General Election LIVE: Tory MP suspended after backing Reform candidate as Labour Shadow Minister announces she will step down

Starmer defends rowing back on 2020 promises - 'I'm a socialist'

Sir Keir Starmer has said he is a "socialist" after delivering his first major speech of Labour's election campaign.

He has faced internal criticism from those on the left of his party for backing down from some pledges he made during his 2020 leadership campaign.

However, during a speech at Lancing, West Sussex, the Labour leader said he was a "socialist" and a "progressive" adding: "I’d describe myself as somebody who always puts the country first and party second."

He reflected on his working-class upbringing and how it affected his politics.

The Labour leader said his parents had to choose between not paying their telephone bills and going into debt, which meant he understood the importance of economic stability.

Discussing if he still planned on abolishing tuition fees, he said that whilst there was a "powerful case for change", he conceded that the "huge damage to the economy done by Liz Truss and the Tories" meant he had to choose between scrapping fees and providing more funding for the NHS.

He said: "I have taken a political choice, which is to say at the moment we have got to prioritise the NHS."

Lib Dems can become third biggest party in Commons, says Ed Davey

The Liberal Democrats can take over from the SNP in being the third biggest party in the Commons, Sir Ed Davey has said.

Speaking ahead of the launch of the Scottish Lib Dems’ election campaign, the Lib Dem leader said he thinks there will be "more liberals than nationalists" after the General Election.

The Lib Dems have remained just off the podium for almost a decade, following the SNP’s landslide 56-seat rout in 2015. Since then, their position in the polls has remained fairly stable.

Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland on Monday, Sir Ed said: "We are a big part of the change that’s happening.

"I think there is a massive desire to get rid of the Conservatives in Westminster and also, actually, to get rid of the SNP.

"I think we have a real chance, when we get to July 5 – the day after polling day – there will be more liberals than nationalists in the next parliament.

"I think the Liberal Democrats can be the third party in UK politics again."

He said he was targeting four seats - Inverness, Skye, West Ross-shire, and Mid Dunbartonshire - which if won from the SNP, could "make such a difference" at Westminster.

Tory MP Lucy Allan suspended after publicly backing Reform UK Candidate

Conservative MP Lucy Allan has been suspended after she backed a Reform UK candidate to replace her in her constituency.

She posted online that she will be supporting Alan Adams to be Telford’s next MP, sharing links to his campaign.

A CCHQ statement reads: “Lucy Allan has been suspended from the Party with immediate effect. The people of Telford now have the chance to vote for a dedicated and hardworking new candidate who will put Telford first. A vote for Reform is a vote for Keir Starmer.”

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Nicola Sturgeon police probe could detonate 'political grenade' and 'change narrative' of General Election

A police probe into Nicola Sturgeon could detonate a “political hand grenade” that would “change the narrative” of the General Election, a Scottish MP has said.

Nationalist MP Angus MacNeil had urged the Crown Office to give “clarity” on whether they will “hold off” continuing the investigation into SNP finances until after July 4.

MacNeil, who was expelled from the party last year, said that any action taken before the upcoming election would have “huge potential to change the narrative of this campaign”.

The Western Isles MP said that he is concerned for his former colleagues, worried that their campaigns “could get blown off course if any more charges – or indeed any prosecutions – are brought during the election period”.

By writing to the Crown Office, MacNeil said he was doing the SNP MPs a “favour” as they themselves would not be able to speak to prosecutors without being seen as trying to influence them.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Barbara Keeley, Shadow Minister for Music and Tourism, to step down as Labour MP

Barbara Keeley, MP for Worsley and Eccles South, will not run as an MP in the upcoming General Election.

The Shadow Minister for Music and Tourism recently underwent treatment in hospital, with plans to have a six-week recovery period.

Despite returning to work four weeks early, with the announcement of the July 4 election, Keeley has now decided to step down.

She said: "Thinking about the demands of the campaign, including supporting Labour colleagues in battleground seats, has made me realise that now is the time to step aside for a new Labour candidate in the constituency."

Keeley, who served as an MP since 2010, endorsed Sir Keir Starmer in her resignation letter. She said: "I believe a Labour Government with Keir Starmer as Prime Minister, would do a great deal to improve life for the people and to act on the issues I care about and have campaigned on. I will continue to work for the election of the Labour Government this country needs."

Feminists concerned about women-only spaces are not bigots and have been mistreated, says Wes Streeting

Wes Streeting has said that women concerned about trans issues should not have been “written off as bigots".

The Shadow Health Secretary conceded that he should have spoken up sooner in defence of women who want to protect women-only spaces and those who are worried about their erasure from NHS documents.

He said he began to reflect on these issues when he saw the attacks on JK Rowling and Rosie Duffield, his fellow Labour MP, who have both been accused of transphobia.

Streeting, a former senior Stonewall official, said that the treatment of many women had been “wrong and counterproductive and not a way to handle such a sensitive issue”.

Asked about Rosie Bindel, a feminist who was no-platformed due to her “transphobic views”, he said that he had not been involved in the decision.

However, he added: “I absolutely take the challenge that a number of us could and should have spoken up sooner.”

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Waspi women 'will not vote' Labour due to 'worrying silence' on state pension injustice compensation 

Thousands of women impacted by historic changes to the state pension "will not vote" for the Labour Party at the upcoming General Election due to Sir Keir Starmer's silence over a recently revealed injustice, campaigners claim.

The Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaign has hit back at Sir Keir Starmer over where he stands on the proposed compensation payout for those impacted by the retirement age equalisation between men and women.

In 2021, the Parliament and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) found the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) guilty of "maladministration" over its handling of this change with many women not being sufficiently informed of it. This impacted their ability to prepare for retirement.

Earlier this year, the PHSO recommended a Level 4 payout sum for affected women, which is between £1,000 and £2,950, and urged Parliament to put legislate on the amount.

However, both the Conservative-led Government and Labour have yet to announce how much each party would award Waspi women if the ombudsman's reports are implemented.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Reform UK's 'core strategy' includes one key focus - Matt Goodwin

Reform UK will "bang on and on" about immigration in a bid to appeal to disenfranchised Tory voters, according to Matt Goodwin.

Despite Nigel Farage not standing to be an MP for the insurgent party, he will play a key role in their efforts, he added.

He told GB News: “I think we’re going to see a core vote strategy for Reform. They are going to talk about little else than immigration. It’s the number one issue for 2019 Conservative Party voters and it’s the number one issue for Reform voters.

“If Farage and Tice are going to stop the squeeze of the Reform vote, the one thing they can do is bang on about immigration and Tory failures to stop the issue.

“This is going to get really interesting.”

READ THE FULL STORY

Labour promises not to raise taxes and National Insurance

Rachel Reeves has confirmed Labour's fiscal agenda for the economy ahead of the General Election.

The Shadow Chancellor promised a Labour Government will keep taxes "lower" for those who are in work.

She said: "What I want and Keir wants is taxes on working people to be lower and we certainly won’t be increasing income tax or National Insurance if we win at the election.

“We [the Labour Party] opposed the increases to National Insurance when Rishi Sunak put those forward as Chancellor.

“We would like taxes on working people to be lower but unlike the Conservatives, who have already racked up £64billion of unfunded tax cuts in just three days of this campaign, I will never play fast and loose with the public finances, I will never put forward unfunded proposals.”

READ FULL STORY HERE

Royal children to be called up to National Service

Young royals would be expected to undertake National Service when they turn 18 under the controversial plans.

Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are set to be called up to National Service when they turn 18 under new plans unveiled by the Conservative Party.

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie's young children would also be expected to take part once they turned 18.

The Earl of Wessex, 16, would also be expected to undertake National Service if the Conservative Party is successful in rolling out the scheme.

There are very limited exceptions to get out of undertaking the service with young royals not exempt.

READ FULL STORY HERE

Tories still need to find candidates to stand in around 150 constituencies

The Conservative Party still have to find candidates to stand in around 150 constituencies.

A source said the party had candidates in place in three-quarters of seats in Great Britain; they don't usually field candidates in Northern Ireland.

A Tory source said: “The Conservative Party is well-prepared, with three-quarters of seats already selected with excellent Conservative candidates.”

The deadline for nominations is June 7, less than two weeks away.

78 Tories have so far announced that they will not stand in the election, a record number, surpassing the previous high of 75 from 1997.

General Election campaign 'feels like 1997', says Ed Davey

Sir Ed Davey has likened the General Election campaign to that of 1997, when Labour under Tony Blair won a landslide.

The Liberal Democrats leader unveiled his party's new battlebus, Yellow Hammer 1, in Cambridgeshire yesterday and accused the Tories of taking the public "for granted".

The Lib Dems are targeting the Conservative heartlands in the so-called Blue Wall and when Davey was asked about his party’s targets in the election, he said: “I’m not putting a ceiling on our ambitions.

"All I’m doing is talking to voters with my teams across the country, and the Liberal Democrats are getting a great response – a better response than we’ve had for a generation.

“I was elected back in 1997 and this feels to me quite a bit like that.”