Majority of Tory voters ‘would prefer’ more defence spending over tax cuts
“A majority of Conservative voters would prefer an increase in defence spending to tax cuts, according to polling. A Savanta poll for The Telegraph found that 59 per cent of people who backed the Tories in 2019 say that the Government should increase levels of funding for defence, even if that means reducing its scope for tax cuts. The findings come after a series of senior Tories called for the party to raise its overall spending on defence to 3 per cent of GDP…Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt are gambling on tax cuts as their main election offering to win back disaffected voters who supported the party when it was led by Boris Johnson at the 2019 election… Only 27 per cent of 2019 Conservative supporters said the Government should cut taxes…” – The Sunday Telegraph
Tim Shipman: Reform now ahead of Sunak’s Tories among male voters
“If Sir Keir Starmer wins the general election, the size of his majority will have as much to do with the performance of the Reform Party as it does the Labour Party. A poll by YouGov has shown that Reform, the descendant of the Brexit Party, is now ahead of the Tories among men, reinforcing the idea which has taken root with Conservative MPs that the next election could amount to an “extinction-level event” for them. Some 19 per cent of men — nearly one in five — now back Reform, with the Conservatives trailing on 17 per cent, while Labour is on 41 per cent. The British Election Survey after the 2019 election showed that the Tories got 47 per cent of male votes to Labour’s 29 per cent. Overall, the poll gives Labour (44 per cent) a 25-point lead nationwide…” – The Sunday Times
- ‘Send a message to Starmer’, Sunak says, as he launches local election fightback – The Sun
- Pollster reveals ‘exact number of points’ Farage would boost reform by with comeback – Sunday Express
- How Cummings is ‘orchestrating the destruction of the Tory party – with MPs claiming Sunak is ‘on the brink’ – The Mail on Sunday
- Johnson ‘to be deployed’ as part of ‘radical Tory plan’ to stop Labour winning election – Sunday Express
- Betrayed voters are finally exacting revenge on our arrogant elites – Janet Daley, The Sunday Telegraph
- Sunak may want to cling on, but he sits in Number 10 not as a Prime Minister, but as a squatter – Dan Hodges, The Mail on Sunday
>Today:
- ToryDiary: What if the polls are right?
Home Office 1) Rwanda election threatens to delay deportations until July votes cast
“Rwanda’s presidential elections are threatening to delay deportation flights to the country until July, the Telegraph understands. Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s president, is seeking to extend his 24-year-old hold on the post in an election campaign due to start on June 15 with the votes cast on July 15. Rishi Sunak has expressed his ambition to get the first flights off to Rwanda this spring but saw the Rwanda Bill defeated and amended for a second time in the Lords last week, potentially delaying them until June… Although Rwanda said its airport and migrant accommodation would “remain operational” during the election campaign period, sources said it would be politically difficult for the first flights to come in during the election period.” – The Sunday Telegraph
- Rwandans seeking asylum in UK say their country is ‘not safe’ – The I
Home Office 2) Cleverly urges football fans to ‘vote with their feet’ and not buy controversial Nike England kit with ‘woke’ cross
“Football fans should ‘vote with their feet’ and not buy the new Nike England football kit, James Cleverly has said. The Home Secretary is the latest figure to criticise the St George’s flag ‘update’, alongside Rishi Sunak and Gareth Southgate. In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, Mr Cleverly said: ‘If it’s not a red cross on a white background, it’s not the England shirt. It’s not the England flag.’ He added: ‘I am sure that fans will vote with their feet.’ The shirt, which costs up to £125, has a red, purple and blue cross on the back of the collar instead of the St George’s Cross. Speaking to the MoS to launch a social media campaign to curb illegal migration, he said he owns a replica England 1966 World Cup shirt and last year was pictured in a 1982 one.” – The Mail on Sunday
- Let’s show wokery in football the red card – Christopher Smithers, Sunday Express
Dowden: China stepping up cyberattacks on UK politicians as election looms
“China has targeted a group of senior politicians at Westminster as part of a new wave of state-backed interference aimed at undermining British democracy. Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, is expected to tell parliament on Monday that Beijing is behind a string of cyberattacks on MPs and peers. In a sign of the escalating threat, a small group of politicians have been summoned to a briefing from Alison Giles, parliament’s director of security. Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, Tim Loughton, a former Tory education minister, Lord Alton of Liverpool, a crossbench peer, and Stewart McDonald, a Scottish National Party MP, have all been contacted. The four are vocal China hawks and members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China…” – The Sunday Times
- China targets group of senior UK politicians – The Sun on Sunday
Daniel Hannan: Moral arguments over the state pension are irrelevant. There is no money.
“The state pension age is going to have to rise sharply, in Britain as elsewhere. It is simply not sustainable to carry on paying people to quit work in their 60s as life expectancy rises into the mid-80s. Asking whether someone “deserves” this or that payment is meaningless when there is no money. Our national debt stands at over £2.6 trillion and is rising at £100 billion a year despite taxes being at a 70-year high. Pensions are the single biggest driver of increased government spending. When Lloyd George introduced the first state pension, life expectancy was 51, and the retirement age was 70. Now, life expectancy has risen to 81. Had the same actuarial formula been applied, we would be getting our royal telegrams before our first pension payments.” – The Sunday Telegraph
- Ignoring Waspi women could cost Labour at the election, pollsters warn – The I
Gove 1) ‘Leasehold dream over’ as ‘plan quietly crumbles’
“Michael Gove is fighting to salvage his flagship reforms of England’s leasehold system after a major proposal was quietly axed by the Treasury and Downing Street. In January last year, Gove told The Sunday Times he wanted to abolish leasehold, which he described as an “outdated feudal system that needs to go”. The housing secretary was forced to lower his ambitions after resistance from No 10, and in November announced a less radical leasehold reform bill to make it easier and cheaper for people to buy the freehold of their properties. There are about ten million leaseholders in England and Wales. They own the right to occupy their home but the building or land is owned by a freeholder landlord. Some leaseholders are trapped by onerous ground rents…” – The Sunday Times
Gove 2) End school protests that forced a teacher into hiding, says his adviser
“Protests should be banned outside schools, an official review will recommend, as it highlights how a teacher forced into hiding after showing pupils a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad was failed by his school and the authorities. Dame Sara Khan, the independent social cohesion adviser, will issue a damning indictment on Monday of the police force, school leadership and local council involved in the Batley Grammar School scandal. Three years later, the teacher from West Yorkshire is still in hiding and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Khan, a British Muslim raised in Bradford, is calling on the government to establish legal buffer zones outside schools. They would ban all forms of protest activity within 150 metres, except striking teachers on picket lines.” – The Sunday Times
- Britain ‘struggling to deal with extremism’ – The Sunday Telegraph
Labour 1) The Sun ‘inching towards’ backing Starmer
“The Sun is “inching towards” giving Labour an endorsement at the general election after Sir Keir Starmer helped launch the tabloid’s new politics TV show, according to insiders. The Labour leader’s call for Nike to scrap a redesigned St George’s cross on its new England football kit showed he can “speak the language of Sun readers”, said one figure at the newspaper. Starmer was invited to be the first guest on the title’s weekly Never Mind The Ballots show, ahead of the Prime Minister. His combative interview with political editor Harry Cole was given extensive coverage in The Sun and made headlines elsewhere, pleasing bosses. “There’s no great enthusiasm for Labour or Starmer but he is now being treated as the next prime minister,” the insider said.” – The I
- How GB News became the pulpit of rightwing politics in Britain – The Financial Times
- ‘Former BBC journalist’ touted as Labour’s best chance to unseat Corbyn at the next election – The Mail on Sunday
Labour 2) ‘No more road charges’ pledges Khan as ‘election jitters’ set in
“Sadiq Khan has “categorically” ruled out introducing a road-charging scheme for as long as he is mayor of London, in an indication of how hard he is having to fight for re-election on May 2. Khan, who is seeking a historic third term, has also pledged not to increase the number of cars that fall foul of the capital’s controversial ultra-low-emission zone (Ulez). For months there has been speculation that the mayor intended after 2026 to replace Ulez with road pricing. He declared in his book Breathe: Tackling the Climate Emergency, published last May, that he had “plans to introduce a new, more comprehensive road-user charging system to be implemented by the end of the decade at the latest”… However, Khan has now ruled out any change to Ulez…” – The Sunday Times
- Farage joins anti-Ulez protestors in show of support – The Sunday Telegraph
- ‘It’s not going to be a landslide’: how will Khan fare in the battle to be London mayor? – The Observer
- The Tories must fight for London – Editorial, The Sunday Telegraph
Labour 3) ‘Not enough substance’: Business ‘wants more’ from Reeves on Labour plans
“Rachel Reeves has more to do before she wins over UK business to Labour’s plans for the economy, City insiders have told i. The shadow Chancellor set out her vision on Tuesday when she told an audience in the City of London that growth in Britain needed to be rooted in greater economic security for the nation and its workers…Ms Reeves’ delivery of the annual Mais Lecture was “assured” and delivered “a sensible message”. But the business world is also looking for her to provide far more detail on how they will tackle a tough economy should she enter No 11 Downing Street… Reeves said Labour would seek to bring about a “new chapter in Britain’s economic history” but would have to make “almost impossible trade-offs” on tax and spending if the economy fails to grow.” – The I
- Rayner is the workers’ champion – but will Labour champion her? – The Sunday Times
- Labour will ‘shame’ NIMBY homeowners who block housing developments, party official says – The Mail on Sunday
- Reeves is not the next Thatcher – Labour’s policies are fundamentally dangerous – Oliver Dowden, The Sun
- Labour’s ‘partnership with business’ remains murky – Camilla Cavendish, The Financial Times
- Union reforms must not be rushed. They can’t betray business – Peter Mandelson, The Sunday Times
- Labour’s assault on private schools will only hammer the aspirational – Suella Braverman, The Sunday Telegraph
- Britain’s best days are still to come, but not under Labour – Laura Trott, Sunday Express
Robert Colville: We’re desperately short of babies. The saddest thing is that many families can’t afford to have them.
“Our fertility rate is at its lowest since 1940. The average age of mothers is the highest it’s been. The proportion of children born to mothers from outside the UK is at a record high. If we’re not turning into Ichinono, we’re certainly closer than we’ve ever been. This is an utterly transformational trend, which demands a wholesale reconfiguration of our welfare state and our tax incentives if we want people to be able to have anything like the number of children they actually want to. Instead, we barely talk about it. The Lancet study argues that the momentum towards global depopulation is so overwhelming that policies to arrest it may provide only “a small boost” to fertility rates. But it might at least be nice if we actually tried.” – The Sunday Times
- Prepare for a population explosion that will make immigration even worse – Jeremy Warner, The Sunday Telegraph
Galloway damned by MPs as ‘stain on democracy’ for ‘lurid untruths’ about the Princess of Wales
“George Galloway has been condemned by MPs as a “stain on British democracy” for spreading conspiracy theories about the Princess of Wales, including speculating that she was “dead”. The recently re-elected MP was branded “the lowest of the low” for “platforming untruths” about the Princess. Mr Galloway made a return to Parliament at the beginning of this month after winning the Rochdale by-election as a candidate for his Workers Party of Britain. In recent weeks he has voiced conspiracy theories about the Princess on X, formerly known as Twitter, and on his online chat show, The Mother of All Talk Shows… After the Princess’s announcement on Friday, MPs united across party lines to condemn the pressure she had been put under.” – The Sunday Telegraph
News in Brief:
- Is London the ‘most anti-Semitic city in the West’? – Jake Wallis Simons, The Spectator
- Cameron only cares for his legacy – Tom McTague, UnHerd
- The passage from India – William Norton, The Critic
- History, capitalism, and freedom – Hugh Thomas, CapX
- What if Trump wins? – Lawrence Freedman, Comment is Freed
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