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General election: focus on freedom of movement as Labour debates manifesto – live news General election: focus on freedom of movement as Labour debates manifesto – live news
(32 minutes later)
Live coverage of the day on the campaign trail, including Labour meeting to decide its manifestoLive coverage of the day on the campaign trail, including Labour meeting to decide its manifesto
The government is coming under heightened scrutiny after Brexit party officials alleged that key figures among their ranks were offered government positions and peerages in exchange for standing aside in Labour-held marginals.
Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson has come out this afternoon saying:
In an interview, the Labour Party chairman Ian Lavery said:
Earlier, speaking on behalf of the government, Michael Gove said:
Brexit Party MEP Ben Habib, when asked if the Tory Party’s denials were a lie, told Sky:
Meanwhile, the SNP has demanded a Cabinet Office probe into the allegations. Tommy Sheppard, the party’s candidate for Edinburgh East and its Cabinet Office spokesman, said the allegations “go to the heart of the abuse of the peerage system”:
This is from the Observer’s Mark Townsend.This is from the Observer’s Mark Townsend.
The University of Bolton’s student union president Ansh Sachdeva has taken the prime minister Boris Johnson on a short tour through the Chancellor’s Mall building where donations of clothing, food, toiletries, other essentials and even phone chargers have flooded in.The University of Bolton’s student union president Ansh Sachdeva has taken the prime minister Boris Johnson on a short tour through the Chancellor’s Mall building where donations of clothing, food, toiletries, other essentials and even phone chargers have flooded in.
Johnson hailed the “incredible response” from the community after appeals were made via social media to help students displaced from the fire.Johnson hailed the “incredible response” from the community after appeals were made via social media to help students displaced from the fire.
He had brief handshakes with a number of the affected students and also met Prof William Morris, the university’s deputy chair of the board of governors, who told the Prime Minister:He had brief handshakes with a number of the affected students and also met Prof William Morris, the university’s deputy chair of the board of governors, who told the Prime Minister:
The PM then travelled to the town centre where Dave Keelan, assistant chief fire officer at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, showed him the fire-damaged building and the ongoing recovery effort.The PM then travelled to the town centre where Dave Keelan, assistant chief fire officer at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, showed him the fire-damaged building and the ongoing recovery effort.
A record number of women are expected to stand in next month’s general election.A record number of women are expected to stand in next month’s general election.
More than 1,100 women have registered as candidates, making up a third of nominations, marking an increase from 29% in 2017 and 26% in 2015.More than 1,100 women have registered as candidates, making up a third of nominations, marking an increase from 29% in 2017 and 26% in 2015.
The Guardian’s Molly Blackall reports:The Guardian’s Molly Blackall reports:
Vince Cable predicts the election will end in a hung parliament, sparking a referendum and another general election.Vince Cable predicts the election will end in a hung parliament, sparking a referendum and another general election.
The former leader of the Liberal Democrats said there is a “one in a million” chance that Jeremy Corbyn will become prime minister. “The idea of Jeremy Corbyn winning and becoming Prime Minister, one in a million. It’s not going to happen,” Cable told Sophy Ridge on Sky News. “I think we’re faced with either a Johnson majority, it could happen. Although I think more likely, no majority, but hung in a different way, with more of us and more SNP.”The former leader of the Liberal Democrats said there is a “one in a million” chance that Jeremy Corbyn will become prime minister. “The idea of Jeremy Corbyn winning and becoming Prime Minister, one in a million. It’s not going to happen,” Cable told Sophy Ridge on Sky News. “I think we’re faced with either a Johnson majority, it could happen. Although I think more likely, no majority, but hung in a different way, with more of us and more SNP.”
When asked if Corbyn gets into Number 10 in the event of a hung parliament, Vince said: “No it doesn’t and we’ve been absolutely clear we couldn’t possibly allow that to happen.When asked if Corbyn gets into Number 10 in the event of a hung parliament, Vince said: “No it doesn’t and we’ve been absolutely clear we couldn’t possibly allow that to happen.
“It would probably be some more neutral figure and then leading into a referendum to resolve the Brexit issue and another General Election soon after that.”“It would probably be some more neutral figure and then leading into a referendum to resolve the Brexit issue and another General Election soon after that.”
Labour’s manifesto could drop this Thursday, according to social media posts from two shadow cabinet ministers.Labour’s manifesto could drop this Thursday, according to social media posts from two shadow cabinet ministers.
In a video posted on her Twitter account, shadow education secretory Angela Rayner said: “Today I am going to our manifesto meeting where the trade unions, senior members of the Labour party, and the shadow cabinet will all get together to decide what goes in our manifesto.In a video posted on her Twitter account, shadow education secretory Angela Rayner said: “Today I am going to our manifesto meeting where the trade unions, senior members of the Labour party, and the shadow cabinet will all get together to decide what goes in our manifesto.
“Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far. My lips are going to have to be sealed until Thursday when we formally annouce it.”“Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far. My lips are going to have to be sealed until Thursday when we formally annouce it.”
Dan Carden, the shadow secretary of state for international development, also tweeted that the manifesto will be announced on ThursdayDan Carden, the shadow secretary of state for international development, also tweeted that the manifesto will be announced on Thursday
The home secretary, Priti Patel, made a last-minute intervention to block a rescue operation to bring British orphans and unaccompanied minors home from Syria, the Observer has revealed.The home secretary, Priti Patel, made a last-minute intervention to block a rescue operation to bring British orphans and unaccompanied minors home from Syria, the Observer has revealed.
Patel was backed by several other ministers, including the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, when she objected to the extraction of British children from the war-ravaged country during National Security Council meetings last month and internal discussions.Patel was backed by several other ministers, including the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, when she objected to the extraction of British children from the war-ravaged country during National Security Council meetings last month and internal discussions.
Mark Townsend, the Observer’s home affairs editor, reports:Mark Townsend, the Observer’s home affairs editor, reports:
Nicola Sturgeon campaigns in Arbroath, Scotland. The first minister is visiting pro-Brexit communities in north-east Scotland to warn against the economic harm that will be done by a Tory BrexitNicola Sturgeon campaigns in Arbroath, Scotland. The first minister is visiting pro-Brexit communities in north-east Scotland to warn against the economic harm that will be done by a Tory Brexit
A 71-year-old told Boris Johnson to deliver on his Brexit promises or face receiving an “unpleasant” letter.A 71-year-old told Boris Johnson to deliver on his Brexit promises or face receiving an “unpleasant” letter.
Johnson was out campaigning in Mansfield for Tory candidate Ben Bradley, who won the seat from Labour in 2017 by a majority of 1,057. While Johnson was warmly received by the residents in the four houses they visited in Millersdale Avenue, one woman sought reassurances from Johnson.Johnson was out campaigning in Mansfield for Tory candidate Ben Bradley, who won the seat from Labour in 2017 by a majority of 1,057. While Johnson was warmly received by the residents in the four houses they visited in Millersdale Avenue, one woman sought reassurances from Johnson.
This is from PA Media:This is from PA Media:
This is from PA Media:This is from PA Media:
The Liberal Democrat leader, Jo Swinson, has planted a tree in north London at a campaign event. The move was intended to highlight the Lib Dem pledge to plant 60m trees a year if they gain power.
The battle to win this election will be fought on many fronts and there will be many, many trees.
The Conservative party has said it will triple tree-planting rates if it wins the general election, while the Liberal Democrats have promised they will plant twice as many trees as the Tories.
Boris Johnson announced a £640m Nature for Climate fund which would increase tree planting in England, with the government aiming to work with the devolved administrations to boost tree-planting rates to 30,000 hectares every year, which the party said could mean 30m more trees.
But the Liberal Democrats have said they will plant 60m trees every year, describing it as “the largest tree-planting programme in UK history”. The party leader, Jo Swinson, planted a tree in north London at a campaign event this morning to highlight the party’s pledge.
As reported by Frances Perraudin this morning, the UK is one of the least forested countries in Europe, with just 10% of England covered by woodland, compared with 31% of France and 37% of Spain.
The Brexit party MEP Ben Habib has said he thinks staying in the European Union would be better than going ahead with Boris Johnson’s withdrawal agreement.
Habib sees the prime minister’s deal as “much worse” than remaining in the bloc and that Johnson needs to be steered away from his plan.
Habib told Sophy Ridge on Sky: “What we really need to do is get the prime minister to pivot away from the withdrawal agreement.” He added: “I see the withdrawal agreement as much worse than remain, frankly,” and that under Johnson’s deal Northern Ireland would be “bereft”.
Asked if it is the official Brexit party position that remaining in the EU is better than the prime minister’s deal, he said: “That may or may not be our position. That’s certainly my view.”
Explaining his party’s decision not to stand in Tory-held seats, Habib said his party feared creating a hung parliament or giving power to the Labour party. “The key for us was to try and get a leave-sympathetic majority of parliamentarians in parliament, and we could have cut that cake in a number of different ways, but the way we decided to do it was to simply stand down against the Tories in those 317 seats,” he said.
When asked why the Brexit party was still standing in marginal seats held by Labour MPs, he said: “What we’d hoped was that the Tories would respond positively to the enormously generous offer that we made two weeks ago which was for them to stand down in the 150-odd seats that they haven’t won for over a hundred years in the Labour heartlands.”
The shadow cabinet and other senior figures are slowly arriving at the party’s clause V meeting in London, and have had their own messages for protesters calling on Labour to back freedom of movement. But who had the best response?
The leader of Unite the Union, Len McCluskey, arriving moments after Jeremy Corbyn and the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, approached protesters and shouted over them: “I’m going to support free movement, and I support migrant workers.”
The shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, said: “End racism.”
The shadow health secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, spoke briefly about Labour’s immigration policy, saying: “We need to make sure we’ve got international staff – nurses and doctors who continue to work for the NHS.”
Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn have both thanked emergency services after a large fire at a student accommodation building in Bolton.
Images posted on social media showed firefighters tackling the blaze on the top floors of a six-storey building. One witness described the fire as “crawl[ing] up the cladding like it was nothing”.
If you are looking for a break from the hectic news cycle this morning, check out the Guardian’s Gary Younge. In the first of a three-part series he returns to his home town, Stevenage, to see how the bellwether constituency views the election.
The police are assessing two allegations of electoral fraud after claims the Tories offered peerages to senior Brexit party figures to persuade them to stand down in the general election.
The Labour peer Lord Falconer has written to the Metropolitan police commissioner and director of public prosecutions calling for an investigation into what he said were “exceptionally serious allegations”.
Falconer said these allegations should be investigated as a matter of urgency in order to maintain public confidence in the integrity of the election.
The Met said: “The MPS [Metropolitan Police Service] has received two allegations of electoral fraud and malpractice in relation to the 2019 general election.
“The MPS special inquiry team is responsible for investigating all such criminal allegations. Both allegations are currently being assessed.
“The MPS will not be providing comment about individual cases.”
The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has refused to back freedom of movement ahead of Labour’s clause V meeting on Saturday.
Burnham described immigration as a “difficult” issue on Sky News’s Sophy Ridge show as there were “still different perspectives” within the Labour party. “But I think they’re right to be talking about a practical deal that keeps us as close to Europe as possible,” he said.
When asked whether he thinks Labour should back a position where free movement of people ends after Brexit, Burnham said: “I think the public voted for change in the way the immigration arrangements work with Europe.
“To deny that I think would be to deny what many people were saying when they went to vote in 2016, and that’s just in my view, a fact. And it doesn’t help politicians, it doesn’t help parliament, if they look like they’re kind of cocooned away from that public view.
“But I think what we shouldn’t do is introduce wholesale change. Just some greater management of the system.”
Burnham added he saw evidence of free movement allowing the undercutting of wages, where people were brought in by agencies from other European countries. “Those are the issues that need to be addressed,” he said.
The Liberal Democrats have been criticised for their selective use of polling data on leaflets.
The factchecking charity Full Fact has warned that attempts to mislead voters by using polling data to claim electoral advantage over rivals could have long-term implications for trust in politicians.
Lisa O’Carroll, the Guardian’s Brexit correspondent, reports that leaflets across the country show the Liberal Democrats appear to be using bar charts to press home a message that they have a good chance of winning, even in seats where the likes of the Tories’ Jacob Rees-Mogg or Labour stalwarts are seen as unlikely to be dislodged.
In some leaflets the party omitted spectacular results for the Brexit party in bar charts showing the European election results, while in others it projected local election results to forecast wins in the general election.
The party has also been criticised for using data from Flavible, an obscure company that is not a member of the British Polling Council.
Good morning, I’m Aamna Mohdin and welcome to the politics live blog. We’re liveblogging every weekend as well as weekdays during the election. Lucky you!
All eyes will be on Labour’s manifesto, which Jeremy Corbyn vowed would “knock your socks off”. The manifesto will be finalised in today’s clause V meeting and immigration has re-emerged as a key battleground.
The Daily Telegraph reported that Corbyn faces a frontbench split, referring to claims that a draft version of Labour’s manifesto contains a commitment to freedom of movement. The newspaper quoted a shadow cabinet source as saying: “If we maintain a close relationship with the single market then we are going to have to maintain freedom of movement. That’s a given.”
The Independent reported that policies of extending free movement and giving foreign nationals the right to vote in all UK elections, which passed at the party’s annual conference on Saturday, are expected to be watered down or scrapped.
Meanwhile, Wiley, the so-called godfather of grime, has come out in support of Corbyn. The endorsement follows reports that some of the artists involved with the Grime4Corbyn movement, which launched two years ago with the aim of connecting energised fans with the Labour leader’s politics, now question the effectiveness of the campaign.
I’ll be bringing you all the action and keeping you updated on all the developments. To send me your tips and favourite Wiley songs, your best bet is to tweet me @aamnamohdin