Penny Mordaunt says what Sunak did, in leaving D-day events early, was ‘very wrong’
Q: As we celebrated D-day, and remember those like my father, how will the parties ensure our armies are ready and our country safe?
Angela Rayner starts by thanking people who serve. Labour is committed to the triple lock on the nuclear deterrent: keeping the submarines, making sure new ones are built in Barrow, and doing upgrades.
And Labour will improve accommodation for servicemen and women, she says.
Daisy Cooper says the Lib Dems are the party of Paddy Ashdown, so they take defence very seriously. They would increase defence spending year by year, aiming for 2.5% of GDP by the end of the next parliament.
Nigel Farage says the army has shrunk. He says they need 30,000 more soldiers, not volunteers. And he says we should support veterans. What happened yesterday was a disgrace, he says.
Penny Mordaunt said what the PM did was “very wrong”.
The prime minister has rightly apologised for that, apologised to veterans, but also to all of us because he was representing all of us.
I’m from Portsmouth. I’ve also been defence secretary and my wish at the end of this week is that all of our veterans feel completely treasured … What happened was very wrong.
UPDATE: Asked if she would have left D-Day commemorations early, Mordaunt said:
I didn’t go to D-day. I think what happened was very wrong, I think the prime minister has apologised for that.
But what I also think is important is we honour their legacy, they fought for our freedom, and unless we are spending the right amount on defence we can’t honour that legacy.
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They now have 30 seconds each for a final thought.
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Rayner says, after 14 years of chaos, it is time for change. She sums up Labour’s six first steps.
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Flynn says the Tories are finished. The SNP will put Scotland’s future first, he says. It will never “get comfortable with the Westminster status quo”, unlike Labour.
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Denyer says Labour are toast. “Thank goodness.” Starmer says he has changed the Labour party. “He’s right – he’s changed them into the Conservatives.” The Green represent real change.
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Ap Iorwerth says he has stood up, not just for Wales, but for another kind of politics. “The Conservatives are finished – and it can’t come quickly enough.” Voting Plaid will stop Wales being ignore.
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Mordaunt says there is a choice: voting Labour, and having higher taxes, higher bills and getting your penison raided; or backing the Conservatives, to cut taxes, protect pensions and keep the nation safe.
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Cooper says the Lib Dems will “fix our NHS and social care, tackling cost of living crisis and puts an end to the scandal of filthy raw sewage being dumped in our rivers”.
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Farage says, unlike the other candidates, he does not need an autocue. He says politics is not working, and the other parties have come up with “pathetic arguments”.
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He says the debate is about who will form the opposition, who will support small businesses and control the borders. He urges people to support Reform UK and “join the revolt”.
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And that’s it.
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Q: My son is about to start secondary school. How will you protect him from knife crime?
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Denyer says one of her colleagues was a victim of this, so she takes it seriously. She says they need to address the causes.
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Farage says there should be more stop and search. And he says the police should not be afraid of using it in areas where there are many black or ethnic minority people living.
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Cooper says stop and search can be a valid tool, but suspicionless stop and search is a mistake.
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Mordaunt claims, if you live in a Labour area, you are more likely to be a victim of crime.
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Rayner says she has teenage sons. People are frightened of crime on the streets. Young people carry knives thinking that will protect them, but it doesn’t. She says the Tories may talk about 20,000 more police officers, but they cut numbers by 22,000.
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That’s not true, Mordaunt says.
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Ap Iorwerth says it is areas that suffer most poverty that suffer the highest levels of crime. It is people without hope who end up leading criminal lives. He says he was attacked as a teenager.
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Q: What matters most – economic growth or successful climate policies?
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Farage says the UK does not have successful climate policies.
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He says we are living in a “false paradise”. Jobs are being exported abroad. Net zero is not working.
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Denyer says she used to be an engineeer. Much of what Farage said was not true, she says.
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But she says Labour has been a disappointment too. It has rolled back on its climate promises, she says.
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Husain asks Rayner about Labour dropping its £28bn green plan.
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Rayner says Labour is still committed to a green prosperity plan.
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Flynn says the opportunities from green energy are huge. But you have to grasp them. The Labour £28bn plan would have been transformative, he says. With the SNP, you will get that.
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On oil and gas, he says the Tories imply oil and gas will last forever. It won’t. Labour want to stop it now; that would cost 100,000 jobs. He says the SNP support a just transition to a green economy.
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Rayner says Labour supports a transition too. That is why it wants a bigger windfall tax to fund the transition. And the Great British Energy HQ will be in Scotland.
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Flynn asks if Scotland should be grateful. It is their energy. He asks if Rayner accepts the 100,000 jobs lost estimate.
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Rayner says Labour’s plans would generate even more jobs.
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Q: Why is it that politicians promise things but nothing happens when they get into government?
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Husain puts the question to Mordaunt, which the audience find amusing.
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Mordaunt says the Tories will cut taxes. “That is in our DNA as Conservatives,” she says.
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She tells people in the audience they cannot afford that.
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Farage complains more and more people doing middle-income jobs being dragged into the higher tax bands.
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He says taxes have risen to a record level. And to hear Mordaunt claim the Tories are a low tax party is “dishonesty on a breathtaking scale”, he says.
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Flynn says there is a conspiracy of silence on austerity.
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And that is true of Brexit too, he says.
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Brexit has impacted the economy more than the Covid pandemic, it has put your food bills up completely unnecessarily, and it has been an unmitigated disaster for the economy.
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That generates a long round of applause.
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Mordaunt says exports are at a record high.
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Flynn says she knows how much damage Brexit has done to the economy.
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Mordaunt says this election is about the cost of living. The government has supported people through difficult times. But now the economy is recovery. “Those are your achievements,” she says.
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She says the election must be about cutting taxes. There will be more announcements in the Tory manifesto next week.
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Labour will put taxes up by £2,000, she says.
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That’s a lie, says Rayner. You put taxes up.
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Mordaunt accepts that, but she says “we hated that”. That is why the Tories went to bring them down.
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She says we have heard about 12 new taxes from Labour.
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That’s rubbish, says Rayner.
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They are shouting over each other.
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Husain insists Denyer gets a go.
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“That was terribly dignified,” Denyer says. That goes down well with the audience.
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Q: We are working to survive, not live. Who will change things for working people?
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Ap Iorwerth says this is a change election. He is sure there will be change in No 10. But what does that represent, he says. He says he supports a plurality of voices.
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He says the two-child cap should go.
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When Tony Blair came to power, there was a sense things would be different, he says. He says he is not sure of that now.
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Rayner says he understands what the questioner is saying. Labour would secure the economy, she says. Working people pay the price for that.
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And she says the Great British Energy plan will bring prices down. “That is real change.”
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Q: What would the parties do about immigration?
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Flynn says the SNP believes in promoting immigration.
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Farage quotes immigration numbers. Most of the people coming in are not productive; they are dependants, he says. “We are living through a population crisis,” he says. He says numbers have gone up by 10 million since Tony Blair was in power. That is making us poorer, he says. He says net migration needs to come down, so services like health and housing can catch up.
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Ap Iorwerth says we need to change the tone. We need to stand up to the “bigotry” of Nigel Farage. The Tories and Labour won’t do that, he says. Plaid Cymru will.
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Farage mocks him. “Open borders,” he shouts.
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UK leader Nigel Farage, leader of Plaid Cymru Rhun ap Iorwerth and Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper.”,”caption”:”Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, leader of Plaid Cymru Rhun ap Iorwerth and Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1717786846000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”15.00 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1717787260000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”15.07 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1717787091000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”15.04 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”15.04″,”title”:”Third question: immigration”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Fri 7 Jun 2024 16.03 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Fri 7 Jun 2024 03.14 EDT”},{“id”:”6663577e8f083af419fde0ec”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Ap Iorwerth says health workers need to be valued.
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Farage says, while you can get great care, the NHS model is not working.
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Other parties argue it is about money.
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But that does not work, he claims. He says spending on health has gone from 7% of GDP to 11% of GDP.
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The model is wrong.
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Flynn says this is Farage “telling the public he does not believe in the NHS”.
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Farage says he wants to change the way it is funded. France has a different model. It uses the insurance model. The service is managed like a private company. And that produces better results.
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Cooper says the King’s Fund, a health service, has looked at this. It found the funding models did not make much difference. It was the amount of money that went in that mattered, she says.
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(There is lovely irony in Farage, the architect of Brexit, arguing for Britain to follow an EU policy model.)
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Mordaunt says NHS waiting lists are four times higher in Labour-run Wales than in England. The country cannot afford a Labour government.
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Rayner says Liz Truss crashed the economy, making care workers redundant.
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Mordaunt says, even on her worst day, Truss believed in the nuclear deterrent.
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“So do I,” says Rayner.
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Q: I’m about to start studying medicine. How can you ensure I graduate into a functioning NHS?
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Cooper starts by wishing her luck. She says the Lib Dems want to hire thousands more GPs, so people can get an appointment within seven days.
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Flynn says he was under the care of the NHS from the age of 14 to 32, because of a disability. He knows what it is like to live with chronic pain, he says.
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In Scotland, there are no NHS strikes, he says. And he tells the questioner that in Scotland she would not pay for tuition fees.
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You have record waits in Scotland, Husain says.
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Flynn blames Covid and the austerity agenda. He says the Tories and Labour know there are cuts worth £18bn coming down the line.
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Q: As we celebrated D-day, and remember those like my father, how will the parties ensure our armies are ready and our country safe?
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Angela Rayner starts by thanking people who serve. Labour is committed to the triple lock on the nuclear deterrent: keeping the submarines, making sure new ones are built in Barrow, and doing upgrades.
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And Labour will improve accommodation for servicemen and women, she says.
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Daisy Cooper says the Lib Dems are the party of Paddy Ashdown, so they take defence very seriously. They would increase defence spending year by year, aiming for 2.5% of GDP by the end of the next parliament.
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Nigel Farage says the army has shrunk. He says they need 30,000 more soldiers, not volunteers. And he says we should support veterans. What happened yesterday was a disgrace, he says.
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Penny Mordaunt said what the PM did was “very wrong”.
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The prime minister has rightly apologised for that, apologised to veterans, but also to all of us because he was representing all of us.
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I’m from Portsmouth. I’ve also been defence secretary and my wish at the end of this week is that all of our veterans feel completely treasured … What happened was very wrong.
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UPDATE: Asked if she would have left D-Day commemorations early, Mordaunt said:
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I didn’t go to D-day. I think what happened was very wrong, I think the prime minister has apologised for that.
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But what I also think is important is we honour their legacy, they fought for our freedom, and unless we are spending the right amount on defence we can’t honour that legacy.
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Mishal Husain, the Today presenter who is chairing tonight’s debate, opens the programme.
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Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the Commons, will soon have the task of trying to defend Rishi Sunak over his D-day commemoration snub.
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She is the spokesperson for the Tories in the first seven-party debate of the campaign, hosted by the BBC.
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Mordaunt is a former defence secretary and former Royal Navy reservist. In a post on X yesterday she stressed her own reverence for D-day veterans, and it will be interesting to see to what extent she is willing to excuse Sunak, and to what extent she tries to distance herself from him. If she manages to hold her seat, she is expected to run for the Tory leadership in a post-election contest.
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Five years ago I was privileged to spend several days with veterans of D-Day. I will be thinking of them all today and their many brothers who did not make it home. I have heard their testimony many times. We know why they did their duty. Yet their courage and sacrifice is… pic.twitter.com/mSykEjuuFm
— Penny Mordaunt (@PennyMordaunt) June 6, 2024
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Angela Rayner, the deputy leader, is representing Labour, and Nigel Farage is speaking for Reform UK, which he leads. Farage was the first politician to criticise Sunak for missing the international event yesterday. Rayner has a brother who served in the army, but the Tories regularly attack her defence credentials because she voted against Trident renewal.
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The other participants are: Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem deputy leader; Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader at Westminster; Carla Denyer, the Green party co-leader; and Rhun ap Iorwerth, the Plaid Cymru leader.
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Unite, one of the UK’s largest trade unions, has reportedly failed to endorse Labour’s manifesto at a meeting to finalise the party’s policy offerings.
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Sources from Unite told PA that the union refused to back the document because they believed Labour had moved on a number of commitments relating to workers and industry, and were dissatisfied with the party’s stance on fire-and-rehire and oil and gas.
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So far, union leaders have remained silent after the conclusion of the meeting. Reacting to the signed-off manifesto, the leftwing group Momentum said it was “deeply disappointed” that Labour has not committed to free school meals or scrapping the two-child benefit cap.
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Outside the central London location where the meeting was held, senior Labour figures and union leaders hurried in and out of the venue to and from their cars, making scant remarks to the press. Heading into the meeting, Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, told reporters she was “hopeful”.
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The meeting lasted about six and a half hours. Attendees entering the building were interrupted by two protests. In the morning, David Lammy was heckled by a protester from the campaign group Green New Deal Rising demanding that Labour commit to a green new deal. When the meeting finished, pro-Palestine protestors greeted those leaving the venue.
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The disgraced former MP Keith Vaz has been belatedly kicked out of Labour after announcing he is standing in his old seat, Leicester East, for a new local party. Rajeev Syal and Jessica Murray have the story.
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Labour’s election manifesto has been agreed at the party’s ‘clause V’ meeting, paving the way for its official launch next week, PA Media reports.
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A party spokesperson said:
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Today’s meeting has endorsed Labour’s manifesto.
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On July 4, the British people will have the chance to vote for change – to stop the chaos, turn the page and start to rebuild our country.
\n
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As PA reports, Rachel Reeves, Jonathan Reynolds and Ed Miliband were seen leaving the venue in central London.Most of those who had attended refused to comment on what had been agreed. Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Labour-affiliated trade union Unite, was due to speak to reporters following the meeting but cancelled her appearance.
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Abdi Duale, a moderate member of Labour’s NEC ruling committee, told PA that the meeting was “very positive” and was “quicker than I thought”.
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The manifesto is due to be published next week.
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Two thirds of Britons think it was unacceptable for Rishi Sunak to leave the international D-day celebrations early to do an election interview, according to snap polling by YouGov. Some 43% said this was completely unacceptable, and 22% said this was somewhat unacceptable. Only 21% of people said what Sunak did was acceptable.
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65% of Britons say it was unacceptable for Rishi Sunak to leave the D-Day commemorations early to do an election interviewhttps://t.co/7HUQ46Z3Lp pic.twitter.com/ClfkZYLLkd
— YouGov (@YouGov) June 7, 2024
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Jo Gideon, who was the Tory MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central in the last parliament but who is standing down, has posted a long thread on X criticising the internal culture of the Conservative party, and the way MPs and activists are treated by CCHQ. She is particularly angry about the way election candidates have been selected at short notice in the past two weeks, but her complaints go well beyond that.
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She says she is speaking out because she wants to “expose the unethical practices that have become pervasive within the party”.
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The thread starts here.
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📢 Statement – Please see all tweets in this chain 📢
When I announced last year that I was not seeking re-election in Stoke Central, journalists speculated that I had been promised a safe seat elsewhere and was on a chicken run. Nothing could have been further from the truth. pic.twitter.com/pY50P9wZCm
— Jo Gideon (@jogideon) June 7, 2024
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📢 Statement – Please see all tweets in this chain 📢
\n When I announced last year that I was not seeking re-election in Stoke Central, journalists speculated that I had been promised a safe seat elsewhere and was on a chicken run. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
\n
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And here are some of her key points.
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Now, loyal and hardworking MPs face deselection, intimidation, and a dismissive attitude when raising serious complaints related to discrimination based on age, gender, and ill health.
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It has become glaringly apparent that rules are applied and disapplied at a whim to benefit a chosen few.
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— Jo Gideon (@jogideon) June 7, 2024
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If the Conservative Party finds itself in opposition, I hope they will use the opportunity to take a long, hard look at how they have allowed discrimination, bullying, and unethical practices to fester.
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Gideon does not give details of the incidents she found objectionable, but, when she spoke about people being deselected on the grounds of health, David Duguid may have been one of the people she was thinking of. (See 10.09am.)
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Earlier this week Gus O’Donnell, the former cabinet secretary, said the rule allowing ministers to ask civil servants to cost opposition policies should be scrapped. The FDA, the union that represents senior civil servants, is now formally proposing this in letters sent to Rishi Sunak and to Keir Starmer.
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Dave Penman, the FDA general secretary, said:
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The civil service is not independent. It offers impartial advice but it loyally serves the government of the day, no matter the colour.
\n That makes this whole practice of using the civil service to cost opposition policies highly questionable; they will never be ‘independent’ calculations as they’re based on politically partial assumptions and completed at the direction of ministers. Dragging civil servants into political mudslinging during an election campaign undermines the impartiality of the civil service at a crucial time when they may be preparing to support a change of government.\n
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Earlier this week Emily Thornberry, the shadow attorney general, told the BBC earlier this week that she personally agreed with a ban on civil servants costing opposition policies, but it is understood this is not Labour’s official position.
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Yesterday a reader asked (I paraphrase – I can’t find the original):
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Who gets to be the official opposition party if the two biggest losting parties both have the same number of MPs?
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This question is probably prompted by the Electoral Calculus predictive polling model suggesting that the Conservatives are on course to get just 75 seats, and the Liberal Democrats 61. Some other MRP polls suggest the Tories will do better. The Survation MRP suggests they will get 71 seats, but it has the Lib Dems on 43 seats. Electoral Calculus seems to be the model implying the Lib Dems have the best chance of coming neck and neck with the Tories.
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And if they were tied, who would be the official opposition?
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This is quite an important question because, in the House of Commons, the official opposition gets a whole series of perks and privileges not available to the smaller opposition parties. Some of them are explained here, in Erskine May. For example, only leader of the opposition gets to put six questions to the PM at PMQs, and only the official opposition can table a motion of no confidence in the government that will prioritised for debate. At Holyrood and in the Senedd the biggest opposition party does not get privileged to the same extent.
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There is no precedent for two parties being tied for the official opposition slot. And the House of Commons press office was unable to tell me what would happen in these circumstances.
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But a source said there is a clue in the Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975, which implies it would be up to the speaker to decide. The Act says:
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If any doubt arises as to which is or was at any material time the party in opposition to Her Majesty’s Government having the greatest numerical strength in the House of Commons, or as to who is or was at any material time the leader in that House of such a party, the question shall be decided for the purposes of this Act by the speaker of the House of Commons, and his decision, certified in writing under his hand, shall be final and conclusive.
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Perhaps the speaker would decide to award official opposition party status to the party with the most votes. Alternatively, they could try to opt for some sort of sharing arrangement.
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When politicians make a mistake, it is often best to apologise swiftly, instead of refusing to admit the error, allowing outrage to escalate, and then having to say sorry a bit later anyway. In D-daygate, Rishi Sunak did get his apology in relatively quickly.
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But there are two aspects of the apology/explanation given by Sunak (see 12.01pm) that have the potential to make his situation worse.
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1) Sunak is suggesting he was never scheduled to attend the international leaders’ event anyway. “The itinerary for these events was set weeks ago before the start of the general election campaign,” he told Sky. But this implies he was all set to snub the international D-day commemoration even when he did not have a general election campaign as an excuse. Commentators are pointing out that this looks worse.
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This is from James Ball from the New European.
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Rishi Sunak’s current D-Day explanation is that he hadn’t planned to attend the full ceremonies even before it was taking place during an election.
Isn’t that…worse? Does he not see that’s worse?
— James Ball (@jamesrbuk) June 7, 2024
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Rishi Sunak’s current D-Day explanation is that he hadn’t planned to attend the full ceremonies even before it was taking place during an election.
\n Isn’t that…worse? Does he not see that’s worse?
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And this is from Sky’s Beth Rigby.
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PM in apologises for leaving D-Day event early, explains “itinerary was set wks ago b4 GE campaign” > As an explanation, Q then is why it was always scheduled for PM to leave event early regardless of GE, given elderly veterans had come all the way & prob 4 the last time https://t.co/b4s2BSf0J2
— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) June 7, 2024
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PM in apologises for leaving D-Day event early, explains “itinerary was set wks ago b4 GE campaign” > As an explanation, Q then is why it was always scheduled for PM to leave event early regardless of GE, given elderly veterans had come all the way & prob 4 the last time
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2) Sunak is suggesting that it is wrong for opposition parties to “politicise” his error. “I think it’s important though, given the enormity of the sacrifice made, that we don’t politicise this,” he told Sky. But this argument is problematic for at least two reasons. First, it is astonishingly naive to think that how the PM deals with important national commemorations should not be a political matter, and a factor in whether or not voters think he is the right person for the job. And, second, it is also arguably hypocritical, given that Sunak left France to record a TV interview in which he attacked Labour.
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This is from Jon Sopel from the News Agents podcast.
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Sorry, did @RishiSunak really just say that his return early from D-Day to give an interview to ITV’s @PaulBrandITV so he could attack Starmer should not be politicised???? I mean, this raises chutzpah into an art form….. https://t.co/kZFkgII93X
— Jon Sopel (@jonsopel) June 7, 2024
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Sorry, did @RishiSunak really just say that his return early from D-Day to give an interview to ITV’s @PaulBrandITV so he could attack Starmer should not be politicised???? I mean, this raises chutzpah into an art form…..
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And this is from Adam Bienkov from Byline Times.
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“I don’t think it’s right to be political in the midst of D-Day commemorations" says Rishi Sunak, who skipped out of the D-Day commemorations in order to take part in a televised interview devoted to repeating his campaign attacks on his political opponents.
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) June 7, 2024
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“I don’t think it’s right to be political in the midst of D-Day commemorations” says Rishi Sunak, who skipped out of the D-Day commemorations in order to take part in a televised interview devoted to repeating his campaign attacks on his political opponents.
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Senior figures in the Conservative party have been defending Rishi Sunak over his decision to leave France yesterday before the 80th anniversary D-day commemorations had finished.
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Foreign secretary David Cameron, who did attend the international leader’s event, said:
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I think it is a tribute to the way he is that he thought on reflection he wished he had stayed in France and instead of digging in and defending himself he just came straight out and said on reflection I wish I had stayed longer.
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But to be fair, he was at the Portsmouth event with all the veterans., gave a brilliant speech, he was at the British event at our brand new built commemorative centre above Gold Beach in Normandy where he was with the veterans, gave a fantastic speech.
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He always represents our country very well abroad and he had a longstanding plan to return after that and we are in the middle of an election campaign so that is not surprising.
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Sunak had earlier suggested the intinerary was set before the election was called.
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Veterans minister Johnny Mercer has also weighed in again. In a social media message reposted by business secretary Kemi Badenoch, he said “Everyone who actually knows Rishi knows how this moment is not reflective on his views on veterans.”
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Sunak told Sky News “people can judge me by my actions when it comes to supporting the armed forces.”
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Adm Lord West, the former head of the Royal Navy, was less impressed. He told the BBC World at One “I’d have thought he’d have been desperate to be involved in such a major, major event of such significance to so many millions of people across the UK. I find it very strange that he should do such an own goal, I mean it comes across so badly.”
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Cameron ultimately took Sunak’s place in the photographs of the world leader lineup. The Liberal Democrats have portrayed the image as showing Sunak in a “dereliction of duty”.
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A dereliction of duty. pic.twitter.com/jx7IIgR7gN
— Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) June 7, 2024
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Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has spoken to Sky News about the row over Rishi Sunak’s early departure from D-day commemoration events in Normandy, saying Sunak was not “a patriotic leader of the Conservative party.”
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He told viewers:
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This was the last time ever there’ll be a gathering of veterans on parade in Normandy, and if he’s not prepared to go to the international commemoration with the heads of so many different countries, overlooking a beach [on] which our American allies lost thousands of men, that says a lot about him.
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He is completely disconnected from the centre of this country and he’s proved to me that he basically is not a patriotic leader of the Conservative party.
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Farage was in Normandy himself yesterday, “in a personal capacity” he posted to social media. In another message earlier today Farage said “I was honoured to help raise £100,000 for the Taxi charity to send veterans back to Normandy. It was a pleasure to meet them at the various events. Rishi Sunak could not even be bothered to attend the international event above Omaha Beach. Who really believes in our people, him or me?”
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of Reform UK Nigel Farage has his picture taken on Gold Beach in Arromanches in Normandy yesterday.”,”caption”:”Leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage has his picture taken on Gold Beach in Arromanches in Normandy yesterday.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1717761115000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”07.51 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1717766016000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”09.13 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1717761701000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”08.01 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”08.01″,”title”:”Sunak’s D-day decision shows ‘completely disconnected’ from centre of Britain and ‘not a patriotic leader’, says Farage”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Fri 7 Jun 2024 16.03 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Fri 7 Jun 2024 03.14 EDT”},{“id”:”6662ea038f085d7b42037b4d”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Asked directly by the media “Did you or anyone around you ever consider skipping the events” in Normandy.
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Sunak said “That’s simply not right. The itinerary for these events was set weeks ago, before the general election campaign.”
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He told Sky News “I stuck to the itinerary.”
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Rishi Sunak has said that D-day commemoration events should not be “politicised” after he faced a barrage of criticism for leaving the 80th anniversary commemorations in Normandy yesterday.
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Speaking to broadcasters while out campaigning in the south-west of England he said:
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\n
The itinerary for these events was set weeks ago before the start of the general election campaign, and having participated in all the British events with British veterans, I returned home before the international leaders event later in the day. On reflection, that was a mistake and I apologise.
\n
I think it’s important though, given the enormity of the sacrifice made, that we don’t politicise this. The focus should rightly be on the veterans who gave so much.
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I had the honour and privilege of speaking to many of them and their families, hearing their stories, expressing my gratitude, personally to them.
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But I’m someone who will always admit when I’ve made a mistake and that’s what you’ll always get from me.
\n
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A Downing Street spokesperson earlier denied reports that Sunak had not been intending to attend at all, saying “The prime minister was always scheduled to attend D-day commemorations, including the UK national commemoration event in Normandy, and it is incorrect to suggest otherwise.”
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Sunak himself also denied the reports.
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Here are a few more words from Keir Starmer about his attendance at D-day commemoration events in France yesterday, in which he appeared to question Rishi Sunak’s character and understanding of duty as prime minister. He said there was “not a discussion” about whether he would attend.
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Starmer said:
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And this election is about character, who you have in your mind’s eye when you make decisions.
\n
And for me there was only one place I was going to be, which is there to pay my respects to the veterans.
\n
And to say thank you to them on behalf of all of us, including my young children who, as I said to many of the veterans, were pretty carefree yesterday going to school. But that was down to their sacrifice, and the sacrifice particularly of those colleagues of theirs who didn’t make it back.
\n
I made a choice yesterday about what I would do as leader of the Labour party and as a candidate to be prime minister and I knew I should be there. This was not a discussion.
\n
It was my duty to be there, it was my privilege to be there.
\n
Privilege is a word that is probably overused in politics but I felt privileged to be able to be with veterans who had fought on D-day against the odds to liberate Europe and to allow me to grow up in peace and freedom and democracy.
\n
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leader Keir Starmer meets RAF D-day veteran Bernard Morgan, 100, at a lunch in Normandy, yesterday.”,”caption”:”Labour leader Keir Starmer meets RAF D-day veteran Bernard Morgan, 100, at a lunch in Normandy, yesterday.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1717756015000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”06.26 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1717756446000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”06.34 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1717756447000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”06.34 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”06.34″,”title”:”Starmer: election is about ‘character’ and ‘it was my duty’ to be at D-day events”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Fri 7 Jun 2024 16.03 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Fri 7 Jun 2024 03.14 EDT”},{“id”:”6662d6ae8f085d7b420379e3″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Phillip Inman is economics editor of the Observer and an economics writer for the Guardian
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Somewhat contrary to claims earlier in the week by the former Reform UK leader Richard Tice that 2024 was going to be “the immigration election”, polling by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) between 22 May to 2 June shows that adults in England, Wales and Scotland are less concerned about immigration than they were last year.
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The ONS said the most commonly reported issue was the cost of living (87%) and the NHS (85%), followed by the economy (68%), crime (60%), housing (57%), and climate change and the environment (56%).
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In a blow to the Reform UK party, the subject was a concern for 52% of people polled, which compares with a 54% level in the polling conducted just over six months ago, between 15 and 22 of November last year.
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The ONS said lower order issues facing Britain acccording to the poll were international conflict (48%) and education (46%).
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More than half of those polled said their cost of living had increased over the last month. The ONS said people reported being hit by higher food shopping bills (91%), fuel (58%) or their gas and electricity bills (50%).
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Scotland’s first minister John Swinney has urged Scotland to vote for “a future made in Scotland, for Scotland”, saying that the campaign is “all over” for the Conservatives, but cautioning that Labour in Westminster would deliver “Tory spending cuts” for his country.
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Swinney told supporters in Glasgow:
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\n
It is becoming ever more clear that it’s over for the Conservative Party. And if it wasn’t all over before the prime minister’s foolish decision to turn his back on the D-day commemorations and return home to perpetuate the baseless claim he made on Tuesday in the television debate, it certainly is over now.
\n
So in this election, people in Scotland have got to think long and hard about whether they want to vote for a Labour party that will deliver Tory spending cuts, or do they want to vote for the Scottish National party that will invest in the future of Scotland and put Scotland’s interests first?
\n
That is the appeal I make to people in Scotland today. This is our chance. To vote SNP to put Scotland’s interests and Scotland’s national health service first. This is an opportunity for people to vote SNP for a future made in Scotland, for Scotland.
\n
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Labour leader Keir Starmer has told broadcasters “there was nowhere else I was going to be” other than at D-day commemoration events, and that the prime minister will have to “answer for his own actions.”
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During a visit in Greater London on Friday, the Labour leader said:
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Rishi Sunak will have to answer for his choice. For me there was only one choice, which was to be there, to pay my respects, to say thank you and to have the opportunity to speak to those veterans.
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Asked whether the prime minister’s apology draws a line under the row, Starmer said: “He has to answer for his own actions, for me there was nowhere else I was going to be.”
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Sunak has apologised for leaving D-day anniversary events early to take part in a TV interview, admitting it was “a mistake not to stay in France longer”. Foreign secretary David Cameron to take his place in the late afternoon ceremony at Omaha beach on Thursday.
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Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has said Sunak brought “shame” on the office of prime minister.
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Shadow defence secretary John Healey has written to defence secretary Grant Shapps with a specific set of questions including “Did the prime minister himself suggest that this was not the best use of his time? If not the prime minister, who did?” and also pointed out that “Given that the prime minister has been campaigning on the idea young people should complete a year’s national service, what does it say that he appears to have been unable to complete a single afternoon of it?”
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Sunak’s party appear to being squeezed from the right by Reform UK in polling, and the recently installed Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said “Patriotic people who love their country should not vote for [Sunak].”
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Veterans minister Johnny Mercer, however, has said he has found “faux outrage” from people he claimed were preventing veterans’ affairs from being improved “nauseating”.
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Senior members of the Labour team are expected to spend much of the day holed up to iron out the party’s draft manifesto ahead of publication expected next week, but for public consumption today they have been promoting their “freedom to buy” housing policy.
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Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner speak to a first-time buyer in north London as they launch their "freedom to buy" housing policy pic.twitter.com/hE6W4ug0WW
— Eleni Courea (@elenicourea) June 7, 2024
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As my colleague Jane Croft has written:
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Labour has said that, if it wins the general election, it will make permanent a mortgage guarantee scheme aimed at helping low-deposit mortgages become available for first-time buyers.
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The temporary scheme, which involves the government acting as a guarantor for part of a home loan, was introduced by the Conservatives in 2021 and was extended until July next year by the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt. It is aimed at encouraging lenders to offer low-deposit deals to first-time buyers.
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Labour believes its plan, which will be rebranded “Freedom to buy”, will help 80,000 young people buy their own homes over the next five years.
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Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said Rishi Sunak’s actions in leaving D-day commemorations in France early had brought shame to the office of prime minister.
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PA Media report he said:
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One of the greatest privileges of the office of prime minister is to be there to honour those who served, yet Rishi Sunak abandoned them on the beaches of Normandy.
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He has brought shame to that office and let down our country.
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I am thinking right now of all those veterans and their families he left behind and the hurt they must be feeling. It is a total dereliction of duty and shows why this Conservative Government just has to go.
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Sunak has apologised, saying “After the conclusion of the British event in Normandy, I returned back to the UK. On reflection, it was a mistake not to stay in France longer – and I apologise.”
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Labour’s housing spokesman Matthew Pennycook said it was “embarrassing” that the prime minister had left Normandy early to make an electioneering appearance in which he chose to “double down on a proven lie”.
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Speaking on Sky News, Pennycook said:
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I’m glad he’s apologised because it is absolutely a mistake. And it’s not just the fact that the prime minister left those D-day commemoration services – perhaps the last commemoration services for many of the veterans who attended, I mean, bear that in mind.
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But the reason why he left those services? He left, let’s be clear, to come back and pre-record an interview where he doubles down on a proven lie about the Labour party’s intentions if it forms the next government.
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I think it’s embarrassing.
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I think it’s a shameful dereliction of duty.
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He’s right to apologise, but the British public should ask themselves serious questions about a man who decides to make that decision in the first place.
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The prime minister attended an event at Ver-sur-Mer in northern France, which was also attended by King Charles and Queen Camilla, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron. But he did not attend the late afternoon ceremony at Omaha beach, in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, and instead returned to the UK. Paul Brand, ITV’s UK editor, said the prime minister returned from Normandy to do the interview.
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Asked on Sky News why he thought the prime minister had done that, Labour’s Pennycook said:
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You’d have to ask him. I have absolutely no idea, on such an important service. why the prime minister felt that it was appropriate to leave partway through that service.
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And I’m glad Keir Starmer, Labour leader, stayed at that service. It was an important chance not only to meet veterans but to meet international leaders like president Macron, [and Ukraine’s] president Zelenskiy.
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president Zelenskiy with Labour’s Keir Starmer.”,”caption”:”Ukraine’s president Zelenskiy with Labour’s Keir Starmer.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1717744448000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”03.14 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1717748359000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”04.19 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1717744489000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”03.14 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”03.14″,”title”:”Labour: ’embarrassing’ Sunak left D-day ceremony early to ‘double down on a proven lie'”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Fri 7 Jun 2024 16.03 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Fri 7 Jun 2024 03.14 EDT”},{“id”:”665f81e88f08e941a0538f82″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Good morning. Welcome to our live coverage of the 2024 general election on a Friday which will see the third live TV debate of the week. After Scottish leaders debated on STV on Monday, and ITV hosted Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer and those tax claims on Tuesday, Friday night is the BBC’s turn to host a seven-way debate. More on that in a minute. Here are your headlines …
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Rishi Sunak has apologised for leaving the D-day anniversary commemorations in Normandy to attend an ITV interview
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The Institute for Government has warned that incoming ministers will find public services on the ‘brink of collapse’
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Labour has vowed to investigate the carers’ scandal
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Senior Conservatives have been fond of the phrase “as sure as night follows day” on the campaign trail in regard to Labour governments putting taxes up. On this blog you’ve got night following day in the shape of Andrew Sparrow being here later on to cover the debate, but Martin Belam here to start. Do drop me a line on martin.belam@theguardian.com if you need to get in touch – I find it especially useful if you are pointing out my typos or errors or suggesting omissions.
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Rishi Sunak has issued an apology on social media for not staying longer at D-day events in France yesterday.
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The prime minister, having left Normandy in order to instead pre-record an election interview with ITV, said “for the commemorations to be overshadowed by politics”.
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He posted:
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The 80th anniversary of D-day has been a profound moment to honour the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our values, our freedom and our democracy.
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This anniversary should be about those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. The last thing I want is for the commemorations to be overshadowed by politics.
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I care deeply about veterans and have been honoured to represent the UK at a number of events in Portsmouth and France over the past two days and to meet those who fought so bravely.
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After the conclusion of the British event in Normandy, I returned back to the UK. On reflection, it was a mistake not to stay in France longer – and I apologise.
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Secretary David Cameron, French president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden at Omaha Beach yesterday.”,”caption”:”Foreign secretary David Cameron, French president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden at Omaha Beach yesterday.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement”,”prefix”:”Related: “,”text”:”Rishi Sunak says sorry for leaving D-day event early to record TV interview”,”elementId”:”a30d85a9-3435-4643-b550-fca2a92090db”,”role”:”thumbnail”,”url”:”https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jun/07/rishi-sunak-says-sorry-for-leaving-d-day-event-early-to-record-tv-interview”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1717744448000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”03.14 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1717744271000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”03.11 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1717744448000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”03.14 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”03.14″,”title”:”Sunak issues apology over D-day ceremony absence”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Fri 7 Jun 2024 16.03 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Fri 7 Jun 2024 03.14 EDT”}],”filterKeyEvents”:false,”id”:”key-events-carousel-mobile”,”absoluteServerTimes”:false}” config=”{“renderingTarget”:”Web”,”darkModeAvailable”:false,”updateLogoAdPartnerSwitch”:true,”assetOrigin”:”https://assets.guim.co.uk/”}”>
Key events
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Candidates’ closing statements
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Seventh question: crime
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Sixth question: climate
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Fifth question: delivery
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Tory claim to be in favour of lower taxes ‘dishonesty on breathtaking scale’, says Farage
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Rayner rejects claim Labour planning 12 new tax rises
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Fourth question: cost of living
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Third question: immigration
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Farage says NHS’s funding model is wrong and UK should opt for French-style insurance model instead
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Rayner rejects Mordaunt’s claim she does not back nuclear deterrent
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Second question: health
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Penny Mordaunt says what Sunak did, in leaving D-day events early, was ‘very wrong’
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Seven-party BBC debate kicks off
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Penny Mordaunt set to face challenges of Sunak’s D-day snub in seven-party debate starting at 7.30pm
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Unite could not endorse Labour’s manifesto, sources say
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Disgraced Keith Vaz expelled from Labour as he stands for One Leicester party
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Labour agrees its manifesto at ‘clause V’ meeting
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Two thirds of Britons think it was unacceptable for Sunak to leave D-day celebrations early, poll suggests
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Outgoing Tory MP Jo Gideon criticises culture of party, saying it has allowed ‘discrimination, bullying, and unethical practices to fester’
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Union asks Tories and Labour to agree to stop asking civil servants to cost opposition policies
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Who gets to be the official opposition if two biggest losing parties have same number of MPs?
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Sunak suggests he was never scheduled to attend international leaders’ D-day event anyway
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Cameron: ‘not surprising’ Sunak left D-day events early as ‘we are in the middle of an election campaign’
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Sunak’s D-day decision shows ‘completely disconnected’ from centre of Britain and ‘not a patriotic leader’, says Farage
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Sunak denies there was any plan for him not to attend D-day events
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Sunak says his D-day error should not be ‘politicised’ after he apologises for leaving commemoration early
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Starmer: election is about ‘character’ and ‘it was my duty’ to be at D-day events
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ONS figures suggest cost of living crisis and NHS are the most pressing issues for voters
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Swinney: ‘foolish’ D-day decision shows election ‘all over’ for Tories, but warns Labour will deliver ‘Tory spending cuts’
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Starmer: Sunak will have to ‘answer for his choice’ over D-day absence
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Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner launch Labour’s ‘freedom to buy’ housing policy
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Ed Davey: Sunak ‘abandoned’ veterans, ‘let down our country’, and has ‘brought shame’ to office of PM
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Labour: ’embarrassing’ Sunak left D-day ceremony early to ‘double down on a proven lie’
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Welcome and opening summary …
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Sunak issues apology over D-day ceremony absence
Candidates’ closing statements
Husain says that was the final question.
They now have 30 seconds each for a final thought.
Rayner says, after 14 years of chaos, it is time for change. She sums up Labour’s six first steps.
Flynn says the Tories are finished. The SNP will put Scotland’s future first, he says. It will never “get comfortable with the Westminster status quo”, unlike Labour.
Denyer says Labour are toast. “Thank goodness.” Starmer says he has changed the Labour party. “He’s right – he’s changed them into the Conservatives.” The Green represent real change.
Ap Iorwerth says he has stood up, not just for Wales, but for another kind of politics. “The Conservatives are finished – and it can’t come quickly enough.” Voting Plaid will stop Wales being ignore.
Mordaunt says there is a choice: voting Labour, and having higher taxes, higher bills and getting your penison raided; or backing the Conservatives, to cut taxes, protect pensions and keep the nation safe.
Cooper says the Lib Dems will “fix our NHS and social care, tackling cost of living crisis and puts an end to the scandal of filthy raw sewage being dumped in our rivers”.
Farage says, unlike the other candidates, he does not need an autocue. He says politics is not working, and the other parties have come up with “pathetic arguments”.
He says the debate is about who will form the opposition, who will support small businesses and control the borders. He urges people to support Reform UK and “join the revolt”.
And that’s it.
Denyer says she has signed a pledge for a counsellor in every school. Will the other parties back that?
Rayner says Labour has already committed to more mental health support in schools.
Flynn backs what ap Iorwerth said. He repeats the point about cuts worth £18bn coming down the line.
He says Westminster does not offer hope and optimism.
Farage says low-level crime is rapidly growing. He refers to the broken windows theory, and drug culture has been disastrous, he says.
Seventh question: crime
Q: My son is about to start secondary school. How will you protect him from knife crime?
Denyer says one of her colleagues was a victim of this, so she takes it seriously. She says they need to address the causes.
Farage says there should be more stop and search. And he says the police should not be afraid of using it in areas where there are many black or ethnic minority people living.
Cooper says stop and search can be a valid tool, but suspicionless stop and search is a mistake.
Mordaunt claims, if you live in a Labour area, you are more likely to be a victim of crime.
Rayner says she has teenage sons. People are frightened of crime on the streets. Young people carry knives thinking that will protect them, but it doesn’t. She says the Tories may talk about 20,000 more police officers, but they cut numbers by 22,000.
That’s not true, Mordaunt says.
Ap Iorwerth says it is areas that suffer most poverty that suffer the highest levels of crime. It is people without hope who end up leading criminal lives. He says he was attacked as a teenager.
Mordaunt says government has to take people with them on the way to net zero.
She says the Tories will get there with public support.
If Labour gets into power, by the end of the next parliament you will not be able to buy a petrol car.
She says the GB Energy company won’t produce any energy.
“Rubbish”, says Rayner.
Rayner says the Tories have been in power for 14 years.
Mordaunt keeps asking how much energy the firm will produce.
Rayner says GB Energy will be a company bringing clean energy to the company, bringing good jobs to the UK.
She says the Tories spout lies about how Labour will ban cars.
Mordaunt repeats the £2,000 claim, and says Labour’s policies will push up costs.
“Dear, oh dear,” says Farage. He claims Labour and the Tories pretend to disagree, but in fact do agree.
Sixth question: climate
Q: What matters most – economic growth or successful climate policies?
Farage says the UK does not have successful climate policies.
He says we are living in a “false paradise”. Jobs are being exported abroad. Net zero is not working.
Denyer says she used to be an engineeer. Much of what Farage said was not true, she says.
But she says Labour has been a disappointment too. It has rolled back on its climate promises, she says.
Husain asks Rayner about Labour dropping its £28bn green plan.
Rayner says Labour is still committed to a green prosperity plan.
Flynn says the opportunities from green energy are huge. But you have to grasp them. The Labour £28bn plan would have been transformative, he says. With the SNP, you will get that.
On oil and gas, he says the Tories imply oil and gas will last forever. It won’t. Labour want to stop it now; that would cost 100,000 jobs. He says the SNP support a just transition to a green economy.
Rayner says Labour supports a transition too. That is why it wants a bigger windfall tax to fund the transition. And the Great British Energy HQ will be in Scotland.
Flynn asks if Scotland should be grateful. It is their energy. He asks if Rayner accepts the 100,000 jobs lost estimate.
Rayner says Labour’s plans would generate even more jobs.
Denyer says, with the main parties getting more similar, the argument for more diversity in the Commons is getting stronger.
The Green party is coming of age, she says.
Flynn says he can cite examples of the SNP delivering. He says 100,000 young people have been taken out of poverty. Students don’t pay tuition fees. Scotland has a nationalised water company.
Under the Tories or Labour, the UK faces £18bn worth of cuts, he says.
Ap Iorwerth says he has been around politics for 30 years, for 20 years as a journalist. People are cynical, because of things like Partygate, or Vaughan Gething taking a £200,000 donation from a convicted polluter.
Cooper says this parliament has been characterised by law-breaking, lying and the economic illiteracy of the mini-budget.
Husain asks if she remembers the Lib Dems breaking their promise on tuition fees.
Cooper says that is a sore point.
Farage says nothing much will change, regardless of who gets in.
But the Tories are “probably sunk below the waterline,” he says.
He says the country needs a revolt. Reform UK is offering that, he says.
Rayner says Labour is only promising what it can fund.
Labour won’t put taxes up for working people, she says.
You are, says Mordaunt. She claims Starmer said that this week.
“Rubbish,” says Rayner.
Fifth question: delivery
Q: Why is it that politicians promise things but nothing happens when they get into government?
Husain puts the question to Mordaunt, which the audience find amusing.
Mordaunt says the Tories will cut taxes. “That is in our DNA as Conservatives,” she says.
She tells people in the audience they cannot afford that.
Tory claim to be in favour of lower taxes ‘dishonesty on breathtaking scale’, says Farage
Farage complains more and more people doing middle-income jobs being dragged into the higher tax bands.
He says taxes have risen to a record level. And to hear Mordaunt claim the Tories are a low tax party is “dishonesty on a breathtaking scale”, he says.
Flynn says there is a conspiracy of silence on austerity.
And that is true of Brexit too, he says.
Brexit has impacted the economy more than the Covid pandemic, it has put your food bills up completely unnecessarily, and it has been an unmitigated disaster for the economy.
That generates a long round of applause.
Mordaunt says exports are at a record high.
Flynn says she knows how much damage Brexit has done to the economy.
Rayner rejects claim Labour planning 12 new tax rises
Mordaunt says this election is about the cost of living. The government has supported people through difficult times. But now the economy is recovery. “Those are your achievements,” she says.
She says the election must be about cutting taxes. There will be more announcements in the Tory manifesto next week.
Labour will put taxes up by £2,000, she says.
That’s a lie, says Rayner. You put taxes up.
Mordaunt accepts that, but she says “we hated that”. That is why the Tories went to bring them down.
She says we have heard about 12 new taxes from Labour.
That’s rubbish, says Rayner.
They are shouting over each other.
Husain insists Denyer gets a go.
“That was terribly dignified,” Denyer says. That goes down well with the audience.