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General election: Labour says Twitter has failed to punish Tories properly for using bogus 'factcheck' label – live news General election: Labour says Twitter has failed to punish Tories properly for using bogus 'factcheck' label – live news
(32 minutes later)
Leaders will try to steer campaign back to their key messages in wake of ITV leaders’ debateLeaders will try to steer campaign back to their key messages in wake of ITV leaders’ debate
Boris Johnson has said that flood-hit families and businesses will eligible for government grants worth up to £5,000 for new resilience measures. He made the pledge in a Yorkshire Post article. Here’s an excerpt.
Sturgeon says it was no inevitable that Brexit had to be this chaotic.
She says, if Scotland were to vote for independence, the process of separating from England would not have to be like Brexit.
Q: Boris Johnson said last night Labour had already done a deal with the SNP on independence. Jeremy Corbyn said that was not true. But this morning Humza Yousef said in practice Labour would allow an early second referendum. (See 10.54am.)
Sturgeon says she is surprised anyone believes anything Johnson says.
She says there has been no deal with Labour.
But she says she agrees with what Yousef said this morning. Jeremy Corbyn favours self-determination “for virtually every other country on the planet”, she says.
She says she would expect Scotland’s desire for a second referendum to be granted.
Nicola Sturgeon is now taking questions.
Q: If you manage to stop Brexit, won’t that take away your justification for a second independence referendum?
No, says Sturgeon.
She says Brexit illustrates why Scotland should be in charge of its own future. But it is only one example.
If Brexit is stopped, there is no guarantee it won’t return as a prospect. Nigel Farage, the Brexit party leader, is not just going to give up, she says.
A Tory candidate who claimed British Jews who visited Israel returned “brainwashed” has been suspended from the party, the Press Association reports. The PA story goes on:
Sturgeon says continued Westminster control poses multiple threats to Scotland.
She says she will give three examples.
First, Brexit could harm the Scottish economy. Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal would cost the Scottish economy £9bn by the end of the decade, she says.
Second, Brexit would lead to the Scottish workforce shrinking, she says. There would be particular problems in the care sector. She says the Tories are “deliberately and shamefully” giving the impression that EU workers are a burden, not a resource. That is shameful, she says.
Third, the Tories would reduce Scotland’s powers, she says She says they have already used Brexit to take powers from the Scottish parliament, legislating for the first time in this area without the approval of the Scottish parliament.
She says the Tories are desperate to do a trade deal with the US. That could lead to large prices in NHS drugs. And the Tories would over-ride Scottish wishes if Scotland tried to get in the way of that trade deal.
Sturgeon says Labour cannot win in Scotland.Sturgeon says Labour cannot win in Scotland.
In all the 13 Scottish seats the Tories hold, the SNP are the challengers, she says.In all the 13 Scottish seats the Tories hold, the SNP are the challengers, she says.
Strugeon turns to the Lib Dems. She says there now seem to be more Tories in the Lib Dems than there are Lib Dems.Strugeon turns to the Lib Dems. She says there now seem to be more Tories in the Lib Dems than there are Lib Dems.
She says one of the Tory defectors to the Lib Dems (she is referring to Sam Gyimah) described free university tuition as a fantasy. But it is not a fantasy in Scotland, she says.She says one of the Tory defectors to the Lib Dems (she is referring to Sam Gyimah) described free university tuition as a fantasy. But it is not a fantasy in Scotland, she says.
Nicola Sturgeon is giving her speech in Dundee.Nicola Sturgeon is giving her speech in Dundee.
The Scottish first minister says today feels like the morning after the night before.The Scottish first minister says today feels like the morning after the night before.
Yesterday Scotland was talked about in the leaders’ debate,but not represented.Yesterday Scotland was talked about in the leaders’ debate,but not represented.
Both Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn showed they are not fit to be prime minister, she says.Both Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn showed they are not fit to be prime minister, she says.
She says this election really matters because “the future of Scotland is on the line”.She says this election really matters because “the future of Scotland is on the line”.
She says she thinks everyone in Scotland is “heartily sick” of Brexit.She says she thinks everyone in Scotland is “heartily sick” of Brexit.
But this would just be the warm-up act, she says. The trade talks would have to start. And, with Nigel Farage pulling Boris Johnson’s strings, there is a chance of a no-deal Brexit at the end of the transition period.But this would just be the warm-up act, she says. The trade talks would have to start. And, with Nigel Farage pulling Boris Johnson’s strings, there is a chance of a no-deal Brexit at the end of the transition period.
Sturgeon also said post-Brexit trade talks could take “years and years and years”.Sturgeon also said post-Brexit trade talks could take “years and years and years”.
The full tables from the YouGov poll last night on the ITV leaders’ debate are now available on its website here (pdf).The full tables from the YouGov poll last night on the ITV leaders’ debate are now available on its website here (pdf).
Laurence Janta-Lipinksi, a polling specialist, thinks the raw data reflect well on Jeremy Corbyn.Laurence Janta-Lipinksi, a polling specialist, thinks the raw data reflect well on Jeremy Corbyn.
I’ve corrected the post at 9.54am because it contained a significant typo. Dawn Butler criticised Boris Johnson for saying in the debate last night that the monarchy was beyond reproach, not for saying that the monarch was beyond reproach. Johnson was commenting on the royal family generally, not the Queen as an individual. Sorry for the error.I’ve corrected the post at 9.54am because it contained a significant typo. Dawn Butler criticised Boris Johnson for saying in the debate last night that the monarchy was beyond reproach, not for saying that the monarch was beyond reproach. Johnson was commenting on the royal family generally, not the Queen as an individual. Sorry for the error.
You can read all the Guardian’s coverage of last night’s election debate on our election page here. And here is a roundup of what journalists and commentators were saying about it on Twitter last night.You can read all the Guardian’s coverage of last night’s election debate on our election page here. And here is a roundup of what journalists and commentators were saying about it on Twitter last night.
From Patrick Maguire’s Morning Call email briefing for the New StatesmanFrom Patrick Maguire’s Morning Call email briefing for the New Statesman
From Michael Deacon in the Daily Telegraph (paywall)From Michael Deacon in the Daily Telegraph (paywall)
From Paul Goodman at ConservativeHomeFrom Paul Goodman at ConservativeHome
From Quentin Letts in the Times (paywall)From Quentin Letts in the Times (paywall)
From Sky’s Beth RigbyFrom Sky’s Beth Rigby
Plaid Cymru is today calling for the creation of a new tax credit for people who pay more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities. This is from Ben Lake, who is seeking re-election as MP for Ceredigion.Plaid Cymru is today calling for the creation of a new tax credit for people who pay more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities. This is from Ben Lake, who is seeking re-election as MP for Ceredigion.
Labour says Boris Johnson’s claim that it would allow a second Scottish independence referendum in 2020, in addition to the second Brexit referendum that it is planning for next year, is not true. But on the Today programme this morning the SNP MSP Humza Yousaf said he thought in practice a Labour government would agree to hold one. He said:Labour says Boris Johnson’s claim that it would allow a second Scottish independence referendum in 2020, in addition to the second Brexit referendum that it is planning for next year, is not true. But on the Today programme this morning the SNP MSP Humza Yousaf said he thought in practice a Labour government would agree to hold one. He said:
In their manifesto, which will be launched this afternoon, the Liberal Democrats will call for the introduction of safe standing areas in all-seater football stadia. Layla Moran, the party’s culture spokeswoman, said:In their manifesto, which will be launched this afternoon, the Liberal Democrats will call for the introduction of safe standing areas in all-seater football stadia. Layla Moran, the party’s culture spokeswoman, said:
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, has said it is “sickening” to hear Jo Swinson, the Lib Dem leader, say last night that she would be willing to use a nuclear weapon.
From ITV’s Paul Brand, who is on the Tory battlebus
Some readers have been asking below the line why the page on the YouGov website with the results of its poll on the leaders’ debate has a 6.50pm timestamp, which was more than an hour before the debate even started. A YouGov spokesman has called with (as I expected) an innocent explanation. He said that, knowing it would have to turn around the poll results quickly, YouGov launched the web page in advance of the debate. The article originally said something about how the poll results would be published on that page after the debate ended. Later the article was updated with the poll findings. But the timestamp still reflected the original publication time.
Almost 7 million people watched the ITV leaders’ debate last night, according to ITV’s Carl Dinnen. A subsequent ITV programme, featuring interviews with four leaders of the smaller parties, was watched by more than 2 million people.
The Electoral Commission has released a statement saying that it cannot intervene in the Conservative party bogus Twitter handle row because it does not have a role in regulating what parties say during election campaigns. A spokesman for the commission said:
In her Today interview Dawn Butler, the shadow minister for women and equalities, also criticised Boris Johnson for saying the monarchy was “beyond reproach” in last night’s ITV debate. She said:
Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, has given a series of interviews this morning, and the election questions mostly focused on the row about the Conservatives’ abuse of their Twitter account. Here are the main points he has been making.
Raab refused to apologise for the Conservative party’s decision to rename one of their Twitter accounts “factcheckUK” during the debate.
He rejected claims that people had been misled by the bogus Twitter handle. (See 7.46am.)
He refused to say whether or not the party would do the same thing again. But he implied it was unlikely. He told the Today programme:
He said it was right for the Tories to respond to the “lies” told about them. He said:
He claimed that Boris Johnson was the clear winner of the debate, because the snap YouGov poll afterwards showed him well ahead of Jeremy Corbyn on who came out the most prime ministerial. Raab said:
But on other metrics Corbyn won. The detailed figures are here.
Raab criticised Corbyn for failing nine times in the debate last night to say whether or not he would back remain or leave in the second Brexit referendum that Labour plans to hold.
This is from Peter Kellner, the former president of YouGov, the polling organisation.
Both sets of findings from the YouGov snap poll after the debate were covered on our live blog last night. More people thought Boris Johnson won than Jeremy Corbyn won, but more people thought Corbyn performed well than Johnson performed well. That sounds like a contradiction, but it isn’t necessarily. In sport, the winning team isn’t always the one that plays best.
Here is Caroline Lucas, who is campaigning for re-election as a Green party MP, on the Tories’ abuse of Twitter last night.
Dawn Butler, the shadow minister for women and equalities, told Radio 4’s Today programme that Twitter had not done enough to punish the Conservative party for using one of its accounts to mislead people during last night’s leaders’ debate. The party rebranded its own press account as “factcheckUK”, implying that it was providing an impartial, factchecking service.
Twitter has effectively just issued the Tories with a warning, saying “corrective action” will be taken if they do this again.
Asked whether this was enough, Butler told Today:
Asked what else Twitter should have done, she said it would have been better if the account had been taken down during the debate last night. She said: