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
John McDonnell refers to Ian Austin’s trade envoy role
What did John McDonnell mean when he said the former Labour MP Ian Austin was “employed by the Tories”?
Austin was appointed as a trade envoy to Israel by prime minister Theresa May in July.
He had quit Labour in February, condemning what he claimed was a “culture of extremism, antisemitism and intolerance” in Jeremy Corbyn’s party.
This morning Austin said: “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 … I can’t believe it’s come to this, but that’s where we are.”
Another ex-Labour MP says he will vote for the Tories
Former MP John Woodcock has joined Ian Austin in saying he will vote Conservative at the next election, and urged others to do the same.
Woodcock – who resigned from Labour in July last year and was recently appointed a government envoy on extremism – was speaking at the launch of a poster by the Mainstream campaign.
The poster states: “Jeremy Corbyn: A disgrace to his party, a disgrace to this country.”
Addressing criticisms of failing to tackle anti-Semitism made by Austin and the Jewish Chronicle newspaper, Labour said the party had made “absolutely clear antisemitism has no place" in its ranks.
“Jeremy Corbyn is a lifelong campaigner against antisemitism and other forms of racism, hatred and bigotry," said a party spokesman.
“He has made it absolutely clear that antisemitism has no place in our party and society, and that no one who engages in it does so in his name.
“The Labour Party is fully committed to the support, defence and celebration of the Jewish community.”
IFS says big two parties committing to ‘substantial increases’ in public spending
The highly-respectly think tank Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has taken a look at the spending plans set out by Sajid Javid and John McDonnell.
While the Tories’ public investment plans “would reach a level not sustained in the last 40 years”, while Labour would take public spending to a “level unprecedented since the 1970s”.
CBI urges big two parties to ‘work with business’
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said both Labour and the Conservatives had revealed economic policies that would be well received by businesses.
But Rain Newton-Smith, CBI chief economist, warned more detail was needed.
“Any new spending must be planned responsibly to be sustainable, and more details will be needed on how both Labour’s and the Conservatives’ plans will be funded.
“But success will be built on more than money – businesses’ main message is simple: so much more can be achieved by working with business, not against it. As manifesto plans are finalised, open the door to enterprise as trusted partners.”
A second former Labour MP has announced that he will be voting Conservative at the general election and urged others to do likewise.
John Woodcock, the retiring MP for Barrow, was speaking at the launch of the new "Mainstream" campaign against political extremism.
He said:
"There are one of two people who are going to be prime minister after an election. It is Boris Johnson or it is Jeremy Corbyn....
"We pleaded with our friends in the Labour Party to face up to this choice, not to leave it until too late. Now all of that to an extent is water under the bridge, but we have arrived in a campaign where one of two people are going to be prime minister."
"The choice to keep Jeremy Corbyn away from Downing Street, to stop him getting his hands on the levers of national security and defence has to be to vote Conservative in this election and that's what I'll be doing as well."
Dawn Butler, Labour's shadow women and equalities minister, has told Bloomberg that she will stand to succeed Tom Watson as deputy leader...
Responding to this week's Jewish Chronicle front page, which urges British people not to vote for Jeremy Corbyn's Labour, John McDonnell insists Labour is "doing everything [the Jewish community] asked of us to address this issue".
Answering questions after his speech in Liverpool, the shadow chancellor says: “Go and ask the Tories what they're doing about racism within their own party. How dare the Tories raise the issue of racism at all when they have a leader who has consistently in his journalistic career written statements which are racist in themselves.”
Baroness Warsi says Tories have ‘lost the moral high ground’ on racism
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, who co-chaired the Conservatives between 2010 and 2012, has tweeted a warning to the Tories not to make the general election about racism.
The former Tory and former-independent MP Nick Boles tweeted: “A vote for Corbyn is a vote for a racist. It’s as simple as that.”
Baroness Warsi responded by saying “we lost the moral high ground on racism along time ago”.
“If we genuinely believe in rooting out bigotry then we should root it out in our own Party too - don’t you think?”
Responding to the right-wing commentator Julia Hartley-Brewer calling her thoughts “nonsense”, Baroness said: “I’m astonished at the number of Conservatives colleagues who have seen clear evidence of racism within our Party & have failed to speak out.”
Lib Dem says he is ‘extremely unhappy’ about electoral pact – and vows to stand as independent
Mike Powell, a Welsh Lib Dem, who was intending to stand in Pontypridd as a Lib Dem candidate, has vowed to stand an independent after he was asked to stand aside as part of the Unite to Remain pact.
He told The World At One he made it clear he did not want to stand down, and said Lib Dems in Wales are “extremely unhappy” with the way the negotiations were dealt with.
Powell said there is “disquiet and discomfort” within the Welsh Lib Dems at the moment.
As part of the pact, a Plaid candidate will stand in Pontypridd.
Layla Moran, Lib Dem candidate for Oxford West & Abingdon, said it is “really regrettable” that Powell is standing as an independent.
She said there was a “bigger picture” is what is so historic about the Unite to Remain cause.
“I think for the vast majority of candidates it is with agreement, and some of the ones I've spoken to have actually done it almost enthusiastically because they can see that bigger picture of how working together puts across that strong message of actually grown-up politics, and fighting first past the post, and we all know that the electoral system is not our friend in these situations,” she said.
Can a Remain alliance rally anti-Brexit voters?
Candidates from pro-EU parties have entered a pact to give voters a single Remain choice in 60 seats across England and Wales.
Our political editor has taken a look at whether the alliance’s candidates can effectively hoover up the anti-Brexit vote.
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