General election debate – live: Tory minister interrogated over Brexit and NHS crisis, as David Attenborough rebukes ‘disgraceful’ Boris Johnson
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Your support makes all the difference.Party leaders are braced for a televised grilling in the first seven-way debate of the election – but Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn are expected to snub the clash.
Senior members of the Tories, Labour, the Greens, Lib Dems, SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Brexit Party will each face questions from the audience at a BBC debate in Cardiff, chaired by Nick Robinson.
It comes amid tensions between the BBC and the Tories over Mr Johnson’s refusal to confirm an interview with Andrew Neil, and criticism from David Attenborough over his decision to snub a climate change debate.
The prime minister instead took part in a radio phone-in on LBC, where he was confronted over his past comments about single mothers.
Backlash from teachers as Tories pledge to beef up Ofsted
Teachers have hit out at Tory plans to give Ofsted greater powers and introduce school inspections without notice.
The prime minister has vowed to inject £10m additional funding into the schools watchdog and introduce a raft of new measures, including increasing the length of inspections from two to three days to focus on behaviour, bullying and the extra-curricular offering.
The overhaul will also reintroduce routine inspections in schools rated outstanding, which were scrapped by Michael Gove in 2011, and put an end to “light touch” checks in good and outstanding schools.
Boris Johnson statement on London Bridge incident
Speaking in Downing Street, the PM said: "My thoughts are with the emergency services, with the police, going towards danger as they do.
"I want to pay tribute to the extraordinary bravery of the members of the public who intervened."
He said these bystanders represent "the very best of our country".
He pledged that those responsible would be "hunted down and brought to justice".
Johnson said the incident has been contained 'to the best of our knowledge'.
The PM said he has stopped his campaigning for the evening but it will be reviewed in the morning.
David Attenborough brands PM 'shameful' for boycotting climate change TV debate
David Attenborough has strongly criticised Boris Johnson for boycotting the TV election debate on climate change, branding the stance “shameful”.
The legendary environmentalist said: “I don't know what else he had to do, but it would have to be very, very important to dodge this one.”
The criticism comes after Downing Street went to war with Channel 4 over it placing an ice sculpture in the prime minister’s place during the broadcast on Thursday evening.
Green Party co-leader calls for Halal meat ban
The Green Party will be represented later by its MP Caroline Lucas. But the party's co-leader Jonathan Bartley has been causing a splash of his own this afternoon this afternoon.
Bartley told BBC North West that he would ban Halal meet and that he was "very clear" on the subject. The policy is somewhat of a departure from the Greens' usual policies and has come in for criticism by some supporters on social media.
Tonight's election debate
The BBC debate at 7pm tonight is one of the lower-profile of the ones this election. Neither Boris Johnson nor Jeremy Corbyn are taking part: instead, representatives from the seven biggest parties will be on stage.
The participants are:
- Jo Swinson, Lib Dems
- Nicola Sturgeon, SNP
- Rebecca Long-Bailey, Labour
- Rishi Sunak, Conservatives
- Adam Price, Plaid Cymru
- Richard Tice, Brexit Party
- Caroline Lucas, Green Party
It'll be an hour an a half long, and you can watch it on iPlayer, BBC One, or Radio 5 Live
Nick Robinson is hosting: he starts on a sombre note and notes the attack in London today. He says the debate will "reflect on that tonight" as well as address other issues.
He says they invited parties to send either their leader "or a leading figure - the decision was theirs".
The leaders have made their opening statements, here's a quick summary:
Jo Swinson of the Lib Dems pays tribute "to the bravery of our emergency services". She says her dad "taught her to ask questions" and change them for the better. She leads on Brexit. "If you share my vision for our country, if you want to stop Brexit and build a brighter future, vote Lib Dem".
The Greens' Caroline Lucas says getting Brexit done is "a big lie" and just the start of years more wrangling. She says this election is "the greatest, perhaps the last chance" to change course to stop climate change.
Labour's Rebecca Long-Bailey says her thoughts are with the victims of the attack. She says she wants a government "that is on your side, not a government that stands by while too many families are struggling to make ends meet". She says Labour will "build that fairer Britain that cares for all".
Conservative Rishi Sunak says "everyone in this country is frustrated" that parliament is "stuck going around in circles on Brexit". He says everyone wants to "move on" and the Brexit deal can let the UK leave by the end of January. She says "your priorities" can be focused on afterwards.
Adam Price from Plaid Cymru welcomes everyone to Wales and says Wales is a country with great resources "held back by poverty". He says the "poverty" of leadership is perhaps the worse. "Labour and the Tories of course will blame each other but the truth is neither of them are the solution to our problems." Price says "the new hope" for Wales "will never come from Westminster" and adds: "Let's make this winter our Welsh spring".
Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP says the election really matters: "At stake is not just Brexit, but what kind of society we want to be." She says the SNP "want to play our part of locking Boris Johnson out of Downing Street" and that the Brexit deal will cause problems for years to come. She notes the trade deal with Donald Trump will be on the cards soon.
Richard Tice, the chair of the Brexit Party says that "with Brexit done properly we have an amazing future". He says he wants "the least well off to benefit the most". He says he wants the UK to be "world leaders" on training doctors, planting trees and recycling. "But we have to restore trust in democracy with major political reforms."
The first question is about the attack at London Bridge today. Conservative minister Sunak pays tribute to the bystanders who intervened. So does Labour's Long-Bailey, but she says we can't ignore that 20,000 police offices have been cut from front-line services and mentions an increase in violent crime. Sturgeon says leaving the EU is a mistake because the UK needs to retain access to the best intelligence. She says police numbers are important because they allow offices to respond swiftly. Swinson says "huge courage" were shown by members of the public and the emergency services. She says it's important to look at "what the police do" and shift to community policing. Plaid's Price says "no one answer will keep us safe" but that "resources are always part of the answer" - again noting police cuts. Green Caroline Lucas says political leaders have a "responsibility to make sure that such incidents don't divide us". She says Prevent needs to be reviewed and that staying inside the EU would be a better way of ensuring access to intelligence. Richard Tice says the attack was "utterly, utterly heartbreaking". He says that "however many police we have ... we must remain vigilant".
Labour and the Tories are clashing about spending plans. Sunak says Labour crashed the economy in 2010 and bankrupted the country.
But Long-Bailey says it was caused by a global financial crisis and that in fact the Tory chancellor was at the time working for a bank "selling the very derivatives that caused the banking crash in the first place".
She says the Tories' figures are "fabricated lies" and that she's not seen any costings. Sunak says actually "they're the most costed plans ever".
Nicola Sturgeon steps in and says neither of the parties' plans are credible but that if the SNP hold the balance of power they'll demand an end to welfare cuts. Lib Dem Jo Swinson says leaving the EU will restrict the tax take and give governments less to spend.
Tice of the Brexit Party says people don't trust politicians anymore... Sturgeon says actually, it's people like Tice who people don't trust because they lied on the side of a bus claiming the NHS would have more money after Brexit.
Asked about Brexit, a referendum and revoking Article 50, Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson initially does not mention the party's policy of revoking Article 50 – she says her party has "led the campaign for a People's Vote and we want to stop Brexit". An interesting omission.
Caroline Lucas says a "unilateral revocation" would be "a slap in the face" to people who voted Leave.
Asked again by the moderator very specifically, Swinson stresses that revoking is the policy "if we win a majority Liberal Democrat government" - effectively downplaying the policy.
Sunak says the Tories will "get Brexit done" and Caroline Lucas says it's "a lie" to say the process won't be long. Nicola Sturgeon says "Caroline's right" about it being a lie.
"This get Brexit done is the biggest con of this election," says Sturgeon.
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