General election latest: Farage lashes out at BBC with new policy in speech and denies Reform has Russia links

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Sunak on Farage

Nigel Farage said Reform UK would campaign as the “leading voice of opposition” to abolish the BBC licence fee, claiming the broadcaster has “abused its position of power” at the party’s rally in Birmingham.

It comes after the Reform UK leader was questioned about the state of his party, and the views expressed by some of its candidates and campaigners, by a live audience during an appearance on BBC Question Time on Friday night.

“They stand for nothing. I was told they were a broad church. Well they’re a broad church without any religion,” he added.

“It simply doesn’t work. So we will again renew our campaign with added vigour to say that the state broadcaster has abused its position of power and we will campaign for the abolition of the BBC licence fee.”

It comes as Rishi Sunak has said the UK is a better place to live in now than it was when the Tories took office in 2010.

In a fiery interview with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, the prime minister acknowledged the last years have been “difficult” as he cited the pandemic and the war in Ukraine driving up energy bills, but insisted “we are now on the right track”.

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It cannot be denied any longer – Reform is riddled with racism

It cannot be denied any longer – Reform is riddled with racism

After election campaigners for Nigel Farage were filmed voicing violent racist and homophobic slurs, the leader suggested such people end up in his party because ‘they haven’t got the BNP to go to anymore’. But when it comes to hate speech, Reform has got form, says Femi Oluwole

Holly Evans1 July 2024 04:00

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Bad actors or conspiracy theories? The inside story of Farage’s battle for Clacton

As you drive into Clacton there are scores of pro-Farage Reform posters asking people to “save Britain” in what is becoming a struggle for the soul of right-of-centre politics.

Only as you travel out to the more genteel areas of the constituency, like Frinton, do they give way to “I stand with Giles” boards. But Giles Watling, the Tory MP defending his Clacton seat, may be the only Conservative candidate in this election with a wide coalition of support across the country willing him to win.

In the wake of the Channel 4 News expose of the Reform Clacton team and the racist comments by one of the canvassers Andrew Parker, Watling received a telephone call from Tony Blair’s former spin doctor Alastair Campbell, in normal circumstances no lover of Tories.

Read the full article here:

Bad actors or conspiracy theories? The inside story of Farage’s battle for Clacton

Tory MP Giles Watling and Farage’s election agent Peter Harris give the inside story on what really happened with Andrew Parker and the P-word row

Holly Evans1 July 2024 03:00

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Rishi Sunak says he is proud of disastrous election campaign - and claims he will win

Rishi Sunak has said he is “proud” of his disastrous election campaign and claims he will win Thursday’s general election.

The prime minister has come under fire in recent weeks for a series of calamities that included a rain-soaked announcement of polling day, leaving D-Day commemorations early and a gambling scandal.

But in a crunch interview with just days to go before the vote, Mr Sunak told the BBC‘s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg “this campaign is something I am very proud of” as he sought to disparage Labour’s plans.

Read the full article here:

Rishi Sunak says he is proud of disastrous election campaign - and claims he will win

Tory leader is 20 points behind in the polls, amid rows over a D-Day snub and a gambling scandal – but says he will be PM on Friday despite admitting Brexit is bad for many businesses

Holly Evans1 July 2024 02:00

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Trevor Phillips issues defiant Reform racism row warning: ‘We protect our children’

Sky News presenter Trevor Phillips spoke of the need to protect his children from racism as he issued a defiant message in the Reform racism row.

Trevor Phillips issues defiant Reform racism row warning: ‘We protect our children’

Sky News presenter Trevor Phillips spoke of the need to protect his children from racism as he issued a defiant message in the Reform racism row. In a week that saw one campaigner refer to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as a “f****** p***” and another claim migrants arriving by small boats should be “target practice”, Nigel Farage’s party has come under fire. Presenting his politics show on Sunday (30 June), Mr Phillips said: “In our family, we protect our children, not by hiding them from the reality of the world but preparing them for a world in which such words are still regrettably commonplace. “They understand from the get-go that the person with the problem is not them, but the racist. All that said, out of courtesy to some colleagues who feel differently and who may be distressed by the use of such words, we'll do our best to avoid them today.”

Maryam Zakir-Hussain1 July 2024 01:00

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Keir Starmer warns ‘hardest mile’ ahead as he tries to rally Labour activists for final push

Keir Starmer has warned Labour activists the “hardest mile” is still ahead as he attempted to rally his troops for a final push towards polling day.

The Labour leader told an event in central London: “This is the final furlong. This is the last push. The last mile, the hardest mile.”

He asked them to imagine waking up to a Tory government on 5 July, saying that the millions of undecided voters mean “it could happen”.

Keir Starmer warns ‘hardest mile’ ahead as he rallies Labour activists for final push

Labour secures star-studded endorsements, including from Sir Elton John, as it looks to the last week of the campaign

Maryam Zakir-Hussain1 July 2024 00:00

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Inside Jeremy Corbyn’s fight for Islington seat after former Labour leader stripped of the party machine

Inside Corbyn’s fight for Islington seat as former leader stripped of Labour machine

Joe Middleton meets the former leader battling to hold on to the seat he has represented since 1983 – and to remind voters he is now an independent

Maryam Zakir-Hussain30 June 2024 23:00

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Nigel Farage claims Reform UK activist who directed racist comments at Rishi Sunak is ‘an actor’

Nigel Farage claimed a Reform UK canvasser who called for English Channel migrants to be used as “target practice” was an actor.

Farage claims Reform UK activist who directed racist comments at Sunak is ‘an actor’

Nigel Farage claimed a Reform UK canvasser who called for English Channel migrants to be used as “target practice” was an actor. When challenged that “all sorts of people are actors”, on Sky’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme (29 June), the Reform UK leader said of the canvasser who was filmed by an undercover reporter: “He’s an actor – a rather well-spoken actor – but he has an alter ego. He does what he calls ‘rough speaking’. “I was there working in the office in Essex when he turned up and he was, from the moment he walked through the room, like a version of Alf Garnett (a character from the 1960s sitcom Till Death Us Do Part who used racist slurs).”

Maryam Zakir-Hussain30 June 2024 22:00

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Rishi Sunak in fiery clash with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg over Brexit: ‘You’re completely wrong’

Rishi Sunak was involved in a fiery clash with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg over Brexit on Sunday (30 June) as the prime minister told her “You’re completely wrong”.

Sunak in fiery clash with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg over Brexit: ‘You’re wrong’

Rishi Sunak was involved in a fiery clash with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg over Brexit on Sunday (30 June) as the prime minister told her “You’re completely wrong”. Mr Sunak was pressed about claims that the UK’s departure from the EU has hit the economy since the 2016 referendum. Ms Kuenssberg asked: “Some people believe, including the Independent Climate Change Committee, that the UK has lost its status as a leader. Was it a mistake?” Mr Sunak replied: “No, I fundamentally disagree. You said we lost our standing in the world. That is completely and utterly wrong.” “That is not what I said,” Ms Kuenssberg interrupted.

Maryam Zakir-Hussain30 June 2024 21:00

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Voters in ‘blue wall’ seats bombarded with Lib Dem ads as party steps up moves to oust Tories like Jeremy Hunt

Voters in the blue wall have seen an average of eight Liberal Democrat adverts as the party steps up its bid to oust high-profile names like Jeremy Hunt, according to sources.

The Lib Dems are climbing in the opinion polls, with some even suggesting they could be fighting for second place in the event of a Tory meltdown.

Forecasts indicate the party could take more than 50 seats on Thursday, after a campaign noted for leader Ed Davey’s stunts.

‘Blue wall’ voters bombarded with Lib Dem ads in bid to oust Jeremy Hunt

Exclusive: Constituents have seen an average of eight Lib Dem adverts as the party hammers home its message only they can defeat the Conservatives in certain seats

Maryam Zakir-Hussain30 June 2024 20:00

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Litvinenko’s widow ‘disgusted’ by Farage and Reform UK candidate’s praise for Putin

Russian dissidents living in the UK have hit back at “deeply offensive” words of admiration for Vladimir Putin by Nigel Farage and another Reform UK candidate.

It comes as a former British defence attache posted in Moscow described Mr Farage and his party, now third in the polls, as “deeply maligned actors … working against the security interest of our country”.

When asked about both accusations, a Reform UK spokesperson burst into laughter, before suggesting Julian Malins, a party candidate who last weekend bragged about meeting Putin and that he “seemed very good”, was merely a highly-intelligent “eccentric sort of character”.

Litvinenko’s widow ‘disgusted’ by Farage and Reform UK candidate’s praise for Putin

Russian dissidents and an ex-British military official formerly stationed in Moscow say party represents threat to British national security

Maryam Zakir-Hussain30 June 2024 19:00

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