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Starmer back tracks on pledge to abolish tuition fees to put more money into the NHS, claiming “we can’t do both”
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Sir Keir Starmer has mocked Rishi Sunak’s rain-soaked general election announcement, saying his attacks on Labour asylum policy are “as daft as he looked standing in the rain without an umbrella”.
The Labour leader was responding to prime minister’s attacks on the party’s migration plans, which the Tories dubbed an “amnesty for illegal migrants”.
Sir Keir has promised to scrap the Rwanda scheme and free up £75m to spend on hiring a new Border Security Command force to crack down on people smuggling gangs.
He accused the prime minister of never having believed the Rwanda deportation plan would work after Mr Sunak conceded that flights would not take off before the election.
As the party leaders began their campaigns, Mr Sunak urged voters to back him over the government’s flagship immigration scheme.
He admitted planes carrying asylum seekers to Kigali would take off after polling day, but vowed the preparation had already happened.
Despite speculation about a Tory rebel effort to oust Mr Sunak and call off the election, one critic said it was too late to get rid of the prime minister.
The former Labour leader has announced he will stand as an independent candidate in Islington North on July 4.
Mr Corbyn, who has represented the London constituency since 1983, has been sitting as an independent MP after he had his whip suspended in 2020.
His decision to stand against the Labour party means he is automatically expelled as a member.
Speaking to the Islington Tribune, he said he hopes to “represent the people of Islington North on exactly the same principles that I’ve stood by my whole life: social justice, human rights and peace”.
Mr Corbyn added that “these principles are needed now more than ever before”, and promised to defend “a genuine alternative to the corrupt years of this Tory government”.
The chairman of the Conservative Party said the Labour leader has an “inane waffle” during his morning round of TV interviews.
Richard Holden added that his interviews made the “strongest case possible” for holding TV debates.
The Labour leader admitted the party can’t afford to scrap tow-child benefits limit.
Asked if he wanted to scrap the cap, Sir Keirsaid that “in an ideal world, of course, but we haven’t got the resources to do it at the moment”.
Charities have now reacted to his comments urging him to commit to a policy change.
A spokesperson from Children’s Prosperity Plan said: “The one million children in the UK living in poverty because of this policy cannot wait for an ideal world.
“These children, many of whom are ethnic minorities and living in homes where someone is disabled, will have to contend with long-term impacts on their health, wellbeing and educational outcomes.
“This Tory policy denies the truth that all children are of equal and immeasurable worth. We cannot hope to achieve a strong economy and strong communities for as long as millions of our children are growing up in poverty.”
Rishi Sunak is ramping up his challenge to Sir Keir Starmer over whether the Labour leader will debate him six times during the campaign, Archie Mitchell reports.
The prime minister has said he wants a debate every week until the 4 July contest, while Labour officials have suggested Sir Keir will take part in two TV head to heads.
The prime minister on Friday shared a Conservative Party meme of Sir Keir mocked up as a Ken-like action figure which “can be anything”.
“Not coming to a debate near you,” Mr Sunak said.
The Reform UK president has revealed he was preparing to launch a campaign to stand as an MP before Rishi Sunak pushed the general election button.
But Mr Farage admitted the prime minister had “wrong-footed” him by calling an election for July 4.
He said: “What I could not do in the space of six weeks… was to find a constituency from scratch and go around the country.”
He added he had not decided which constituency he would run in as of yet as there were “a variety of options” which he felt he could have gone for.
Despite not running as a candidate, Mr Farage said he would campaign for Reform UK and stressed his support for party leader Richard Tice.
He told GB News: “Am I going to be campaigning? Yes. Am I backing Richard Tice? One hundred per cent… I am utterly committed to Reform.
Labour’s investigation into Diane Abbott will be completed by 4 June, Sir Keir Starmer has said, in what will be a make or break moment for the veteran MP, Archie Mitchell reports.
More than a year after Ms Abbott was suspended, Labour will decide whether she can be reinstated in time for the 4 July general election.
The Labour leader said his party will have to resolve the long-running probe “very soon now”. “We have a cutoff date, I think it is 4 June… we have a process in place and we will complete it reasonably soon now,” he told LBC.
Sir Keir added that Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) would decide in the end.
An investigation into the long-serving black MP has been ongoing since her suspension last April following an article she wrote about Jewish people, with pressure mounting on the party over why it has been taking so long.
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Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to cut household energy bills by £400 if Labour win the general election. He made the comments on the same day that it was announced the average bill is to fall by 7 per cent from July after Ofgem lowered its price cap in response to wholesale prices. Appearing on Good Morning Britain on Friday 24 May, Sir Keir was asked “how much cheaper will our bills be under a Labour government?” “We want to set up Great British Energy – that’s a publically owned company, making money for the taxpayer,” he responded. “That ought to bring down household bills by about £400 – and that’s a permanent drop.” Sir Keir went on to suggest the price cap is only a “short-term fix”.
Lib Dems’ deputy leader Daisy Cooper said John Redwood’s decision to stand down is a signal of senior Conservative “running scared” of the party.
She said: “This is yet another Conservative big beast in the south of England who is now running scared.
“Wokingham is a key battleground where the Liberal Democrats are the clear challengers to the Conservatives. Right across the ‘Blue Wall’ Conservative MPs are standing down in their droves and it’s because they’re worried about losing their seats to the Liberal Democrats.”
MP for Wokingham John Redwood has announced he will not defend his seat at the general election.
The veteran Tory said: “I have decided not to put my name forward in the forthcoming election. I have other things I wish to do.
“It has been a privilege to represent Wokingham in nine parliaments. I have drawn many of my campaigns from the views I have heard on doorsteps and read in my email box.
“We have achieved good things together for our local community and the wider nation.”
More than 70 Conservative MPs have stepped down from the general election and over 100 in total.
After the Ofgem’s announcement the price cap, the shadow secretary has blasted the Tories for the results.
Average annual bills will be £506 cheaper, but it is still more than pre-energy crisis levels.
The Labour frontbencher said: “This Government is totally out of touch with the cost of living crisis families face. The British people know that they are paying the price for 14 years of failed Conservative energy policy.
“If the Tories get back in, Britain will remain vulnerable to dictators like Putin, and family finances will continue to be rocked by sky-high energy bills.
“A Labour government will cut bills by setting up Great British Energy, a new publicly-owned company to invest in homegrown clean energy so we can boost energy independence and cut bills for good. It’s time to stop the chaos, turn the page and start to rebuild.”
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