General election latest: Rachel Reeves sets out Labour’s plan to woo businesses in first major campaign speech
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‘No return to austerity’ says Labour’s Rachel Reeves
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Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to tell business leaders that, having brought business back to Labour, the party can now “bring growth back to Britain”if she gets into No 11.
In her first major campaign speech, she will tell voters Labour can be trusted with the economy and that she wants to lead the most “pro-growth Treasury in UK history”.
Speaking from Derby, she will stress the need for a partnership with business and workers, saying that a Labour government will offer “a government that is pro-worker and pro-business”.
Her remarks come after Labour faced a backlash over an apparent rebranding of its “New Deal for Workers”, with Britain’s largest trade union Unite warning that the party must “stick to its guns” on workers’ rights.
It comes as the Conservative party is set to unveil a new plan for pensioners in a bid to boost their incomes with a “triple lock plus” pledge.
If the Tories are elected, the deal would guarantee that the basic state pension rises by the highest rate of inflation or 2.5 per cent, whichever is the largest increase.
Key Points
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Labour MP claims he is a Christian socialist
Speaking on BBC Today programme, shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has described himself as a Christian socialist.
He said: “I would describe myself as a Christian socialist in the best traditions of that [term]because that’s about putting people first and to do that, you’ve got to have a set of policies that will deliver for people.
“I think it’s the best tradition of the things that have been delivered in the UK, whether it’s the national parks or the NHS, have come from people with a similar background to mine.”
Salma Ouaguira28 May 2024 09:41
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Foreign Secretary urges for ‘long-term sustainable ceasefire’
David Cameron has taken to social media to stress a transparent investigation into the Rafah massacre.
Salma Ouaguira28 May 2024 09:38
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Comment: Starmer’s secret EU agenda he’s keeping quiet to avoid upsetting Red Wall voters
Salma Ouaguira28 May 2024 09:31
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Conservatives’ triple lock plus pledge faces backlash
The Institute for Fiscal Studies director Paul Johnson said Rishi Sunak’s proposed tax break for pensioners is “simply a reversal of a tax increase that the Conservatives proposed”.
Speaking to BBC Radio, he said pensioners had a bigger personal allowance than people of working age until the Tories got rid of it.
He adds: “So this is one of many examples actually of tax policy that has been reversed by the same Government. George Osborne got rid of it in the 2010s when the personal allowance of people under pension age continued to rise.”
Asked if it makes fiscal sense, he replied: “The overall cost is about two and a half billion a year by the end of the Parliament, that’s not a very big number, but of course, these promises are beginning to add up.”
Salma Ouaguira28 May 2024 09:22
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Farage vows to send small boats back to France if Reform UK is elected
Nigel Farage has said he would propose tackling small boat crossings by sending boats back to France.
Speaking from Dover, he said told Good Morning Britain that the UK should “make clear that nobody that comes via this route will ever be granted settled status in our country”.
Adding that the country should “say to the French navy: ‘We will not accept your navy escorting dinghies to our 12-mile line and then handing them over to our authorities’.”
Asked how this would be enforced, Mr Farage answered: “Well, if the French won’t play ball, then the Royal Marines will have to take people back to France. It’s just as simple as that.”
Salma Ouaguira28 May 2024 09:15
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Sir Keir Starmer in new row over Diane Abbott suspension
Labour disciplinary investigation into her ended five months ago, but Sir Keir Starmer still won’t say if she can stand in the election.
Salma Ouaguira28 May 2024 09:08
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Labour MP refuses to say whether Diane Abbott will stand as Labour candidate
Jonathan Reynolds has refused to comment on whether Diane Abbott will come back to the Labour party.
The shadow business secretary told BBC Radio: “The process we have in the Labour Party is frankly not one that any politician in the Labour Party decides. So I can’t give you an answer on that.
“We want that situation resolved, we all want to see that resolved. I genuinely don’t know the circumstances that you’re describing.
“I think in any disciplinary matter you need both sides to engage in it, I genuinely have no additional information other than that but we are all keen to see every situation like this resolved as soon as possible.”
(PA)
Salma Ouaguira28 May 2024 08:55
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SNP urges Rishi Sunak to recognise state of Palestine
John Swinney has written to the opposition parties demanding they urgently recognise Palestine as an official state, Rebecca McCurdy reports.
His letter to the Prime Minister and Labour leader Sir Keir said: “I urge you both to belatedly do the right thing and pledge to immediately recognise Palestine as a state in its own right.
“If you will not immediately commit to doing so, I can confirm that SNP MPs will bring forward a binding vote in the House of Commons at the first possible opportunity after the General Election.”
He added: “Ending the humanitarian catastrophe we are seeing in Gaza is without a doubt one of the greatest moral issues of our time. In generations to come, people will look back and ask what each of us with a platform did to end the suffering.
“We all have a duty to do whatever we can to bring about a peaceful resolution, and it is clear that full recognition of Palestine as a state in its own right will be a huge step towards a just and durable political solution.
People take part in a Nakba 76 pro-Palestine demonstration and march in london (PA Wire)
Salma Ouaguira28 May 2024 08:40
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Pictured: Shadow paymaster general Jonathan Ashworth heading to Labour’s campaign rally
Shadow paymaster general Jonathan Ashworth talks to journalists on board the Labour Party media bus this morning as it heads out on the General Election campaign trail (Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)Jonathan Ashword handing booklets to journalists (Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)A booklet given to journalists by shadow paymaster general Jonathan Ashworth on board the Labour Party media bus (Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)
Salma Ouaguira28 May 2024 08:31
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What is the triple lock?
To convince the elderly to vote Conservative on July 4, Rishi Sunak is unveiling a new pledge.
Under the triple lock system, the state pension increased each April according to whichever of these three measures is highest.
Rate of inflation Average increase in wages across the UK 2.5 per cent
First introduced by the Conservative-Lib Dem government 2010, the policy was created to make sure the value of the state pension was not overhauled by the increase in the cost of living.
Under the triple lock this year, pensioners have seen an increase of 8.5 per cent from April 8.
New flat-rate state pension, external (for those who reached state pension age after April 2016) – £221.20 a week for the full. Old basic state pension, external (for those who reached state pension age before April 2016) – £169.50 a week for the full.
Salma Ouaguira28 May 2024 08:26
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/general-election-2024-starmer-labour-sunak-news-b2552377.html