Boris Johnson news: Farage sparks backlash after ‘bottling it’ by dropping Brexit Party candidates in Tory-held seats
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Nigel Farage has said his Brexit Party will not contest the 317 seats won by the Conservatives at the last general election, claiming his party will only fight seats held by Labour and “the rest of the Remainer parties”.
The right-wing party leader came under huge pressure to drop hundreds of candidates – with the Leave.EU campaign group threatening to release a tactical voting app showing Leave voters where they should back the Tories.
It comes as Boris Johnson pledged to protect Armed Forces veterans from “vexatious” legal action, as he announced a series of measures to support military personnel. Jeremy Corbyn, meanwhile, has vowed to boost conditions for forces families by improving housing support and access to schools.
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PM welcomes Nigel Farage’s announcement
Boris Johnson has welcomed the news that the Brexit Party making way for Tory candidates, with the PM telling reporters in a Wolverhampton pub: “I’m glad that there’s a recognition that there’s only one way to get Brexit done and that's to vote for the Conservatives.”
Asked if he had had discussions with Farage ahead of the announcement, he said: “Absolutely not.”
Tory contender withdraws in Hartlepool
The Tory party’s leading contender to become its candidate in Hartlepool has reportedly withdrawn his name after Nigel Farage’s announcement.
The Brexit Party’s chairman Richard Tice is standing in the County Durham town – so at the moment it’s a two-horse race, unless the Conservatives get someone else in the next few days.
Farage’s big move ‘will make little difference’, says YouGov expert
Chris Curtis, YouGov’s political research manager, has poured cold water on suggestions Nigel Farage has swun the election for Boris Johnson and the Tories.
In a blog post titled ‘Farage’s election stand-down will make little difference’, he points out that the Brexit Party was already trending downwards in the polls.
“The most important swing to look at in the polls is the one between Labour and the Conservatives. Despite a move away from two-party politics since the last election, it is still the case that most marginal seats are battles between Labour and the Conservatives, and this is the most important dynamic in deciding who will be celebrating Christmas in 10 Downing Street.”
He concludes: “So overall, despite today’s drama, this is unlikely to be a game-changing moment.”
Twitter pledges steps to keep UK election ‘healthy and safe’
Twitter said it would make it easier to report misleading information about the voting process in the UK election, less than a month after its global ban on political advertising comes into force.
The company said last month it would stop all political advertising, making the British election one of the first major tests for the new policy.
It said on Monday it was also taking additional steps to make sure the British election was “healthy, open and safe”.
It is launching a tool for people to report deliberately misleading information about the voting process, for example how to vote or register to vote, or false information about the date or time for the election.
“We've established a cross-functional UK elections team that will proactively protect the integrity of the election-related conversation, support partner escalations, and identify potential threats from malicious actors,” it said in a blog post.
Users taking part in the election debate will be able to use a customised election emoji that is a visual play on the word “Vote” activated by the use of hashtags including #GE19, it said.
Twitter will publish details of the political ad ban on 15 November and enforce it from 22 November.
It is also increasing investment in systems that can detect abuse before it is flagged by users, with half of abusive tweets now identified by technology.
Tory plan to water down Human Rights Act would turn UK into pariah, experts warn
Conservative plans to water down the Human Rights Act – to prevent prosecutions of soldiers accused of murders in Northern Ireland – will make the UK a pariah, the party has been warned.
The move could also lead to Britain leaving the European Convention on Human Rights altogether, at huge cost to the country’s reputation, legal experts said.
The backlash came after Boris Johnson pledged to end what the Tories call “unfair trials”, by banning inquests from returning verdicts of unlawful killings for deaths during the Troubles.
It would involve amending the HRA – the key legal route for families seeking to prove British state involvement in killings – to exclude any death in Northern Ireland before it came into force in October 2000.
Most constituencies will be worse off in 'real-terms school funding despite PM's cash boost'
The vast majority of constituencies will still be worse off in real-terms school funding in April than in 2015 despite Boris Johnson’s cash boost, an education union says.
Only 18 of 533 parliamentary constituencies will see their per-pupil funding above its 2015 level in real terms, an analysis by the National Education Union (NEU) suggests.
Nearly three in four (72 per cent) of the 18 constituencies set to benefit are Conservative-held, the analysis finds. Meanwhile, of the 100 worst hit constituencies, 77 are Labour-held.
Child poverty is about more than just money - Angela Rayner
The Liberal Democrats have unveiled plans to give every adult in the UK up to £10,000 to invest in education and training.
Under the proposals to create a "Skills Wallet" for every adult, people would be given £4,000 by the government at the age of 25, £3,000 at 40 and a further £3,000 at 55.
Individuals would be encouraged to top up their "wallets" with their own money, and employers would also be able to contribute.
Johnson and Corbyn pledge to help veterans after campaign pause for Remembrance Sunday
Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn will both unveil pledges to help veterans after the election campaign held a sombre pause to mark Remembrance Sunday.
The prime minister will visit the Black Country on Armistice Day where he will lay out measures to help former service personnel into work, including guaranteed job interviews for public sector roles and tax cuts for businesses that employ veterans.
Meanwhile, Mr Corbyn revealed that the Labour manifesto would contain a string of pledges to bolster working conditions for the forces and their families.
McDonnell issues fresh challenge to Javid over TV debate
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has called on his opposite number, Sajid Javid, to debate him on the economy during the election, but reports suggested today Downing Street is keen to avoid the confrontation.
In a statement released this evening, Mr McDonnell said: "I immediately proposed a TV debate with Sajid Javid as part of the election process.
"However, it now appears that for all his bluster and bravado he's doing all he possibly can to wriggle out of any debate.
"If he doesn't sign up, I suggest that the broadcasters empty chair him."
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