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General election: Labour seeking to firm up appeal to leave voters as mega poll suggests Tories well ahead – live General election: Boris Johnson facing criticism for ducking leaders' debate on climate crisis – live news
(32 minutes later)
Campaigns shift to climate crisis, though Boris Johnson has not confirmed attendance at televised environment debate tonightCampaigns shift to climate crisis, though Boris Johnson has not confirmed attendance at televised environment debate tonight
Labour has deselected its election candidate for Falkirk for allegedly putting antisemitic posts on Facebook, leaving the party unable to contest a seat it once held for decades.
Scottish Labour officials confirmed a report in the Falkirk Herald it had dropped Safia Ali as a candidate and suspended her party membership after past antisemitic posts on Facebook surfaced, in the latest controversy about candidate selections.
Michael Sharpe, Scottish Labour’s general secretary, told the Falkirk Herald:
Ali had stood as an independent candidate for the Carse, Kinnaird and Tryst ward in a local election to Falkirk council in 2017, getting the lowest number of first preference votes. A party source said the comments were made on an older Facebook account she no longer used, and had not been picked up during candidate screening.
He said the case was going through the fast-track disciplinary processes introduced by Jeremy Corbyn. “Safia Ali is no longer the Labour party’s candidate for Falkirk,” a party spokesman said. “We have taken immediate action on this matter.”
Labour’s Falkirk constituency party was embroiled in a controversy over irregularities in member recruitment involving the Unite union when the union wanted Karie Murphy, an ally of Unite leader Len McCluskey and latterly a key aide to Corbyn, chosen as its candidate. The constituency party was put under special measures.
In 2015, it was amongst the swathe of Labour seats to topple in the Scottish National party landslide and was held by the SNP’s John McNally in 2017 with a 4,923 vote majority. The seat has since been low on Labour’s target list in Scotland.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has just started its press conference to present its analysis of the main parties’ election manifestos.
There is a live feed here.
Boris Johnson is facing growing criticism for refusing to take part in tonight’s climate crisis leaders’ debate on Channel 4.
Nicolas Stern, author of a landmark climate report, said it was crucial that all political leaders showed up for the debate to give voters the chance to see how future governments would respond to the unfolding emergency.
Stern, a crossbench member of the House of Lords and Chair of the Grantham Research Institute at the LSE, said voters had a right to hear “a more detailed discussion between the leaders about how their governments would rise to challenges of acting with the urgency and scale demanded by these issues”.
The hour-long debate will be held tonight on Channel 4 at 7pm. Jeremy Corbyn and the leaders of the SNP, the Liberal Democrats and the Green party have all agreed to take part.
The decision of Johnson not to take part comes amid increasingly alarming news on the scale of the emergency. On Wednesday scientists warned that the world may already have crossed a series of climate tipping points posing “an existential threat to civilisation”.
The Green party’s Caroline Lucas said:
Max Wakefield, director at Possible, which led the campaign for a climate debate, said: “It is not too late for the prime minister to do as the public wants and turn up to debate the climate and nature emergency.”
Here is my colleague Heather Stewart’s story about the new Labour strategy.
Here are the campaign events in the diary for today.
9.30am: The Institute for Fiscal Studies publishes an analysis of the main parties’ manifestos.
10.30am: The DUP launches its election manifesto.
11am: Jeremy Corbyn gives a speech on the environment. He will announce plans to plant 2bn trees by 2040.
11am: Nigel Farage, the Brexit party leader, campaigns in Hull.
11.30am: Jo Swinson, the Lib Dem leader, gives a speech on “the problem with Boris Johnson”.
12.30am: Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, and Nia Griffith, his Labour shadow, take part in a defence hustings organised by the Royal United Services Institute.
7pm: Jeremy Corbyn, Nicola Sturgeon, Jo Swinson, Sian Berry and Adam Price take part in a Channel 4 News leaders’ debate on the environment. Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage are planning to stay away.
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Jedidajah OtteGood morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Jedidajah Otte
We have already mentioned Iain Watson’s report for the BBC on how Labour plans to revise its campaign to focus more on appealing to leave voters. His full report is here. And here is an extract.We have already mentioned Iain Watson’s report for the BBC on how Labour plans to revise its campaign to focus more on appealing to leave voters. His full report is here. And here is an extract.
And here is the Press Association version of the story.And here is the Press Association version of the story.
Quite how much actual change we will witness in Labour campaigning remains to be seen. After all, it is not as if shadow cabinet ministers who are strongly remain have been given a high profile anyway. (Keir Starmer has been almost as invisible as Jacob Rees-Mogg in the last few weeks.) And what is being described is not a new policy, but just a subtle shift in emphasis.Quite how much actual change we will witness in Labour campaigning remains to be seen. After all, it is not as if shadow cabinet ministers who are strongly remain have been given a high profile anyway. (Keir Starmer has been almost as invisible as Jacob Rees-Mogg in the last few weeks.) And what is being described is not a new policy, but just a subtle shift in emphasis.
Barry Gardiner, the shadow international trade secretary, was asked about the BBC story when he was on the Today programme. He claimed he did not know anything about a shift in strategy, but he did not contest the accuracy of the story in any way.Barry Gardiner, the shadow international trade secretary, was asked about the BBC story when he was on the Today programme. He claimed he did not know anything about a shift in strategy, but he did not contest the accuracy of the story in any way.
Both the Tories and Labour are likely to break their own spending rules, the Resolution Foundation said in a new report published today.Both the Tories and Labour are likely to break their own spending rules, the Resolution Foundation said in a new report published today.
RF is an independent think-tank focused on improving the living standards of those on low to middle incomes. RF is an independent thinktank focused on improving the living standards of those on low to middle incomes.
The Tories have promised to balance the budget within three years, Labour said it would do so within five years.The Tories have promised to balance the budget within three years, Labour said it would do so within five years.
The analysis suggests that the Tories are failing to account for “costs associated with their new investment plans” and “increased interest payments” and “additional depreciation cost of £2.3 billion per year by 2023-24”. The Tory manifesto does also not include any funding for the pledged £6 billion increase of the National Insurance threshold to £12,500. The analysis suggests that the Tories are failing to account for “costs associated with their new investment plans” and “increased interest payments” and “additional depreciation cost of £2.3bn per year by 2023-24”. The Tory manifesto does also not include any funding for the pledged £6bn increase of the national insurance threshold to £12,500.
Labour’s manifesto on the other hand “failed to account for the additional £12 billion annual cost from its commitment to compensate women born in the 1950s affected by the increase in the State Pension age,” the report stated. Labour’s investment plans would mean its budget balancing headroom has already been more than used up, the report added. Labour’s manifesto on the other hand “failed to account for the additional £12bn annual cost from its commitment to compensate women born in the 1950s affected by the increase in the state pension age”, the report stated. Labour’s investment plans would mean its budget balancing headroom has already been more than used up, the report added.
Labour has called the report inaccurate.Labour has called the report inaccurate.
The BBC’s Ian Watson just said on Today that Labour voters living in leave areas will “likely see a very different style of campaign” from the party over the next two weeks, as “the Lib Dem threat was overestimated, while the willingness of leave voters to switch from Labour to the Conseravtives was underestimated.” The BBC’s Ian Watson just said on Today that Labour voters living in leave areas will “likely see a very different style of campaign” from the party over the next two weeks, as “the Lib Dem threat was overestimated, while the willingness of leave voters to switch from Labour to the Conseravtives was underestimated”.
More Labour activists are set to be moved into leave areas, he said, and that shadow cabinet members backing a leave deal rather than remain will be given a higher profile. The message will be that a new referendum won’t be a “back door” initiative to remain in the EU, Watson added.More Labour activists are set to be moved into leave areas, he said, and that shadow cabinet members backing a leave deal rather than remain will be given a higher profile. The message will be that a new referendum won’t be a “back door” initiative to remain in the EU, Watson added.
Laura Duffell from the Royal College of Nursing told Sky’s Breakfast show this morning that she and her colleagues had doubts about the 50,000 extra NHS nurses that were promised in the Conservative manifesto.Laura Duffell from the Royal College of Nursing told Sky’s Breakfast show this morning that she and her colleagues had doubts about the 50,000 extra NHS nurses that were promised in the Conservative manifesto.
“I’d really like to know where the 50,000 nurses are coming from. [...] If there are 50,000 nurses out there, why do we not see them already? It’s not an overnight fix,” Duffell said.“I’d really like to know where the 50,000 nurses are coming from. [...] If there are 50,000 nurses out there, why do we not see them already? It’s not an overnight fix,” Duffell said.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks just spoke about the widely reported incident on the London underground from a few days ago, where a Jewish family was subjected to antisemitic verbal abuse from a man, before other passengers intervened. The man was later arrested. “The hero was a young Muslim woman wearing a hijab,” Sacks said. “She chose to identify with the Jewish family.”Rabbi Jonathan Sacks just spoke about the widely reported incident on the London underground from a few days ago, where a Jewish family was subjected to antisemitic verbal abuse from a man, before other passengers intervened. The man was later arrested. “The hero was a young Muslim woman wearing a hijab,” Sacks said. “She chose to identify with the Jewish family.”
“She chose not to be a bystander but chose to confront racism head on,” he added.“She chose not to be a bystander but chose to confront racism head on,” he added.
Labour’s Barry Gardiner is on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.Labour’s Barry Gardiner is on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Quizzed on the YouGov MRP poll result and Labour’s reported change of tactic, with the aim to convice more Labour leave voters, Gardiner says he hasn’t heard of anything about a change in campaign tactics. Quizzed on the YouGov MRP poll result and Labour’s reported change of tactic, with the aim to convince more Labour leave voters, Gardiner says he hasn’t heard of anything about a change in campaign tactics.
He says the margins have “narrowed” in recent weeks, and that Labour is the only party trying to unite the country around a compromise: a final say on any Brexit deal.He says the margins have “narrowed” in recent weeks, and that Labour is the only party trying to unite the country around a compromise: a final say on any Brexit deal.
This from Sky’s Tamara Cohen:This from Sky’s Tamara Cohen:
Hello, I’m taking over from my colleague Kate Lyons now.Hello, I’m taking over from my colleague Kate Lyons now.
Many people wonder this morning how accurate the YouGov MRP poll predicting a comfortable Tory majority might be, as well as how accurate any polling can be.Many people wonder this morning how accurate the YouGov MRP poll predicting a comfortable Tory majority might be, as well as how accurate any polling can be.
This from political journalist Conor Pope:This from political journalist Conor Pope:
This from Prospect editor Tom Clark, who is urging caution:This from Prospect editor Tom Clark, who is urging caution:
And this from the journalist Paul Mason:And this from the journalist Paul Mason:
There’s a bit of drama going down about whether or not Boris Johnson will do an interview with Andrew Neil.There’s a bit of drama going down about whether or not Boris Johnson will do an interview with Andrew Neil.
As Jim Waterson and Heather Stewart write:As Jim Waterson and Heather Stewart write:
Nicola Sturgeon responded asking whether Johnson was ducking out because he was a chicken. Jeremy Corbyn supporter and Guardian columnist Owen Jones called it an “absolute disgrace”, saying the BBC had “lied to Labour and said they’d agreed an interview between Andrew Neil and Boris Johnson next week” – a claim the BBC denies, and Labour candidates are piling on.Nicola Sturgeon responded asking whether Johnson was ducking out because he was a chicken. Jeremy Corbyn supporter and Guardian columnist Owen Jones called it an “absolute disgrace”, saying the BBC had “lied to Labour and said they’d agreed an interview between Andrew Neil and Boris Johnson next week” – a claim the BBC denies, and Labour candidates are piling on.
What’s happening today?What’s happening today?
Jo Swinson starts the day with a roundtable on homelessness in London and Jeremy Corbyn will be in Southampton to announce the party’s environment policies.Jo Swinson starts the day with a roundtable on homelessness in London and Jeremy Corbyn will be in Southampton to announce the party’s environment policies.
A foreign policy debate, featuring foreign secretary Dominic Raab, shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry as well as the foreign affairs spokespersons for the Lib Dems and SNP. If you’re interested, that will be broadcast on Radio 4 tonight. A foreign policy debate, featuring the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, the shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, as well as the foreign affairs spokespersons for the Lib Dems and SNP. If you’re interested, that will be broadcast on Radio 4 tonight.
Tonight, party leaders will participate in a debate on the climate crisis, broadcast on Channel 4. Boris Johnson has not confirmed whether he will be there and Nigel Farage has rejected the invite, but all other parties will be attending.Tonight, party leaders will participate in a debate on the climate crisis, broadcast on Channel 4. Boris Johnson has not confirmed whether he will be there and Nigel Farage has rejected the invite, but all other parties will be attending.
A quiet day for the Tories, who have no major events or announcements scheduled.A quiet day for the Tories, who have no major events or announcements scheduled.
A new poll for the Times points to a thumping Conservative victory. While the Guardian is treating all polls with suspicion, read why here, the MRP poll from YouGov came closest to calling the unexpected result of the 2017 general election.A new poll for the Times points to a thumping Conservative victory. While the Guardian is treating all polls with suspicion, read why here, the MRP poll from YouGov came closest to calling the unexpected result of the 2017 general election.
The poll predicts the Conservatives will win 359 seats (42 gains), leaving Johnson with a majority of 68. Labour, meanwhile, would fall back to 211 seats – a result that would be in line with the disaster of 1983. Not everyone is happy with that message, including Boris Johnson’s adviser Dominic Cummings who has told Brexit supporters that the general election is “much tighter” than polls might suggest and urged them to persuade their friends to vote Tory.The poll predicts the Conservatives will win 359 seats (42 gains), leaving Johnson with a majority of 68. Labour, meanwhile, would fall back to 211 seats – a result that would be in line with the disaster of 1983. Not everyone is happy with that message, including Boris Johnson’s adviser Dominic Cummings who has told Brexit supporters that the general election is “much tighter” than polls might suggest and urged them to persuade their friends to vote Tory.
Matt Hancock is up early, talking about Conservative plans to tackle addiction.Matt Hancock is up early, talking about Conservative plans to tackle addiction.
Good morning politics-people. We’re two weeks out from the vote and Labour has taken the gloves off, accusing the Tories of being willing to sell off the NHS. Meanwhile, there’ll be a lot of talk about the climate crisis today, as scientists warn the world may already have crossed a series of climate tipping points, meaning “we are in a state of planetary emergency”. Good morning politics people. We’re two weeks out from the vote and Labour has taken the gloves off, accusing the Tories of being willing to sell off the NHS. Meanwhile, there’ll be a lot of talk about the climate crisis today, as scientists warn the world may already have crossed a series of climate tipping points, meaning “we are in a state of planetary emergency”.
Jeremy Corbyn has returned to his deadliest line of attack in this election campaign, as he claims that leaked documents show Boris Johnson wants to sell off the NHS in a trade deal with the US.Jeremy Corbyn has returned to his deadliest line of attack in this election campaign, as he claims that leaked documents show Boris Johnson wants to sell off the NHS in a trade deal with the US.
The official papers reveal US and UK officials have repeatedly discussed dismantling protections that keep NHS drug prices down as part of their negotiations about a post-Brexit trade deal.The official papers reveal US and UK officials have repeatedly discussed dismantling protections that keep NHS drug prices down as part of their negotiations about a post-Brexit trade deal.
The Labour leader, and some experts, say that the official papers put lie to Johnson’s repeated claims that the NHS is not for sale and that healthcare is “not on the table” in trade talks between the two countries. Dennis Campbell and Jamie Grierson have unpacked what the dossier says and what it means. Heather Stewart writes that “Corbyn had one central aim as he brandished the 451-page ‘secret” NHS document at a hastily-arranged press conference on Wednesday: to drag the general election debate safely back into Labour’s comfort zone” after the antisemitism accusations. The Labour leader, and some experts, say that the official papers put lie to Johnson’s repeated claims that the NHS is not for sale and that healthcare is “not on the table” in trade talks between the two countries. Denis Campbell and Jamie Grierson have unpacked what the dossier says and what it means. Heather Stewart writes that “Corbyn had one central aim as he brandished the 451-page ‘secret” NHS document at a hastily-arranged press conference on Wednesday: to drag the general election debate safely back into Labour’s comfort zone after the antisemitism accusations.
Today will be about the environment. Corbyn will be in Southampton where he will set out the party’s environment policies, arguing that the UK should plant 2bn trees by 2040. One plank of Labour’s energy policy is under fire today, as lawyers have warned that the party’s plans to take large parts of the energy industry back under public control puts it on a collision course with EU laws that guard Europe-owned companies against government takeovers. Later tonight, the leaders of most parties – Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage are the notable exceptions – will participate in a Channel 4 debate on climate issues.Today will be about the environment. Corbyn will be in Southampton where he will set out the party’s environment policies, arguing that the UK should plant 2bn trees by 2040. One plank of Labour’s energy policy is under fire today, as lawyers have warned that the party’s plans to take large parts of the energy industry back under public control puts it on a collision course with EU laws that guard Europe-owned companies against government takeovers. Later tonight, the leaders of most parties – Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage are the notable exceptions – will participate in a Channel 4 debate on climate issues.