Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to continue fighting until the last day of the campaign, aiming to move past the D-Day fiasco that garnered criticism. Despite accusations of going into hiding and facing pressure to resign before the general election on July 4, Sunak remains committed. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have promised £9bn to save the NHS, Labour’s VAT plan on private school fees has caused chaos, and Reform UK’s Nigel Farage and Richard Tice have unveiled economic policies to “turbocharge” growth. Sir Keir Starmer has not ruled out raising capital gains tax, while Farage dismisses the Black Lives Matter movement as a “dangerous Marxist ideology” and vows to unveil more economic policies next week. Tory peer Sayeeda Warsi criticizes the Tory campaign, urging activists not to quit, and Farage claims the UK is “skint” and Reform UK aims to raise the income tax threshold to £20,000.
Election 2024 latest: Rishi Sunak vows to fight on as Lib Dems launch manifesto with £9bn NHS boost
Minister denies Rishi Sunak will quit before general election after D-Day blunder
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Rishi Sunak has vowed to continue fighting “until the last day of this campaign” as he tried to draw a line under last week’s D-Day fiasco.
Mr Sunak has been accused of going into hiding after he faced damning criticism for leaving the commemoration early with cabinet ministers were forced to deny he would quit ahead of polling day on July 4.
As we enter the manifesto week of the election campaign trail, the Liberal Democrats have unveiled a pledge “to save the NHS” with a £9bn promise to fix the health and care system if they get into power.
It comes as Labour has seen their plan to impose VAT on private school fees descend into chaos as the shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson called out Emily Thornberry for saying the policy risked increasing class sizes in state schools.
Meanwhile Reform UK’s Nigel Farage and Richard Tice have unveiled their economic policies at an event as part of a plan to “turbocharge” growth.
Key Points
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Starmer doesn’t rule out raising capital gains tax
Sir Keir Starmer has refused to rule out raising capital gains tax amid questions of governmentspending funding.
Asked about this duringIg his campaign trail today, he said: “I know what the experts and commentators are saying, and what underpins what they’re saying is that you can’t carry on like this without a plan for growth.
“It is always tempting for a government to go to tax and spend, but I’m not going to pull those levers. We don’t intend to pull those levers. We want to go to the lever marked growth.”
(Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)
Salma Ouaguira10 June 2024 12:55
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Farage says Black Lives Matter movement is ‘dangerous Marxist ideology’
Nigel Farage is asked about patriotism within his own party and Lee Anderson’s decision to boycott the English team during the 2021 European Championship.
The former Tory MP boycotted England’s games in the European Championship over players’ decision to take the knee including Jude Bellingham.
He says: “We understood that black lives matter is not what it seemed. It is a very dangerous Marxist ideology. I wasn’t pleased to see the English team take the knee.”
Mr Farage also said that any team should refrain from showing political messages during games and claimed: “I don’t doubt Lee Anderson patriotism for one moment.”
Salma Ouaguira10 June 2024 12:49
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Nigel Farage says ‘manifesto’ will be unveiled next week
The Reform UK has been quizzed by the press over the party’s economic policies labelled as “trustonomics on steroids”.
In responds, Mr Farage says he has just given a sneak peek into its economic plan and a more details will be announced next week.
But he says: “We won’t call it manifesto because in most peoples’ minds manifesto that equals lie.”
Salma Ouaguira10 June 2024 12:40
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Farage dismisses Braverman’s invite to join the Tories
Nigel Farage has ruled out the possibility of him joining the Tory party after Ms Braverman claimed he should be welcomed.
He said: “I like Suella Braverman but that comment means nothing.”
He added that “right-wing” people like her are a very small minority within the party, which is shifting towards the “centre” in within the political spectrum
(James Manning/PA Wire)
Salma Ouaguira10 June 2024 12:38
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Tory peer: Tory campaign is so bad I’m pleading with activists not to quit
Sayeeda Warsi has slammed the Tory campaign and said the D-Day row has singled him out Rishi Sunak from his Cabinet members.
Writing on the I newspaper, she said: “The D-Day commemorations presented an opportunity for the Prime Minister to appear prime ministerial. To be seen to be leading the country rather than just a party.
“Morale is low, many local Conservative associations feel put out at the last-minute imposition of candidates this week as the deadline for nominations closed. A last-minute dash to find safe-ish seats for CCHQ staff, No 10 staffers and special advisers has left a vacuum of trusted and experienced campaigners at the centre.
“Many young activists who have done the hard yards for years and have waited patiently on candidates lists to be selected are not even being shortlisted.
“Some have, through gritted teeth, defended the indefensible, including the Rwanda scheme, and feel they have been used and tossed aside. I have spoken to three young activists in the last 48 hours and urged them not to resign. Female candidates have felt particularly overlooked.”
Salma Ouaguira10 June 2024 12:34
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Farage: Reform has momentum
The Reform UK leader has told the audience his party is gaining momentum.
Nigel Farage said: “My word of the day is momentum. We have got momentum. I have absolutely no doubt about it. Whether it is walking through streets in Essex yesterday or even walking through the streets of central London today.
“Millions of people yesterday, whether at their family breakfasts or wherever else they went on their Sundays, were having a conversation about Reform.”
Leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage at an announcement of the party’s economic policy during a press conference at Church House in London (James Manning/PA Wire)
Salma Ouaguira10 June 2024 12:26
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Nigel Farage says UK is ‘skint’
Nigel Farage has said the UK is “skint” over national debt and the future government must take steps to bring the cost down.
The Reform leader says: “We need to face up to one or two realities. We are skint. And it is getting worse. And at some point in time we may even have trouble issuing gilts, issuing government bonds unless the market sees that we have got some solutions.
“And that is why the only way out is growth and I think what Richard has just set out, in particular putting up the tax threshold to £20,000 would be a very, very big step in the right direction.”
Salma Ouaguira10 June 2024 12:21
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Reform announce changes to interest base rates if elected
Mr Tice also wants to change the way the Bank od England arranges basic interest rates.
The Reform Uk chairman singles out the interest paid on the £800bn of debt held by the BoE.
The interest payments on this debt have hiked since the base rates rose after the Bank started its process to reduce inflation to 2%.
Reform UK says the money would be used for a “great British tax cut”.
(James Manning/PA Wire)
Salma Ouaguira10 June 2024 12:15
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Tice vows to rise income tax threshold to £20,000
Reform UK’s chairman Richard Tice has said the party would increase the threshold of income tax to £20,000.
He claims the change would benefit the average person by about £1,500 a year.
Salma Ouaguira10 June 2024 12:11
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Reform UK set to make ‘economic policy announcement’
Nigel Farage is set to appear alongside Richard Tice to make a “groundbreaking” economic policy announcement.
Mr Tice is speaking from Westminster about taxes and says the focus should be on “reducing taxes because the truth is that British households, all of us, we are literally suffocating under the levels of high taxation that have increased under this Tory government over the last 14 years”.
Salma Ouaguira10 June 2024 12:02
Read the full story on www.independent.co.uk
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/general-election-lib-dem-manifesto-sunak-farage-davey-b2559729.html