Scotland Yard accused of leaking names of betting scandal Tories
“Scotland Yard has been accused of leaking the identities of Tories implicated in the general election betting scandal. The Telegraph has also been told that a further five police officers are currently under investigation by the Gambling Commission, the industry watchdog, for placing bets on the date of the general election. A source close to the Cabinet Office said it was suspected that the identities of Conservative candidates and officials had been leaked from within the Metropolitan Police, Britain’s biggest force. While the identities of Tories accused of placing bets have been made public, the extent of the alleged involvement of police officers in placing bets had not until now.” – Daily Telegraph
- Met denies leaking names – The Guardian
- Sunak should suspend betting scandal Tories, Baker suggests – Daily Telegraph
- PM defends handling of betting scandal – FT
- Senior Tories call for ban on political bets by MPs – The Guardian
Tories in election retreat as resources diverted to defend ministers’ seats
“The Conservatives are rerouting resources to defend at least three seats held by cabinet ministers with majorities of more than 20,000 as the party retreats to safer ground. Tory activists and candidates in nearby areas have been diverted to campaign for James Cleverly, the home secretary, Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, and Steve Barclay, the environment secretary. Cleverly held his Braintree constituency by 24,673 votes in 2019, but some senior Tories believe the Essex seat, which elected Labour MPs in 1997 and 2001, could be vulnerable. Barclay held his North East Cambridgeshire seat by 29,993 votes in 2019 and Dowden held Hertsmere in Hertfordshire by 21,313. Neither constituency has ever returned a Labour MP before.” – The Guardian
- Labour diverts activists away from Lib Dem target seats – FT
- Blue Wall vulnerable to tactical voting – FT
- A few thousand votes in swing seats could cut Labour’s majority in half – Daily Mail
- Major new poll puts Reform ahead of Tories – Daily Express
>Today:
- ToryDiary: Angus Parsad-Wyatt: Campaign notebook, week five. A tale of two very different North Easts – England and Scotland
- Columnists: Peter Franklin: The Conservative Party needs a survival plan – not for long-term recovery, but the next year
- Comment: Emma Levin: Conservative tax attacks cutting through, but does it matter?
>Yesterday:
- ToryDiary: Our party’s ultra-centralised campaign machine is failing. A future leader must repair CCHQ – or replace it.
- Comment: Matthew Ellwood: To win over young voters, build more social housing and revive Right to Buy
‘I was right about Truss & it’ll be same with Starmer’
“Rishi Sunak warned families their finances will be wrecked if he is booted out of office as he declared: “I warned you about Liz Truss – watch out for Sir Keir”. The Prime Minister issued a stinging attack on his predecessor and potential successor saying the economy is at risk if he leaves Downing Street next week. The major intervention came as he was probed during The Sun’s Never Mind The Ballots show last night in front of a loyal army of readers.” – The Sun
- Sunak says Truss budget was a mistake – The Guardian
Tory and Labour plans unfunded, says IFS
“Higher growth will not allow Labour a “spending bonanza” and would barely be enough to avoid further cuts, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned. Paul Johnson, director of the IFS, said that both Labour and the Tories had “singularly failed” to acknowledge the dire state of the public finances which are likely to lead to spending cuts and tax rises whoever wins. The think tank said that even returning growth to levels before the financial crisis would only be enough to avoid £30 billion of cuts to investment and unprotected public services pencilled in for after the election. Both main parties had “essentially not levelled with us”, Johnson said in a pre-election manifesto analysis.” – The Times
- Parties’ plans for public services unfunded, IFS says – FT
- Labour could impose ‘double death tax’, Hunt warns – Daily Telegraph
- The ‘conspiracy of silence’ behind Labour’s secret plan for a wealth tax raid – Daily Telegraph
- Grieving families risk being hit with £65,000 ‘death duty’ under Labour – Daily Telegraph
- Cracknell on going for gold with the Tories – The Times
Comment
- Why tackling the tax gap is unlikely to plug any political party’s holes – Mike Warburton, Daily Telegraph
- The Tories have abandoned the one thing that made them electable – Ben Wright, Daily Telegraph
- For intolerant Farage supporters, grown-up debate has clearly become a farce – Petronella Wyatt, Daily Telegraph
Labour 1) Starmer defends backing Corbyn: I was ‘right to fight from within’
“Sir Keir Starmer has claimed that he supported Jeremy Corbyn because he knew the former Labour leader would lose the last election, leaving the way clear to fulfil his own leadership ambitions. Starmer insisted he was “proud” of having made Labour a “fundamentally different party”, saying this showed he could be trusted to rebuild the country. However, he faced repeated questions about his public backing for Corbyn in 2019, at The Sun’s Never Mind the Ballots politics show, where both he and Rishi Sunak were interviewed by The Sun’s political editor Harry Cole in front of a live audience in London.” – The Times
- Sunak and Starmer can’t escape the past in an election grilling – The Times
- Corbyn: Labour MPs secretly want me to win – Daily Telegraph
- Starmer admits to friends he would sack Reeves – Daily Express
Comment
- Labour would make the UK asylum capital of the world – James Cleverly, Daily Telegraph
- No more Tory gimmicks – it’s time to get a grip on small boat crossings – Yvette Cooper, Daily Telegraph
- Starmer’s flashes of disgust will be his undoing – Hugo Rifkind, The Times
- Britain is about to be pushed over the edge – Sherelle Jacobs, Daily Telegraph
- Who won the leader’s debate – Janet Daley, Daily Telegraph
- Sunak gave one of his ‘better performances’ and the screws were put on Starmer – Tim Stanley, Daily Telegraph
>Today:
- ToryDiary: Ignore Farage sounding off about Russia. It’s Starmer’s foreign policy that we should worry about.
- Local Government: Would a Labour government end the referendum veto on excessive council tax rises in England?
Labour 2) Labour will ban conversion therapy despite ‘test case’ fears
“Labour will introduce a full ban on conversion “therapy” if it wins the election, despite warnings that doing so may encroach on the freedom of parents and therapists to talk to children about gender identity issues. Sir Keir Starmer has committed his party to a ban on the practice, which aims to suppress a person’s sexuality or gender identity. Labour says that this amounts to abuse. However, Hilary Cass, the doctor who carried out the landmark review of gender services for children, said that a trans-inclusive conversion therapy ban was likely to prompt concern among medical professionals that they might find themselves in a “test case”. – The Times
- Starmer vows to ban ‘gender ideology’ being taught in schools – Daily Telegraph
- What does Labour’s top team really think about gender issues – The Times
Comment
- Labour has chosen trans extremists over JK Rowling – Julie Bindel, Daily Telegraph
- Fever dream – Editorial, The Times
- Labour dismisses women’s concerns – Editorial, Daily Telegraph
- Labour again thrown into confusion over gender issues – Editorial, The Sun
- Starmer’s right, Labour’s record on women speaks for itself – that’s the problem – Daily Telegraph
- Labour must prove it grasps power of tech – William Hague, The Times
Assange released from prison after reaching plea deal with US
“Julian Assange has been released from prison on bail and will return to Australia after reaching a plea deal with the US government over his WikiLeaks disclosures. Papers filed in the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, an American territory in the Pacific Ocean, on Monday revealed Mr Assange will plead guilty to one felony charge in exchange for his immediate freedom. The US Justice Department has agreed to drop 18 espionage charges against him – instead charging him only with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information. The agreement must be approved by a federal judge before it can take effect.” – Daily Telegraph
News in Brief
- Farage’s Tory takeover is in peril – David Gauke, New Statesman
- The Scottish Tories need a better election strategy – Catriona Stewart, The Spectator
- Bad rules are making banking more expensive – Nicolai Heering, CapX
- Why I left the Labour Party – Joan Smith, UnHerd
- The curse of super-councillors – Sam Bidwell, The Critic
The post Newslinks for Tuesday 25th June 2024 appeared first on Conservative Home.
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