Conservative party confirms its director of campaigning has taken leave of absenceThe Conservative party has confirmed its director of campaigning Tony Lee took a leave of absence on Wednesday.His wife, Laura Saunders, is being looked into by the gambling watchdog over an alleged bet on the general election date.A Conservative spokesperson said: “The director of campaigning took a leave of absence from CCHQ yesterday.”ShareUpdated at 10.46 BSTKey eventsStill time for Tories to stage comeback, says Michael GoveMatthew WeaverMichael Gove has suggested there is still time for the Conservatives to stage a late comeback and win the election, claiming: “We’re not in ‘Fergie time’ yet.”Opinion polls overnight suggested the Conservatives were heading for a historic defeat on 4 July.Speaking to Sky News on Thursday morning, the levelling up secretary said: “There are opinion polls, as I’ve acknowledged and as we both know, that are not great, but it’s not the 90th minute, we’re not in ‘Fergie time’ yet.”Michael Gove referred to the reputation of Manchester United under its former manager Alex Ferguson for staging dramatic wins deep into injury time. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/ITV/PAThe reference is to the reputation of Manchester United under its former manager Alex Ferguson for staging dramatic wins deep into injury time. During the team’s success in the 1990s and early 2000s, rival fans became convinced that referees were allowing United more stoppage time to score unlikely winners or equalisers.Gove said: “There is still an opportunity for us to make these arguments and as we make these arguments … my experience is that when you do talk to voters, outline some of the tax dangers, outline some of Labour’s plans for the future, then people do think twice and people do recognise that by voting Conservative you are both ensuring that there is a strong Conservative voice in parliament, but also you are doing everything you can to prevent a series of tax increases that won’t just hit pensioners and first-time buyers, but also will hit the economy in the guts.”He added: “I’m a Scotland fan, so you wait until the final whistle. Sometimes it looks as though the odds are against you, but you keep on fighting.”ShareChancellor Jeremy Hunt has said the outcome of his seat is “too close to call” and a Tory win in the election is not “the most likely outcome”.Asked if he could win in his constituency, Hunt told the Times CEO summit in London:Genuinely in my seat I think it’s too close to call.
I have a very middle class electorate in Surrey, very highly educated and actually they have been very mobile voters for all my time in parliament, so I think it’s very hard to call. I still meet a lot of people who say they haven’t yet made up their mind.
So I genuinely don’t know the answer to that question. I’ve had the conversation with my kids, I may not be an MP after the election, and that’s OK, that’s democracy, all that sort of stuff.”
Asked if the Conservatives can win the election, he said:
It’s going to be very tough. I don’t think any of us would pretend that is the most likely outcome.
We can certainly do a lot better than the polls are suggesting and we are working very hard to do so.”
ShareConservative party confirms its director of campaigning has taken leave of absenceThe Conservative party has confirmed its director of campaigning Tony Lee took a leave of absence on Wednesday.His wife, Laura Saunders, is being looked into by the gambling watchdog over an alleged bet on the general election date.A Conservative spokesperson said: “The director of campaigning took a leave of absence from CCHQ yesterday.”ShareUpdated at 10.46 BSTMatthew WeaverSky’s Beth Rigby and the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg are both reporting on X that Tony Lee, the Tory campaign director married to the second Tory candidate being looked into by the gambling watchdog, has taken leave of absence.Rigby tweeted:
Tony Lee, Conservative head of campaign has took a leave of absence last night. The campaign now its’ chief two weeks out and still 20+ points behind in polls. And that’s before Qs of candidates’ conduct (Sunak promised govt of integrity, professionalism & accountability).”
Tony Lee, Conservative head of campaign has took a leave of absence last night. The campaign now its’ chief two weeks out and still 20+ points behind in polls. And that’s before Qs of candidates’ conduct (Sunak promised govt of integrity, professionalism & accountability) https://t.co/f5TO0ekXco— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) June 20, 2024Kuenssberg wrote: “Tony Lee, Tory Director of Campaigning, took a leave of absence from Party HQ yesterday, a Conservative spokesperson has told us”Tony Lee, Tory Director of Campaigning, took a leave of absence from Party HQ yesterday, a Conservative spokesperson has told us— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) June 20, 2024ShareUpdated at 10.38 BSTRichard AdamsFurther education colleges in England have seen no commitments to improve their funding from either Labour or Conservatives, leaving the sector in potential difficulties as the number of 16-18-year-olds continues to rise.A research briefing by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) predicts that while falling numbers in schools will effectively cause a £3.5bn cut based on per pupil funding, England’s 225 FE and sixth form colleges will need more support as they see numbers rise beyond the 1.6 million students currently enrolled. But only the Liberal Democrats, among the major parties, have pledged any increase in their core funding.Imran Tahir, research economist at the IFS, said:
Keeping spending per pupil in colleges at today’s level in real terms would require an extra £400m a year, in today’s prices, by the end of the next parliament. But while the main political parties have emphasised the importance of further education, particularly for young people, none has set out a clear plan for funding colleges.”
David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said college funding has been severely cut since 2010 and a £9,000 annual pay gap has opened up between college lecturers and school teachers.The IFS also noted that there are “huge pressures on special educational needs provision,” and what it called “immense difficulties” for teacher recruitment and retention in England’s schools.SharePA news agency has some more from Jeremy Hunt talking at the Times CEO summit.On Labour’s shadow chancellor, Hunt said:
I have a lot of respect for Rachel Reeves, I like her as a person and I think what is the big difference between her approach if she becomes chancellor and my approach? It does boil down to tax.”
The chancellor added:
The Labour perspective is that they believe taxation is broadly a force for good, they believe that for social justice reasons, and they are content with tax levels as they are, in fact the Labour manifesto is actually planning to increase taxes by about £8bn a year.
If we’re going to bring down taxes, and I’m speaking as the chancellor who put them up and put them up significantly, it is a lot of hard work. It is a lot of discipline. But I think that is very, very important for our economic future.”
Asked about the possibility of a Labour “supermajority”, Hunt said:
I think one of the challenges if Labour do win is going to be on tax and spend because all the pressure from the Labour party, the labour movement, the unions is going to be to spend more.
And in the end, increasing economic growth is a good medium, a long-term way to create more money for public services, but it’s not going to make a difference in the next year or so, and so I think that may well end up, if that happens, with higher taxes.”
He added: “I think there is also a concern that if Labour use that majority to give the vote to 16-year-olds, they could then create a situation in which they have a much larger inbuilt majority for a much longer period of time and I don’t think that’ll be helpful.”ShareJeremy Hunt says it’s not ‘fair’ to say there is ‘sustained economic scarring’ from Truss’s mini budgetJeremy Hunt has said it is not “fair” to claim there is “sustained economic scarring” from Liz Truss’s mini-budget.According to the PA news agency, the chancellor told the Times CEO summit:
It was one of the – well it was the most – dramatic week in my life in terms of decisions I had to take when I got that rather unexpected call from Liz Truss asking me to be chancellor.
Which I thought was a hoax and refused to take the call and could not imagine any situation ever where Liz Truss would actually ask me to be chancellor, so that was a bit surreal, and then in that first week literally I’m picking the entire mini-budget.
But I don’t think it’s fair to say that there was a sustained economic scarring from that. I think if you look at us now with lower inflation, higher growth than most major economies we’re actually doing very well.”
ShareUpdated at 10.11 BSTThe Guardian’s Politics Weekly UK is in the London suburb of Chingford and Woodford Green, where a spat between Labour and its former candidate is threatening to split the progressive vote.The Guardian’s John Harris talks to the now independent candidate, Faiza Shaheen; Labour’s new candidate, Shama Tatler; and Iain Duncan Smith, who has represented the area for the Conservatives for more than 30 years, here:ShareLiberal Democrats say Rishi Sunak ‘must suspend’ Laura SaundersThe Liberal Democrats have said that Rishi Sunak “must suspend” Laura Saunders, the Conservative party candidate that is being looked into by the gambling regulator over a bet relating to the timing of the general election.Responding to the news Liberal Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper said:
Rishi Sunak must find his backbone and suspend Laura Saunders from the Conservative party whilst this investigation is ongoing.
It would be an utter disgrace if Conservative politicians were shown to be more focused on turning a quick buck rather than the needs of the country.
The Conservative party has proven itself utterly unfit for office. Voters are sick to the back teeth of this endless carousel of chaos, sleaze and scandal.
People across the country are crying out for change and that is why in many areas they are backing the Liberal Democrats to get a strong local champion that will take their issues right to the heart of parliament and not take them for granted any longer.”
ShareThe Liberal Democrats have pledged to spend £300m over the next parliament to fill 1.2 million potholes a year.According the PA news agency, the Lib Dems said the UK is facing a “pothole postcode lottery”, with some councils taking up to 18 months to fix a pothole in their area.Under the proposals, money will be redirected from the existing road-building budget to pay for the improvements.Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said:
“The Conservatives have driven us down a motorway of decay – roads are crumbling and motorists are suffering as a result.
The Conservatives have overseen cuts to our transport network, maintenance works delays and the decline in the state of our roads. For all of their lip service to motorists, it’s clear the Conservatives have failed them.
Only the Liberal Democrats have a real plan to fix the state of our roads by giving the money to local councils, who know their roads and are best placed to fix them.”
The Labour party has previously committed to fixing 1m potholes a year, funded by deferring the A27 bypass and instead spending the £320m on repairs across the country.The Lib Dems have highlighted the results of a few freedom of information (FoI) requests. The FoIs found that Westminster city council and Stoke-on-Trent city council took more than 18 months to fix a pothole in their areaMeanwhile, Surrey county council took 207 days to fix a pothole, and Hertfordshire county council took 90 days, according to the party’s FoI.ShareUpdated at 09.13 BSTLaura Saunders named by BBC as Tory candidate being ‘looked into’ by gambling regulatorThe BBC has named the Conservative party candidate that is being ‘looked into’ by the gambling regulator over a bet relating to the timing of the general election (story first mentioned at 08.07 BST).Chris Mason, the BBC’s political editor, has revealed that the Tory candidate in question is Laura Saunders, the party’s candidate in Bristol North West and has worked for the Tories since 2015. She is also married to the party’s director of campaigns, Tony Lee, says Mason.Laura Saunders (centre), the Conservative party candidate in Bristol North West, is being ‘looked into’ by the gambling regulator over a bet relating to the timing of the general election. Photograph: Laura Saunders/X.comAccording to the BBC, it is not known when the bet was placed or for how much money.Saunders has been approached for comment by the BBC and has not replied.ShareGood morning. As Helen said earlier, the theme among the politicians today is housing.Angela Rayner has pledged that renters will be “better off” with Labour, with the party stating that an affordable and secure rented sector is “crucial” to its plans for economic growth, reports the PA news agency.The party’s plans include a ban on no-fault evictions, introducing legal protections for tenants when it comes to mould, and putting an end to rental bidding wars and upfront payments.Labour has also committed to alleviating the current crisis in private renting by building 1.5m new homes over the next five years, and cracking down on extortionate rents.Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader and shadow housing secretary, said:
Time and time again, the Tories have failed to stand up for renters. From endless delays to no-fault evictions, to failure to sort damp, cold and mouldy homes, the Conservatives are failing working people.
Labour will call time on a decade of Tory vested interest and put renters first. An affordable, secure private rented sector is vital for economic growth, allowing young people to save for a mortgage with more money in their pockets to spend in the day-to-day economy.
Our plans will support good landlords but we are calling time on unscrupulous landlords strangling growth.
Labour will take action to protect renters, with an immediate ban on no-fault evictions, an end to rental bidding wars and extended protections against damp, mould and cold.
The only real way to make renting more affordable is to build more homes, that’s why we have a plan to build 1.5m homes over five years as an antidote to Britain’s failing private rented sector.
Renters will be better off with Labour.”
The party has also said it will aim to cut energy bills and reduce fuel poverty by requiring all landlords to meet energy efficiency standards by 2030.ShareGove is being asked about housing on the Today programme:He “sympathises hugely” with young people wanting to buy or rent homes.“We need to make it easier to access finance,” he says. “We’re also going to have a new revived help to buy scheme”.“There is a particularly acute situation in London,” he says, and has written to the mayor, Labour’s Sadiq Khan, about this.That is it from me, Helen Sullivan. My colleague Amy Sedghi will take it from here.ShareUpdated at 08.17 BSTSecond Tory candidate being ‘looked into’ by gambling regulator, BBC reportsBBC political editor Chris Mason is reporting that a second Conservative Party candidate is being ‘looked into’ by the gambling regulator over a bet relating to the timing of the General Election.Mason quotes an unnamed Conservative Party spokesperson as saying, “We have been contacted by the Gambling Commission about a small number of individuals. As the Gambling Commission is an independent body, it wouldn’t be proper to comment further, until any process is concluded.”Last week, Rishi Sunak’s closest parliamentary aide, Craig Williams, apologised for placing a £100 bet on a July election three days before the prime minister announced the date for the poll.Michael Gove, asked about the story on the BBC, said it would be “reprehensible” for someone to use inside information to bet on the date of the General Election.Asked about reports the Gambling Commission was investigating a second Conservative candidate for placing a bet on the date of the election, Gove told the BBC:
If people have used inside information to place bets, that is deeply wrong.What I can’t do is sort of get too much into the detail of the case while an investigation is going on.But I can talk about the broad principle and you’re absolutely right, it’s reprehensible.”
ShareMichael Gove has also told the BBC that Labour could install “yes men and women” in public bodies if it wins a large majority at the election. Arguing Labour would use a large majority to “rig the system” and ensure it remained in power, the cabinet minister told the BBC, per PA:
My concern is that Labour would use whatever tools they have, if they have that sort of level of unchecked power in the Commons, to entrench it.I think there are a number of other things that they would seek to do as well, for example make sure that many of the public bodies that we all rely on to help to run our lives, instead of having a balance of people from across the political spectrum with real skills that will help, I think there may be a tendency for them to put people who will be yes men and women in.That is certainly a concern that I’ve heard from voters in some of the conversations that I’ve had and I do think that it is a factor.”
This is still Helen Sullivan with you, by the way (looks like I have my own stoppage, ehem, Fergie time).ShareUpdated at 08.17 BSTRichard AdamsThe British public values the UK’s universities more highly than the legal system or the BBC, according to a survey of attitudes towards higher education by King’s College London.Prof Bobby Duffy, the director of King’s College London’s policy institute, said universities came behind only the NHS, the armed forces and the royal family in a league table of UK institutions considered to be among the best in the world by the public.The representative survey of 2,600 people, conducted in May, found nearly a third put universities ahead of the civil service, newspapers or parliament among key institutions, with similar backing from Labour and Conservative supporters.ShareGove: ‘We’re not in “Fergie time” yet’Using a relatable football analogy, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove has insisted there is still time for the Conservatives to defy the polls, saying: “We’re not in ‘Fergie time’ yet.”The Cabinet minister told Sky News:
There are opinion polls, as I’ve acknowledged and as we both know, that are not great, but it’s not the 90th minute, we’re not in ‘Fergie time’ yet.
There is still an opportunity for us to make these arguments and as we make these arguments my experience – and I know it’s just me and a range of seats, not every seat in the country – my experience is that when you do talk to voters, outline some of the tax dangers, outline some of Labour’s plans for the future, then people do think twice and people do recognise that by voting Conservatives you are both ensuring that there is a strong Conservative voice in Parliament, but also you are doing everything you can to prevent a series of tax increases that won’t just hit pensioners and first-time buyers, but also will hit the economy in the guts.”…
I’m a Scotland fan, so you wait until the final whistle.Sometimes it looks as though the odds are against you, but you keep on fighting.”
Well, he is certainly right about the odds. For those not familiar with the expression ‘Fergie time’, here is an explanation from Football Fancast:
Manchester United are synonymous with late goals. Their long-enduring reign of terror, when a double-digit clock ticks over 90, changed what added time was known as during the Sir Alex Ferguson era. Instead of ‘stoppage time’, it was christened ‘Fergie Time’ – a lingering aphorism that added time is awarded to allow a last-minute winner or equaliser.”
With that, this is me, Helen Sullivan, signing off without a football analogy.ShareUpdated at 07.59 BST