There is, so far at least, a polish to Labour’s campaign, driven by a desperation to win and a desperation to avoid unforced errors. Every step of choreography is meticulously planned – and such was the case on Monday when Sir Keir Starmer gave his first major speech of the general election campaign. We spotted,...
The Conservatives have promised to raise the tax-free pension allowance via a “Triple Lock Plus” if they win the general election. Under the plans, the personal allowance for pensioners will increase at least 2.5% or in line with the highest of earnings or inflation. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the scheme “shows we are on...
He admitted the role of an MP “has just never been for me” and that he would find it “extremely difficult to step back” from being an executive leader. Before his loss, Mr Street had been mayor of the West Midlands since 2017. Previous to his political career he had a successful time in retail,...
Mrs May’s immigration policies, introduced when she was home secretary, caused “serious injustice” for Windrush immigrants who arrived from the Caribbean in the 1950s and 1960s, the equalities watchdog previously found. Demands to show missing documentation led to many being threatened with deportation, the Equality and Human Rights Commission said. Mrs May told ITV she...
The Conservative Party says MP Lucy Allan has been suspended for backing a Reform UK candidate. Ms Allan is standing down in Telford, Shropshire, and publicly gave her support to Reform’s Alan Adams rather than Tory Hannah Campbell. A Conservative Party spokesman said she had been suspended “with immediate effect”, and that “a vote for...
Labour’s leader has responded to speculation about whether recent polling suggests a desire for change but lack of enthusiasm for his party among the public. Sir Keir Starmer has pointed towards Labour’s performance in local elections, and by-elections, as signs that people are looking towards his party. He says the underlying issue is that “over...
Despite Labour’s commanding lead in the opinion polls, Sir Keir acknowledged that many voters were not yet fully persuaded about his party. “I know there are countless people who haven’t decided how they’ll vote in this election. They’re fed up with the failure, chaos and division of the Tories, but they still have questions about...
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has set out his vision if elected as prime minister, saying he wants “a Britain once more in the service of working people. Country first, party second.” In his first major speech of the general election campaign, Sir Keir added that the country is at a moment “where people no...
Labour questioned how the Ministry of Defence would fund 30,000 new beds for the scheme – and pointed to cuts in the funding of the volunteer National Citizen Service in 2022 when Mr Sunak was chancellor, claiming the policy was “unravelling by the minute”. “What were the flaws in that model of youth service which...
1 hour ago Jayne McCormack,BBC News NI political correspondent Getty Images Mrs Long previously held the seat from 2010 until 2015 Alliance leader Naomi Long is to stand as a candidate in the Belfast East constituency in the general election. Mrs Long previously held the seat from 2010 until 2015, when the DUP’s Gavin Robinson...