Author: News Desk

General election 2024: Ten top Tories at risk of losing seats at the general election There is no bias in the title provided. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has finally fired the starting gun on the general election campaign, stunning Westminster by calling a snap poll for 4 July, ending months of speculation.In a speech in the pouring rain outside 10 Downing Street, the prime minister defended his record on the economy, national security and immigration as he set out the key battleground…

Michael Matheson suspended from Holyrood over iPad roaming bill row | News There is no bias in the original title Former health secretary Michael Matheson has been suspended from the Scottish Parliament for 27 days and will lose his salary for 54 days after racking up a near-£11,000 data roaming bill.Mr Matheson was found to have breached the MSP code of conduct by attempting to use expenses and office costs to cover the bill for a parliamentary iPad.Later announcing he would cover the costs himself, Mr Matheson revealed the bill had been the result of his children using the device…

Labour says early general election leaves many government commitments ‘in the bin’ – UK politics live Bills, including smoking ban for people born after 2009, unlikely to become law before 4 July vote Sign up for our general election newsletter Rishi Sunak is now speaking at an event in Ilkeston in Derbyshire. It is in the Erewash constituency, where the Tory MP Maggie Throup had a majority of 10,606 at the last election. He repeats the claim that a Labour government would cost every family £2,000. Labour’s spending promises cost £16 billion per year in 2028-29, or £58.9 billion over…

What laws can the Conservative government pass before the general election? There is no bias in the title provided. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Conservatives and Labour have held talks to work out what outstanding legislation can be rushed through parliament to become law before the Commons closes for the general election. Compensations for victims of the subpostmaster scandal This is due to become law after the House of Lords finished scrutinising it on Thursday. But an 11th hour attempt by peers to exonerate…

Thursday’s front pages all lead on the announcement of a July 4 general election. Regardless of political leanings, all the papers note the snap election is a “gamble” on PM Rishi Sunak’s part. 

The media, public and even Tory MPs were shocked by the announcement of a July 4 election. Many Tory MPs were hoping for a November election so the benefits of the improving economy could be felt in the pockets of the public. 

The opinion polls still put the Conservatives far behind Labour and many struggle to see what the government’s plan is now. 

It feels reckless, and like a government who’s already thrown in the towel and has accepted defeat. With the hopes the summer’s Euros might act as a distraction, perhaps if the Tories do lose power, it’ll be against a backdrop of a public enjoying themselves and not looking too hard at No 10.

Hostages’ families and interstellar dust: photos of the day – Thursday New York, US Members of the US Navy walk through Times Square on the first day of Fleet Week, which brings thousands of active naval personnel to the city for seven days of ship tours, concerts, demonstrations, and other events. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/gallery/2024/may/23/a-star-former-and-angela-merkel-photos-of-the-day-thursday

Election headache for Rishi Sunak as UK population grows by 685,000 in past year UK’s population grew by 685,000 people in 2023, a drop from record high net migration in 2022, official estimates show. The latest figures, published a day after Rishi Sunak called a surprise general election on July 4th, will feed the debate about immigration – a key campaign battleground. The Office for National Statistics said that it was too early to tell if the 10 per cent drop in net migration year-on-year was the start of a permanent trend, but pointed to signs that fewer people are…

Haiti health system on verge of collapse, UN says Haiti’s health system is “on the verge of collapse,” according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), which reports that six out of ten hospitals in the country are barely operational. “The combination of violence, mass displacement, dangerous epidemics, and increasing malnutrition has strained Haiti’s health system,” stated Bruno Maes, Unicef’s representative in the Caribbean nation. He emphasised, however, that “the strangling of supply chains may be what breaks it.” Armed gangs continue to control much of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and Unicef warns that millions of children are at risk of…

The Met Office has warned that further heavy rain could pose a danger to life and cause travel disruption, following a fatal mudslide in North Yorkshire. Flood warnings have been issued across England, with one in Scotland.

Nigel Farage says he will not stand in general election in bombshell announcement There is no bias in the title provided. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailNigel Farage is not standing as a candidate in the general election, he has announced. The former Ukip leader said he thought “long and hard” about contesting the general election, but has decided to help with Donald Trump’s re-election bid in the US instead. “Important though the general election is, the contest in the United States of America on…