Johnny Mercer says he will ‘do all I can’ to change rules after veteran turned away from polling station
The veterans minister has apologised to former military personnel who have been prevented from using their veterans ID in order to vote in the local elections in England on Thursday.
Downing Street said it would “look into” changing the controversial new rules, which require photo ID in order to vote, to allow veterans’ ID cards on to the list of valid identification.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Mayor says Conservative government has put obstacles in his way each day of his eight years in office
Sadiq Khan has called the Conservatives’ treatment of London “unpatriotic” as he accused the government of putting obstacles in his way every day of his eight years running the capital.
The London mayor accused the Tories of “trying to do us down” at every opportunity for political reasons in long-running battles over police funding, cuts to London’s transport budget and in planning decisions.
Continue reading...Polls suggest party could eat into Tory vote in Lancashire town’s Westminster byelection as well as in mayoral and local elections
Reform UK’s best hope of making headlines this week is Blackpool South’s byelection, but polling also shows the insurgent rightwing party is ahead of the Conservatives in two mayoral races.
While Labour are the frontrunners to regain Blackpool South – which fell to the Conservatives as the “red wall” crumbled in 2019 – the battle for second place there could be crucial to Rishi Sunak’s future.
Continue reading...Worried MPs have concocted five-point plan of quick measures aimed at showing that the party cares about public’s priorities
Rishi Sunak is braced for a bruising week as Tory rebels flaunted plans for a 100-day “policy blitz” to secure quick wins if the local election results prove disastrous for the party.
The prime minister said on Sunday that he was not “distracted” by his personal ratings lingering at record lows. He refused to rule out calling a July general election amid mounting rumours that unruly MPs will attempt to oust him if the West Midlands mayor, Andy Street, and the Tees Valley mayor, Ben Houchen, are defeated on Thursday.
An attempt to end the junior doctors pay dispute with a 10-12% offer.
Further cuts to legal migration numbers, with a curb on the number of foreign students staying in the UK.
Vow to increase defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2027.
Introduce measures to jail prolific offenders and build rapid detention cells to increase prison capacity.
Cut the benefits bill, with a target to reduce payments for depression and anxiety.
Continue reading...Bill could become law this week as end of parliamentary ping-pong in sight
Q: Do you think you will be able to implement this without leaving the European convention of human rights?
Sunak says he thinks he can implement this without leaving the ECHR.
If it ever comes to a choice between our national security, securing our borders, and membership of a foreign court, I’m, of course, always going to prioritise our national security.
Continue reading...Alarm grows over possible pension cuts as research suggests Jeremy Hunt tax cut announcement was ‘blunder’
Labour is to wage a new campaign to win over Tory-supporting pensioners in an attempt to neutralise one of the government’s last remaining electoral strengths, amid evidence the Conservatives are now performing as badly among the age group as they did under Liz Truss’s leadership.
With less than a fortnight to go until local elections in England, which some Tories fear could trigger an attempt to topple Rishi Sunak, the Observer understands that Keir Starmer’s top officials are reorienting their campaign after detecting alarm among pensioners over the impact a Conservative tax-cutting pledge could have on pensions and the NHS.
Continue reading...Infighting, suspensions and bizarre allegations have dogged efforts to restore order as the party prepares for May’s byelections
Less than two weeks before local elections that some senior Tories fear could unleash another party meltdown and an attempted putsch against Rishi Sunak’s leadership, Downing Street had hoped that Friday’s prime ministerial speech on the weighty issue of welfare reform might finally begin to restore the party’s reputation for competent governance.
It was a potent sign of Sunak’s struggles in keeping his party on track that, soon after his speech had concluded, some of his MPs found themselves discussing whether or not one of their colleagues had deliberately intoxicated a friend’s dog. “How can somebody possibly get a dog pissed?” wondered one. “Bizarre.”
Continue reading...London mayor expected to criticise Susan Hall in speech launching panels on school roofs
Sadiq Khan will accuse his Conservative rival in the race to be London’s next mayor of being “Trumpian” over the climate crisis, as he announces plans for solar panels on schools.
Khan is expected to acknowledge resistance to his expansion of the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) in a speech on Friday but insist that he still intends to “go further”.
Continue reading...Exclusive: London mayor to launch plan on Wednesday alongside Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor
Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, is to launch a plan to create 150,000 “high-quality, well-paid jobs” by 2028.
The plan will be unveiled by Khan on Wednesday alongside the shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, who will declare that a Labour administration will “reset” the relationship between national government and London.
Continue reading...City’s mayor outlines ‘internationalist’ vision in manifesto as he bids for third term in May
London’s Labour mayor Sadiq Khan is to offer young people studying in the capital a new version of the EU’s Erasmus scheme of student exchanges as part of his bid for a third term.
He will unveil plans under which students would receive grants and other help to study and undertake work experience, not just in the EU but other major world cities, with reciprocal arrangements for students from overseas to do the same in London.
Continue reading...Footage of people panicking, designed to attack the London mayor’s record on crime, was filmed in a New York subway station
The Conservatives have deleted an online video that used scenes of a panicked crowd at a New York subway station to criticise Sadiq Khan’s record on crime in London.
The attack ad, posted on X in support of Susan Hall – Khan’s rival for the London mayoralty, showed people panicking and rushing through New York’s Penn station after false reports of gunfire in 2017.
Continue reading...Up to 600 council jobs to be lost, arts grants scrapped, libraries closed and bin collections reduced to fortnightly
Councillors in Birmingham have approved what are thought to be the biggest budget cuts in local authority history, with residents warning that the consequences could be “disastrous” for the city.
Birmingham city council met on Tuesday afternoon to debate and vote on a proposed set of cuts that will see the loss of up to 600 council jobs, arts grants scrapped, libraries closed and bin collections reduced to fortnightly.
Continue reading...Despite victory in two Conservative safe seats, a Labour government is not a foregone conclusion, say party hawks
For the past few months, with Labour enjoying a stubbornly large double-digit lead in the polls, close allies of Keir Starmer remained obsessed with the notion that complacency will slip into the mindsets of MPs, advisers and activists.
In a breathless week that saw Labour veer from having to abandon one byelection before scooping previously safe Tory seats in two others, the obsessives were given three opportunities to drive their point home.
Continue reading...Gen Kitchen takes seat for party for first time since 2001 general election to temper fears after testing week
Labour has overturned a Tory majority of over more than 18,000 to secure victory in the Wellingborough byelection, winning the seat for the first time since the 2001 general election.
Labour’s candidate, Gen Kitchen, won with 13,844 votes, beating the Conservatives’ Helen Harrison who received 7,408 votes in the largest swing from the Tories to Labour since 1994 and second largest since the second world war. It was Labour’s fifth byelection gain from the Conservatives overall in this parliament. The party also gained a Tory seat in Kingswood, dealing a double blow to an embattled Conservative party that has lost 10 byelections in a single parliament, more than any government since the 1960s.
Continue reading...Blow for Rishi Sunak as former Lewisham mayor Damien Egan elected in South Gloucestershire seat
Labour has overturned an 11,000-plus Tory majority to win the byelection in the South Gloucestershire constituency of Kingswood.
Damien Egan, who resigned as the mayor of Lewisham in south-east London to contest the seat even though it is being abolished at the next general election, is celebrating victory after a professional and energetic Labour campaign. He won with 11,1176 votes, to 8,675 for his nearest rival, the Conservatives’ Sam Bromiley, a majority of 2,501. Labour won on a swing in the share of the vote of 16.4 percentage points – some way above the 11.4 point swing needed.
Continue reading...Gathering of councillors in north-west England has resulted in suspensions of candidates Azhar Ali and Graham Jones
After the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel, local Labour party meetings became the source of major headaches for the party leadership.
While they were spaces for people to share their difficulties navigating rising levels of Islamophobic and antisemitic abuse, it was also where people expressed frustration at Keir Starmer’s handling of Labour’s position on the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Continue reading...Labour leader says he acted decisively after further information on Azhar Ali’s comments about Israel
Keir Starmer has defended his handling of the controversy surrounding Labour’s candidate in Rochdale, who was suspended by the party on Monday night after days of revelations about remarks he made about Israel soon after the Hamas attacks.
The Labour leader said on Tuesday he had taken tough and decisive action against Azhar Ali, who will now campaign for the Rochdale seat with no official support for the party.
Continue reading...Senior Conservative says party has descended into ‘death spiral’ as poll losses set to fuel fresh attacks on Sunak’s leadership
Conservative MPs on Saturday night predicted fresh attacks on Rishi Sunak’s leadership within days, as they accused their own party of surrendering to Labour without a proper fight in two formerly safe Tory seats where byelections will be held this week.
MPs from across the party complained that losses in Wellingborough and Kingswood on Thursday had already been “priced in”, as one senior figure said defeatism had set in, with the party having descended into a “death spiral”.
Continue reading...Prime minister’s comments ‘remarkable’ given government cuts to town hall funding in England, say LGA bosses
Council leaders in England have criticised Rishi Sunak for demanding that local authorities show “restraint” in putting up council tax bills, saying the government is to blame for underfunding.
The prime minister on Friday called for authorities to be “restrained in the council tax rises they put in place”, saying it was “incumbent on local councils to be respectful of the demands on people’s family budgets”.
Continue reading...Recall of MP Peter Bone opens up Brexit-leaning former safe seat where defections from Tories in any direction could help Labour win
The public’s dissatisfaction with Rishi Sunak’s government runs deep. In his first year in No 10, the prime minister led the Conservatives to six byelection defeats – though many Tories believed they never stood a chance with the vote in West Lancashire.
On paper the results show that national polling, which puts the Labour party ahead of the Conservatives with a 20-point lead, is pretty accurate. Labour figures believe the anti-Tory sentiment that is radiating from the polls is very reflective of the mood in Wellingborough – which will become the latest site for a byelection showdown.
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