Boris Johnson news: Tory peer rounds on Conservatives criticising Labour over antisemitism for their own failure to tackle Islamophobia
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Jeremy Corbyn's bid for No 10 suffered a blow from two ex-Labour MPs who urged voters to back Boris Johnson at the ballot box.
Former Labour MP Ian Austin said Mr Corbyn was “unfit” to run the country over his failure to tackle antisemitism - but John McDonnell accused Mr Austin of being “employed by the Tories”.
It comes as Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, former co-chair of the Conservatives, said the Tories had “lost the moral high ground” on racism because of the failure to tackle Islamophobia. She warned against “weaponising racism” as a political tool.
Meanwhile, the Lib Dems, Plaid Cymru and the Greens announced they will not oppose each other in 60 seats across England and Wales.
To follow events as they unfolded, see our live coverage below
Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of events at Westminster and beyond.
Javid and McDonnell clash over the economy
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell will pledge an “irreversible shift” in wealth in favour of working people, as Tories warn Labour’s “fantasy economics” would wreck the recovery.
In his first speech of the election campaign, McDonnell will say that if Labour gain power on 12 December, they will deliver a programme of investment “on a scale never seen before in this country”.
However, Javid will accuse McDonnell and Corbyn of behaving like “anti-vaxxers” on the economy. In a speech in Manchester, he will say a Labour government would take “every step imaginable” to make the country “sick and unhealthy” again.
McDonnell will appear in Liverpool to announce plans for a “social transformation fund”, investing £150bn in schools, hospitals, care homes and council housing over five years.
In other expected developments today:
- Boris Johnson will make his first foray of the campaign into Scotland where the Tories are fighting to hang on to seats won in the 2017 election.
- The Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the Greens will announce details of a pact not to stand against each some seats, thought to number between 60 and 70.
- Jeremy Corbyn will unveil Labour's campaign bus, featuring the slogan “It’s time for real change”.
Labour figure Ian Austin tells people to ‘vote for Boris Johnson’
A former Labour MP has urged people to vote Boris Johnson and claimed Jeremy Corbyn is “completely unfit” to run the country as he announced his resignation from parliament in a live interview.
Ian Austin a prominent critic of the Labour leader, made the remarks just hours after the party’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, announced he was quitting.
“It’s really come to something when I tell decent, traditional, patriotic Labour voters that they should be voting for Boris Johnson at this election,” said Austin. “I can’t believe it’s come to this, but that’s where we are.”
Full story here:
Johnson holds Trump-style rally and Watson shocks by dropping out
Boris Johnson just can’t stop going on about buses. At a Trump-style rally in Birmingham last night he blamed parliament for the Brexit delay, complaining the Commons was as stuck as a “bendy bus jack-knifed in a yellow-box junction”.
He did have a nice line comparing Labour’s Brexit policy to the “Bermuda Triangle”, but do his after-dinner speech gags really work in a general election campaign?
Get your morning briefing on the election campaign here:
Long-Bailey says ex-Labour MP’s backing for Boris Johnson ‘absurd’
Rebecca Long-Bailey hit back at ex-Labour MP Ian Austin, describing his call for people to back Boris Johnson at the ballot box “absolutely absurd” and the “worst thing” for Labour supporters.
The key Corbyn ally, shadow business secretary before parliament was dissolved, told Sky News: “I don’t think there’s any secret there have been differences on policy, opinion between Ian and certainly many of the rest of us within the party.
“It was sad when he went ... I certainly wish him well for the future but wouldn’t support in any way what he's saying today.”
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, Long-Bailey added: “Voting for Boris Johnson, if you’re a Labour voter and you want to protect your community, that's absolutely absurd and it makes no sense at all.”
On Labour deputy leader Tom Watson opting to stand down, Long-Bailey said there would be a “huge hole in the Labour party”.
Asked whether other so-called “moderates” could join him in quitting, she said: “I truly hope not. We are a centre-left party. I mean I’d struggle to define moderates, I think we all consider ourselves moderates.
“We need to make sure that we are a broad coalition of the centre-left - that was the intention of the Labour Party at its creation, to bring together all of those views across the centre-left to be a credible force to defeat the Conservative party.
“We need to be a broad church and I think every single Labour member and MP within parliament would hopefully agree with that view.”
Tom Watson shocks Labour by quitting as deputy leader
Tom Watson has announced he will quit as Labour deputy leader and stand down as an MP, in a unexpected move which appears to complete the ascendency of the party’s left-wing under Jeremy Corbyn.
In a shock announcement, the Labour veteran said he would give up frontline politics after almost four decades to campaign on public health matters, staying on in his role until the 12 December election.
All the reaction here:
Students willing to vote tactically over Brexit, poll suggests
A large proportion of students are intending to vote tactically over Brexit, according to a new poll.
A survey, published by think tank Higher Education Policy Institute shows that 71 per cent of students polled said that Brexit could affect how they vote.
Of these, the majority – 53 per cent – said they would be willing to vote tactically to achieve their preferred Brexit outcome.
Boris Johnson courts the Green vote over coffee
Remember when one of the prime minister’s aides snatched a disposable coffee cup out of his hand? No need to do so this morning. as he proudly brandishes his non-disposable cup.
Lib Dems reach deal over electoral pact
The Liberal Democrats have said they have entered a pact with Plaid Cymru and the Greens not to run candidates against each other in a number of seats in the election.
Details of the arrangements, thought to cover 60 to 70 constituencies, by the three pro-Remain parties will be announced at a press conference later today by the Unite to Remain group, which brokered the deal.
It followed the agreement earlier this year in the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election, where the Lib Dems took the seat from the Conservatives after the other two parties stood aside.
Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson said: “We are delighted that an agreement has been reached. This is a significant moment for all people who want to support remain candidates across the country.”
Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson on campaign trail (PA)
Boris Johnson heads for Scotland to fight for ‘incredible union’
The prime minister is campaigning in Scotland today, and will urge Scots to use the election to halt to Nicola Sturgeon’s plans for a second independence referendum.
He warned a Labour-led government under Jeremy Corbyn which would “spend the next year dancing to the SNP’s tune”.
Sturgeon has already set out plans to hold a fresh vote on independence in the second half of 2020. And with Labour pledging to hold another Brexit referendum if Mr Corbyn is voted into Downing Street, the PM warned against the prospect of having two “divisive” referendums next year.
“Only a vote for the Conservatives will stop the SNP’s plans to break up the UK - the most fantastic and successful political union in the world. I will never give up on our incredible union,” Johnson is expected to say.
But Sturgeon said: “The only thing Boris Johnson should be coming to Scotland to do is apologise for the chaos he and his party have subjected us to for years. He is a prime architect of the Brexit vote and the utter shambles it has now led to.”
She said her party is the main challenger to the Conservatives in the 13 seats they hold in Scotland - and added the SNP would “do our bit in trying to ensure his time in Downing Street has already come to an end”.
If you missed his Trump-style rally in Birmingham last night, Johnson blamed parliament for the Brexit delay, complaining the Commons was as stuck as a “bendy bus jack-knifed in a yellow-box junction”.
He did have a nice line comparing Labour’s Brexit policy to the “Bermuda Triangle”, but do his after-dinner speech gags really work in a general election campaign?
Boris Johnson holds Tory rally in Birmingham (Getty)
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