says he has tabled an amendment to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote.
I have now tabled my simple and straightforward #VotesAt16 Amendment. Thanks to all colleagues who have signed. The Government have unfortunately tried to make it as difficult to table, select and vote on amendments as possible. pic.twitter.com/xzxkKoDv6n
Ian Blackford, the SNP’s leader at Westminster, is speaking now.
He says the SNP has been accused of trying to obstruct Brexit. “Guilty as charged,” he says.
Continue reading...When Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey began investigating Harvey Weinstein, they had no idea it would ignite a global reckoning on sexual harassment resulting in #MeToo. And: Rafael Behr on the likelihood of a winter election
In the summer of 2017, the New York Times journalist Megan Twohey was on maternity leave when she received a call from a colleague, Jodi Kantor. The two had never spoken before, but Kantor was working on a story and needed Twohey’s help. It was an investigation into the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. What they uncovered became one of the biggest stories of our times, launching a global movement.
Rachel Humphreys talks to the journalists about how they convinced prominent actors and former Weinstein employees to speak to them, the lengths Weinstein was willing to go to in an attempt to prevent the story from becoming public, and what more needs to be done about sexual harassment in the workplace.
Continue reading...Government fails to win two-thirds majority for early ballot needed under Fixed-term Parliaments Act, after EU agrees to delay Brexit
That’s all from us this evening. Here’s a summary of the day’s main events:
Related: Boris Johnson abandons Brexit bill in new push for December election
My colleagues, Rowena Mason and Rajeev Syal, have been looking into what they’ve termed the “meltdown: at the People’s Vote campaign.
It’s embroiled in infighting after the chairman, Roland Rudd, fired two directors by email over the weekend. Today, Peter Mandelson – an Open Britain board member – has said:
Roland Rudd is like the captain of the Titanic demanding the passengers show him more respect as the iceberg carves open the hull and water gushes into the bowels of the ship.
Related: People's Vote set for showdown after directors' sacking
Continue reading...Downing Street hints at bill-based path if MPs do not back election motion on Monday
The government could try to force a pre-Christmas election via a simple majority for a parliamentary bill, Downing Street has said, following a Liberal Democrat-devised plan to try to end the House of Commons impasse.
While ministers have dismissed a Lib Dem-Scottish National party idea to bring about an election on 9 December by amending the Fixed-term Parliaments Act as a “gimmick”, a Downing Street source said Boris Johnson’s government could consider a similar bill-based route.
Continue reading...