Rishi Sunak has announced plans to bring back national service for 18-year-olds if he wins the general election, offering them the choice between a full-time placement in the armed forces for 12 months or volunteering in their community one weekend a month for a year. Labour Party criticized this announcement as an “unfunded commitment” and questioned the need for such a scheme, highlighting the cost and the previous introduction of a similar program by Lord David Cameron. Sir Keir Starmer also questioned the trustworthiness of Sunak’s proposals, especially as Michael Gove, a prominent Tory MP, has joined the exodus of Conservative MPs. Additionally, Boris Johnson is set to be abroad for most of the election campaign, while the Liberal Democrats launch a battlebus campaign with a focus on saving the NHS in blue-wall seats.
General election latest news: Sunak vows to bring back national service as Streeting aims to turn around the NHS
Labour Party ‘leaks Rishi Sunak’s campaign diary’ in new ad attacking gaffes
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Rishi Sunak has vowed to bring back national service for 18-year-olds to create a “renewed sense of pride in our country” if he wins the general election.
Under the mandatory scheme, teenagers would be given a choice between a full-time placement in the armed forces for 12 months or spending one weekend a month for a year volunteering in their community.
Sir Keir’s party branded the announcement “another desperate unfunded commitment”, which would cost an estimated £2.5bn each year.
It comes as Wes Streeting warned striking doctors he would not meet their huge pay demands, and has vowed he would be “a shop steward for patients” as health secretary.
In an exclusive interview with The Independent, he spoke of his plan to tackle of record waiting lists and the ongoing pay disputes, stating: “The NHS is not the envy of the world.”
Sir Keir Starmer has also sought to question why voters should have trust in Rishi Sunak’s general election proposals if Michael Gove appears to have “lost faith” in the PM by joining the record exodus of Tory MPs.
Sir Keir also confirmed he wanted to lower the voting age to 16.
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Boris Johnson to be abroad for majority of election campaign
The former prime minister has a series of pre-arranged trips over the coming weeks which he will not be cancelling, which ranges from speaking engagements to personal holidays.
The Telegraph reports that these were all pre-arranged before the announcement came of the general election, with Mr Johnson categorically ruling out standing in the next election.
Boris Johnson will be out largely of the country during the election campaign (Getty)
Holly Evans26 May 2024 00:00
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Sunak’s statement on national service pledge
The Prime Minister said: “This is a great country but generations of young people have not had the opportunities or experience they deserve and there are forces trying to divide our society in this increasingly uncertain world.
“I have a clear plan to address this and secure our future. I will bring in a new model of national service to create a shared sense of purpose among our young people and a renewed sense of pride in our country.
“This new, mandatory national service will provide life-changing opportunities for our young people, offering them the chance to learn real world skills, do new things and contribute to their community and our country.”
(Getty Images)
Holly Evans25 May 2024 23:30
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Lib Dems to launch battlebus with ‘save the NHS’ message in blue-wall seat
Sir Ed Davey will launch the Liberal Democrats’ battlebus campaign with a “save the NHS” message in a marginal blue-wall seat on Sunday.
The UK’s fourth biggest party has put health at the heart of its agenda in the run-up to the July 4 General Election as it targets traditionally Conservative heartlands in southern England.
Sir Ed will say the Tories have left hospitals “with dangerous crumbling roofs” and “sewage pouring into” wards as he makes a manifesto pledge to introduce a 10-year rolling repair programme for the NHS estate.
The Conservatives said the Lib Dems would merely “make way for a Labour government – just like the one already failing the NHS in Wales.”
Holly Evans25 May 2024 23:06
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Sunak travels to London in helicopter owned by millionaire Tory donor
Flight logs have shown that Rishi Sunak flew in a helicopter owned by a millionaire Conservative donor to travel from his home constituency in North Yorkshire to London on Saturday.
The prime minister made two low-key campaign stops during the day, after Labour accused him of “hiding away in his mansion” when reports emerged he was planning on taking a day off.
Sunak first had tea with a small group of veterans in a pub in his North Yorkshire constituency for a 20-minute stop, before returning to London to meet voters in Wimbledon.
He travelled in a helicopter owned by the entrepreneur Richard Harpin, which he has used in the past.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak returned to London via a Tory donor’s helicopter (PA) (PA Wire)
Holly Evans25 May 2024 22:51
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Labour party criticise national service announcement
Sir Keir’s party branded the announcement “another desperate unfunded commitment” and pointed out that Lord David Cameron introduced a similar scheme – the National Citizen Service – when he was prime minister.
Lord Cameron’s announcement had no armed forces component to it, instead encouraging youngsters to take part in activities such as outdoor education-style courses as part of his “Big Society” initiative.
A Labour spokesperson said: “This is not a plan – it’s a review which could cost billions and is only needed because the Tories hollowed out the armed forces to their smallest size since Napoleon.
“Britain has had enough of the Conservatives, who are bankrupt of ideas, and have no plans to end 14 years of chaos. It’s time to turn the page and rebuild Britain with Labour.”
Holly Evans25 May 2024 22:34
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Mandatory national service for 18-year-olds if Tories win election, Sunak vows
Eighteen year olds would be forced to carry out a form of national service if the Tories are voted back in at the July 4 General Election, Rishi Sunak has announced.
The Prime Minister said Britain has “generations of young people who have not had the opportunities they deserve” as he claimed the radical measure would help unite society in an “increasingly uncertain world”.
In future, 18-year-olds would be given a choice between a full-time placement in the armed forces for 12 months or spending one weekend a month for a year volunteering in their community, the Tories said.
In an apparent pitch to older voters, the party said this could include helping local fire, police and NHS services as well as charities tackling loneliness and supporting elderly, isolated people.
Read the full article here:
Holly Evans25 May 2024 22:06
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Starmer’s real hidden agenda? What he plans to do with the EU
Labour has radical plans to overhaul the EU relationship, but doesn’t want to talk about them for fear of alienating Leave voters, notably in the red wall. (The Liberal Democrats, burned by being the anti-Brexit party in 2019, now merely talk vaguely about rejoining the single market one day).
Read the full article from Andrew Grice here:
Holly Evans25 May 2024 21:29
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‘Not unnatural’ for veteran Tories like Gove to be quitting, minister insists
The exodus of prominent Tory MPs like Michael Gove and Dame Andrea Leadsom is “not unnatural”, a minister has insisted, amid speculation that Conservatives are quitting Parliament in fear of imminent electoral defeat.
Bim Afolami, whose seat of Hitchin and Harpenden has seen a waning Tory majority in recent years, said the party was “pretty confident here” and denied it had crossed his own mind to stand down ahead of the July 4 polling day.
It comes after Housing Secretary and long-serving Cabinet minister Mr Gove cited the “toll” of public office as he said it was time to let “a new generation lead” following a political career spanning nearly 20 years.
A post-war record of 78 Conservative MPs have stepped down for the summer election as the party languishes behind Labour in the polls, surpassing the previous high of 72 who quit prior to Labour’s 1997 landslide.
Speaking to Times Radio on Saturday’s morning broadcast round, Mr Afolami said: “Look, it’s not unnatural if you’ve got people who served for 20, sometimes 30 or 35 years in Parliament in their 50s or 60s coming to retirement or indeed retiring completely, that they choose to bring their political careers to a close. I think that’s fine.”
Holly Evans25 May 2024 21:10
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Lib Dems ‘way more in tune’ with young voters than other parties – Sir Ed Davey
The Liberal Democrats are “way more in tune” with young voters than “any other party”, Sir Ed Davey has said, as Labour pledged to lower the voting age to 16.
The Lib Dem leader pointed to his party’s position on housing, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and their pro-European stance as policies that may appeal to younger people as he hit the campaign trail in Chichester, West Sussex, on Saturday.
Sir Ed welcomed Labour’s promise to reduce the voting age to 16 but said “bolder” reform is needed to fix the country’s “broken” political system.
When asked how the Lib Dems could regain the trust of young voters following the U-turn on their pledge to scrap university fees during the 2010 coalition government, Sir Ed said his party had “fought the Conservatives every single day” during the power-sharing agreement but “weren’t able to get everything we wanted”.
Sir Ed Davey on the campaign trial on Saturday (Aaron Chown/PA Wire)
Holly Evans25 May 2024 20:50
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Wes Streeting: I won’t give in to doctors’ unions on huge NHS pay demands
Wes Streeting has vowed he will be “a shop steward for patients” as health secretary, with a warning to striking doctors that he will not meet their huge pay demands.
With an election on 4 July, Mr Streeting has attempted to outline what sort of health secretary he would be if Labour, as expected, is victorious but takes power in the face of record waiting lists caused by the Covid pandemic and exacerbated by ongoing pay disputes.
And he comes with a message on why things need to change: “The NHS is not the envy of the world.”
Read the full exclusive from our political editor David Maddox here:
Holly Evans25 May 2024 20:25
Read the full story on www.independent.co.uk
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/general-election-labour-starmer-sunak-tory-gove-b2551518.html