Labour would cause ‘irreversible damage within first 100 days’ in power, Rishi Sunak claims
Leaders and politicians of all parties are coming out swinging today as the general election campaign enters the final days.
Rishi Sunak is today saying that Labour would cause “irreversible damage within just 100 days of coming to power”, while his top lieutenants warn of the “danger” of a government led by Sir Keir Starmer.
With polls throughout the campaign showing the Conservative Party failing to make a dent in Labour’s 21-point lead, according to the Sky News Poll Tracker, the prime minister only has days to change minds across the country in his bid to retain power.
Meanwhile, the Labour leader is arguing that if the Conservatives are re-elected, “they will feel entitled to continue serving themselves, rather than putting the needs of our country first”.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey is continuing to promote his party’s proposals for the NHS, while SNP leader John Swinney is arguing that the Scottish public should “vote SNP to put Scotland’s interests first”.
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Sunak says Labour ‘cannot be trusted’
The Conservative Party is continuing its warning that a Labour government would see taxes rise, and the prime minister is arguing electing Sir Keir would do “irreversible damage within just 100 days of coming to power”.
Mr Sunak said that Labour’s plans to impose VAT on private school fees would risk “throwing thousands of families’ plans for the autumn term into chaos, with children wondering if they will have a desk at school to go back to”.
And he also claimed that Labour would make Britain the “soft touch migrant capital of the world” with “open borders” and an “illegal migrant amnesty”.
The prime minister added: “They cannot be trusted. We must not surrender our taxes, our borders and our security to them. Only the Conservatives will deliver tax cuts, a growing economy and a brighter, more secure future for everyone.”
Rishi Sunak speaking at a Hindu temple in northwest London on Saturday. Pic: PA
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron went further in an interview with The Sunday Times, suggesting that a Labour government would be a threat to national security.
He told the newspaper that Sir Keir “is in danger of weakening Britain’s position and weakening Britain’s defences, all in a way that’s completely unnecessary”.
The ex-prime minister described Labour as “hopelessly naive about the dangerous world in which we’re living”, adding: “The last thing we need in Britain now is another liberal leftie lawyer running the country.”
But Sir Keir hit back, noting that the government has already given him “high level sensitive briefings, so much do they trust us on national security”.
“To now turn around and make this ridiculous claim just shows how desperate they have become going into this election,” he added.
Starmer appeals for ‘clear mandate’ to govern
The Labour leader and the potential next chancellor, Rachel Reeves, also spoke to The Sunday Times, and they talked about their goal of getting housebuilding ramping up “on day one” if they win the election.
Keir Starmer with wife Victoria (right) and deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner at the Royal Horticultural Halls in central London on Saturday. Pic: PA
The newspaper reports that at least three housing announcements are expected to be made within the first fortnight of a Labour government, saying that opportunities for young people from working-class backgrounds to own their own home “don’t exist”.
And in an article for The Observer, Sir Keir wrote that if voters elect Labour on Thursday, “the work of change begins” and they will “get to work on repairing our public services with an immediate cash injection, alongside urgent reforms”.
He also attacked the Tories’ record in power, saying if they are re-elected, “Britain will remain stuck in their low-growth, high-tax, declining public services doom-loop”.
“The unfunded splurge contained in their manifesto will unleash chaos into our economy once again. And they will feel entitled to continue serving themselves, rather than putting the needs of our country first,” he added.
“Frankly, should they win another five years after everything they’ve put us through in this parliament, they would surely think they could get away with anything.”
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What do voters think of manifestos?
He appealed for a “clear mandate” to implement his plans, pointing to “chaos” under Mr Sunak and Liz Truss before him as examples of what happens when prime ministers seek to “govern without that mandate”.
Read more:
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SNP ‘offers hope of better future’
Meanwhile in Scotland, the leader of the SNP is appealing to Scots to back his party as polls show that Labour could become the largest Scottish parliamentary contingent in over a decade.
John Swinney argued that while “the result in England is now inevitable”, in “most seats in Scotland it’s too close to call between the SNP and Labour”.
SNP leader John Swinney (right) and SNP candidate Tommy Sheppard serve pizza at Portobello Beach and Promenade, Edinburgh. Pic: PA
He hit out at the Labour Party, saying a Starmer government “plans to impose £18bn of cuts to public spending – after years of austerity, Brexit and the ongoing cost of living crisis”.
To avoid that, he said, and to “ensure that decisions about Scotland are made in Scotland, then you’ve got to vote SNP”.
“The SNP offers Scotland the hope of a better future – but you have to vote for it. This Thursday, vote SNP to put Scotland’s interests first,” he added.
Tories have ‘failed’ to support families in grief
The Liberal Democrats are continuing to unveil policies, focused on the NHS and reversing “heartless Tory cuts” to bereavement payments.
On the latter as it stands, a bereaved family where a spouse or partner has died receives a lump sum of up to £3,500, followed by a monthly payment of up to £350 for 18 months.
Sir Ed Davey tries his hand at archery in Little Paxton, Cambridgeshire. Pic: PA
The party is calling for this period to be extended, and is pledging to inject an additional £440m a year into the system by 2028-29 to fund it.
Sir Ed Davey said in a statement: “Rishi Sunak’s government has failed to ensure families are not left struggling to pay the bills at such a difficult period of time.
“The Liberal Democrats would treat families and children who lose a loved one with dignity and provide the support they deserve.”
He also reiterated his party’s pledge to give people a legal right to see a GP within a week and start cancer treatment within two months, with Sir Ed saying that his party has “put health and care at the heart of our fair deal for the country”.
Farage goes on the attack
Meanwhile, Reform UK is on the offensive after facing a slew of racism allegations over recent days.
Nigel Farage during a BBC Question Time Leaders’ Special at the Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham. Pic: PA
The party yesterday withdrew support for three candidates, and it came on the heels of Channel 4 news airing footage filmed undercover that showed Andrew Parker, an activist canvassing for Mr Farage, using the racial slur “P***” to describe the prime minister, describing Islam as a “disgusting cult”, and saying the army should “just shoot” migrants crossing the Channel.
Nigel Farage has gone on the attack, with the party saying it has reported Channel 4 to the elections watchdog for alleged “scandalous… interference” over what the party claims was a fake rant planted by the broadcaster.
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The key election words you need to know
Mr Farage also hit out at the BBC, saying he would refuse to appear on their flagship Sunday morning show until they apologise for their “dishonest” audience during a BBC Question Time special on Friday, accusing the broadcaster of having “behaved like a political actor throughout this election”.
He will hold a vast rally in Birmingham later today, after speaking to Sky News from Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips at 8.30am.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage will be joining Sky News’ Trevor Philips from 8.30am this morning on his last programme before the election – along with Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, Labour’s national campaign coordinator Pat McFadden, and SNP leader and Scottish First Minister John Swinney.
Politics
Wes Streeting denies Labour has made ‘mistakes’ with ‘unpopular’ policies despite poor local election results
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has defended “unpopular” policies such as the cut to the winter fuel allowance despite Labour’s poor performance at the local elections.
Mr Streeting denied the government had made any mistakes when asked whether the policy was partly to blame for the party losing 189 council seats less than a year since the General Election.
Since coming into government last July, Labour has enacted a number of policies that were not in its manifesto.
These include means-testing winter fuel payments for pensioners, increasing employers’ national insurance contributions and slashing £5bn from the welfare bill.
Asked what mistakes his government had made so far that had led to its drubbing at the ballot box, Mr Streeting told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: “Well, we will make plenty of mistakes.”
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Pressed again on whether he believed “mistakes” had been made, the health secretary replied: “No. When we made those choices, we knew they would be unpopular. And we knew that they would be opposed.
“The reason we made those choices is because we genuinely believe they’re the right choices to get the country out of the massive hole it was left in. And right across the board. Whether it’s the NHS, whether it’s schools, whether it’s prisons, whether it’s our defence and security, whether it’s crime and policing, there were enormous challenges facing this country when we came in.
“And we’ve had to make big and sometimes unpopular decisions so that we can face those challenges and deal with them. People might thank us if we just kind of go for the easy but we want to make the right choices.”
Some Labour MPs have urged the government to change direction, with one telling Sky News the cut to winter fuel was a “catastrophic error” that must be “remedied” if the party is to see any improvement in public opinion.
Others have warned that in courting Reform voters, the party risks fracturing its coalition of voters on the left who may be tempted by the Liberal Democrats and Green Party.
However, in the aftermath of the local elections, Sir Keir Starmer suggested the poor results meant he needed to go “further and faster” in delivering his existing agenda.
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Inside Reform’s election success
The real victor to emerge from Thursday’s local elections was Reform UK, which won control of 10 councils and picked up 677 council seats largely at the expense of the Conservatives in the south.
However, Reform also won the Runcorn by-election from Labour by just six votes, as well as control of Doncaster Council from Labour – the only local authority it had control of in this set of elections – in a significant win for Nigel Farage and his party.
The Reform UK leader declared that two-party politics was now “finished” and that his party was now the official “opposition” to Labour.
Asked whether the results meant that Labour would now treat Reform as “your most serious opposition”, Mr Streeting said: ” I certainly do treat them as a serious opposition force.”
“As I say, I don’t know whether it will be Reform or the Conservatives that emerge as the main threat,” he added.
“I don’t have a horse in that race, but like alien versus predator, I don’t really want either one to win.”
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Reform UK are ‘fighting force’
Tory Party chairman Nigel Huddleston said Reform UK was not just a protest party and that Mr Farage was “a force in British politics”.
He told Trevor Phillips: “But the one thing about Nigel Farage is, and we’re seeing this again and again and again, he is a populist.
“He is increasingly saying everything that anybody wants to hear. He’s trying to be all things to all men.”
“We are establishing ourselves as a credible alternative government based on sound conservative principles and values and our values and our principles, and therefore our policies, will define the future of our party,” he added.
Kemi Badenoch has admitted it is “feasible” that Nigel Farage could become the next prime minister.
The Tory leader told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme Mr Farage’s party was “expressing the feeling of frustration that a lot of people around the country are feeling” – but added it was her job to “come up with answers and solutions”.
Asked if it was feasible that Mr Farage could be the next prime minister, she cited how Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had won re-election this weekend.
“As I said, anything is feasible,” she said. “Anthony Albanese: people were writing him off. He has just won a landslide, but my job is to make sure that he [Farage] does not become prime minister because he does not have the answers to the problems the country is facing.”
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Could Nigel Farage be prime minister?
Asked what Mr Farage was doing right, Ms Badenoch said: “He is expressing the feeling of frustration that a lot of people around the country are feeling.
“But he also doesn’t have a record in government like the two main parties do. Now he’s going to be running some councils. We’ll see how that goes.”
Mr Farage was the undoubted winner of Thursday’s local elections, in which 23 councils were up for grabs.
His party picked up 677 council seats and took control of 10 councils.
By contrast, the Conservatives lost 677 council seats as well as control of 18 councils in what was their worst local elections performance on record.
Mr Farage said the outcome spelt the end of two-party politics and that his party was now the official “opposition” to Labour – with the Tories having been rendered a “waste of space”.
Read more:
Reform has put the two traditional parties on notice
‘I get it’: Starmer responds after losing Runcorn by-election
Ms Badenoch said she believed the vote for Mr Farage on Thursday was partly down to “protest” but added: “That doesn’t mean we sit back. We are going to come out fighting.
“We are going to come out with the policies that people want to see, but what we are not going to do is rush out and tell the public things that are not true just so we can win votes.
“This is not about winning elections; this is about fixing our country. Yes, of course, you need to win elections to do that, but you also need a credible plan.”
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‘Farage is a force in British politics’
Conservative co-chairman Nigel Huddleston sought to play down the threat from Reform UK, telling Sky News: “When they’re in a position of delivering things, that’s when the shine comes off.”
He told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: “The one thing about Nigel Farage is, and we’re seeing this again and again and again, he is a populist.
“He is increasingly saying everything that anybody wants to hear. He’s trying to be all things to all men.”
“We are establishing ourselves as a credible alternative government based on sound conservative principles and values and our values and our principles, and therefore our policies, will define the future of our party,” he added.
Asked whether the results meant that Labour would now treat Reform as “your most serious opposition”, Health Secretary Wes Streeting told Trevor Phillips: ” I certainly do treat them as a serious opposition force.”
“As I say, I don’t know whether it will be Reform or the Conservatives that emerge as the main threat,” he added.
“I don’t have a horse in that race, but like alien versus predator, I don’t really want either one to win.”
A group of US Senate Democrats known for supporting the crypto industry have said they would oppose a Republican-led stablecoin bill if it moves forward in its current form.
The move threatens to stall legislation that could establish the first US regulatory framework for stablecoins, according to a May 3 report from Politico.
Per the report, nine Senate Democrats said in a joint statement that the bill “still has numerous issues that must be addressed.” They warned they would not support a procedural vote to advance the legislation unless changes are made.
Among the signatories were Senators Ruben Gallego, Mark Warner, Lisa Blunt Rochester and Andy Kim — all of whom had previously backed the bill when it passed through the Senate Banking Committee in March.
The bill, introduced by Senator Bill Hagerty, is formally known as the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act.
Related: Fed’s Powell reasserts support for stablecoin legislation
Senate prepares to vote on stablecoin bill
The Senate is expected to begin floor consideration of the bill in the coming days, with the first vote potentially taking place next week.
The bill has been championed by the crypto industry as a landmark step toward regulatory clarity. However, the Democrats’ about-face reflects growing unease within the party.
Although revisions were made to the bill after its committee approval to address Democratic concerns, the lawmakers said the changes fell short. They called for stronger safeguards related to Anti-Money Laundering, national security, foreign issuers, and accountability measures for noncompliant actors.
The statement was also signed by Senators Raphael Warnock, Catherine Cortez Masto, Ben Ray Luján, John Hickenlooper and Adam Schiff.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Senator Angela Alsobrooks were absent from the list, who co-sponsored the bill alongside Hagerty.
Despite their objections, the Democratic senators emphasized their commitment to shaping responsible crypto regulation. They reportedly said they “are eager to continue working with our colleagues to address these issues.”
Related: US banks are ‘free to begin supporting Bitcoin’
Crypto needs a stablecoin bill
On April 27, Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Custodia Bank, criticized the US Federal Reserve for quietly maintaining a key anti-crypto policy that favors big-bank-issued stablecoins, despite relaxing crypto partnership rules for banks.
Long explained that while the Fed recently rescinded four prior crypto guidelines, a Jan. 27, 2023, statement was left intact in coordination with the Biden administration.
The guidance, according to Long, blocks banks from engaging directly with crypto assets and prohibits them from issuing stablecoins on permissionless blockchains.
However, Long noted that once a federal stablecoin bill becomes law, it could override the Fed’s stance. “Congress should hurry up,” she urged.
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