However, figures inside the party argued it would be “problematic” to press ahead with Jack’s peerage, given the anger over the betting row and its impact on the Tory campaign. Recent discussions suggest that Jack could still be in line for an honour when the list is finally published.
Tory sources also warned Sunak that the dissolution honours list, traditionally published at the end of a parliament, risked provoking anger in the party if he attempted to use it to reward “arrogant” advisers and aides who have overseen an election campaign criticised as error-strewn. “It’s just quite extraordinary that, having criticised Liz Truss for giving some of her team gongs for failure, they’re going to do the exact same thing,” said one source.
Keir Starmer who will be driven down the Mall to be invited to form a government by the king.
The so-called “kissing of hands” normally passes off without a hitch. Most prime ministers are appointed at Buckingham Palace, though one notable exception was HH Asquith in 1908, who had to take a boat and train to Biarritz in France, where the king, Edward VII, was on holiday.
But the vagaries of our unwritten constitution leave room for behind-the scenes disagreements and tensions, even between the monarch and the government machine at these lofty ceremonial moments.
So it has been proved by the first ever insiders’ account of a tussle after the 2015 general election between the palace and the queen on one side, and government legal experts on the other.
Writing in the first edition of the Heywood Quarterly – a new free public policy journal established in honour of, and named after, the late former cabinet secretary Jeremy Heywood – Edward Young, the sovereign’s principal private secretary from 2017 to 2023, refers to the incident as a constitutional “pickle”.
He recalls how David Cameron’s general election victory in 2015, when he emerged with a majority of 11 after five years of coalition government with the Liberal Democrats, caught everyone rather by surprise.
Young writes that as the PM’s car set off from Downing Street to see the queen, there were very different views between the palace (supported by the queen) on one side, and the government legal team on the other, about what Cameron should say when he returned to No 10.
see 13.39 BST).
A Reform UK spokesperson has now confirmed that to the Guardian.
the BBC. The broadcaster reports that Edward Oakenfull, who is standing in Derbyshire Dales; Robert Lomas, a candidate in Barnsley North, and Leslie Lilley, standing in Southend East and Rochford, will still appear on the ballot paper as Reform UK candidates as it is too late for them to be removed.
Keir Starmer hit out at “desperate” and “ridiculous” Conservative attempts to portray Labour as a risk to national security. Speaking on a campaign visit in Hampshire on Saturday, Starmer told reporters he had been granted access to sensitive intelligence by the government so it was wrong for ministers to now claim he would be a danger.
Starmer said he shared Rishi Sunak’s disgust after a Reform UK campaigner used a racial slur to describe the prime minister. The Labour leader accused Farage of not doing enough after the incident, and added that it is the leader who sets the “tone, the culture and the standards” of a political party.
Rishi Sunak abandoned his “legacy” policy to ban smoking for future generations amid a backlash from the tobacco industry in the form of legal threats, lobbying and a charm offensive aimed at Conservative MPs, an investigation reveals.
First minister of Scotland John Swinney has warned that the public could become disfranchised with the crisis surrounding postal votes. At a rally in Glasgow’s West End on Saturday, Swinney pledged to push back against a Labour government, in particular regarding the two-child limit, and said he had warned of the risks of holding the general election in the Scottish school holidays. Swinney said he had been “inundated” with concerns from the public about this.
A Conservative candidate has said that she was flashed while out canvassing with her seven-year-old son on Friday evening. Andrea Jenkyns, who is standing in Leeds South West and Morley, told the Telegraph that “a man dropped his trousers after she approached his home”. Jenkyns said she had reported the incident to police.
The Conservative party deputy chair Angela Richardson called the sewage crisis a “political football” and claimed opposition parties and activists had put Tory MPs in physical danger by campaigning on the issue.
Reform UK said it had reported Channel 4 to the Electoral Commission, after the broadcaster released footage of an activist campaigning for Nigel Farage using a racial slur to describe prime minister Rishi Sunak. In a letter to the Electoral Commission, the party’s secretary Adam Richardson wrote: “The Channel 4 broadcast has clearly been made to harm Reform UK during an election period and this cannot be described as anything short of election interference.”
Ed Davey has announced he will embark on a 1,343-mile tour of seats from John o’Groats in northern Scotland to Land’s End in Cornwall in the final days of the general election campaign. The journey will take in seats that the Liberal Democrats are hoping to take from the Tories and the SNP.
Labour government, in particular regarding the two-child limit.
Swinney said he had warned of the risks of holding the general election in the Scottish school holidays and said he had been “inundated” with concerns from the public.
Swinney told supporters:
Keir Starmer will be the next prime minister of the United Kingdom but there’s still one part of the country which still has a vibrant election campaign – that’s here in Scotland.
We need to make sure we elect SNP MPs in Westminster. A Labour prime minister will be carrying on a Tory agenda of austerity and the two-child limit – we have got to have SNP MPs in Westminster.
What we know is that when decisions are made in Scotland, for Scotland, they are the best decisions.”
The PA news agency reports that when asked about the possibility that Dundee could be targeted by Reform UK, Swinney said:
I have never gone into polling thinking I can take the day off. Even when we’ve been miles ahead I’ve gone in saying ‘I’m not judging this’.”
Swinney praised efforts by the Edinburgh city council to ensure people who had not received postal ballots were still able to vote and said he expected an inquiry to be carried out.
He said:
There are steps that can be taken by local authorities to make facilities available so people can vote – I very much welcome what the City of Edinburgh Council did yesterday, other local authorities are considering that as well.
I’ve asked the election management board to address the fact that some local authorities have done that but others have not done so. I’m inundated in my inbox. I suspect there’ll be effects on all political parties. But I think the crucial point is the disenfranchisement of individuals.”
Swinney said that the voter ID requirement brought in by the UK government was “designed to put people off” and more effort should be made to encourage people to vote.
He added: “What the UK government’s decided to do, we will not be doing that in Scotland. We should be maximising the participation of people in elections, not making it more tricky.”
Jamie Grierson, Jim Waterson and Ashley Kirk. The guide has everything, from what to expect at certain hours of Thursday night and early morning Friday to where to watch all the general election results and commentary. There’s also a little section on non-politics related fun happening on Thursday night in case you decide to go out instead.
Reform UK has said it has reported Channel 4 to the Electoral Commission, after the broadcaster released footage of an activist campaigning for Nigel Farage using a racial slur to describe prime minister Rishi Sunak.
Campaigner Andrew Parker also suggested migrants should be used as “target practice” in the recording by an undercover journalist.
The PA news agency reports that, in a letter to the Electoral Commission, the party’s secretary Adam Richardson claimed that it was “entirely evident that Mr Parker was a plant within the Channel 4 news piece”.
He added: “The Channel 4 broadcast has clearly been made to harm Reform UK during an election period and this cannot be described as anything short of election interference.”
Conservatives at risk.
Scotland have said they are doing “all we can” to ensure every voter can take part in the general election amid delays in people receiving their postal votes.
The Scottish first minister John Swinney said on Friday that he was worried some voters would be “disfranchised” by delays due to school holidays beginning in Scotland.
Two councils – Edinburgh city council and Fife council – took the unusual step of setting up emergency centres where residents who have yet to receive their ballot can have one reissued, or can even cast their vote before 4 July.
Chris Highcock, the secretary of the Electoral Management Board for Scotland, said the number of postal voters had increased significantly in recent years.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think the first thing we have to say is that the logistical timetable that we have to operate to for any UK election is already very tight. That’s been exacerbated in Scotland at this time, as many families have planned to be away on holiday.
“All materials are prepared in secure print facilities, they have to be then transported to the voter.
“The timetable is such that we’re only able to prepare ballot papers once we know who’s going to be on the ballot paper for UK elections.
“We’re doing all we can to ensure that every voter that’s entitled to vote in this election is able to take part – councils right across Scotland, and indeed the UK, are taking measures to make sure that, if any postal votes haven’t been received, voters can collect replacement ballot papers and make sure that they can have their say in this important election.”
the BBC.
The broadcaster reports that Edward Oakenfull, who is standing in Derbyshire Dales; Robert Lomas, a candidate in Barnsley North, and Leslie Lilley, standing in Southend East and Rochford, will still appear on the ballot paper as Reform UK candidates as it is too late for them to be removed.
The remarks of Oakenfull, Lomas and Lilley were put to Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, on Question Time last night. He responded by saying: “I want nothing to do with them.”
The archbishop of Canterbury has urged people to avoid “personalised abuse” in the closing stages of the election campaign as he encouraged voters to go to the ballot box.
According to the PA news agency, Justin Welby said:
In these last few days before the election, let us pray for all candidates taking part in this most essential act of democracy.
Let us encourage courteous and kind debate and not use personalised abuse. Let us carefully consider issues and the common good, and above all vote.”
Source: theguardian.com
