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Most Voters Want A General Election By Next Summer, New Mega-Poll Reveals

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Most voters want a general election by next summer – with one in three demanding one as soon as possible.

A new mega-poll also shows that just 17% want to wait until next autumn to give their verdict on Rishi Sunak’s government.

The prime minister confirmed earlier this month that the general election will definitely take place in 2024.

However, it is still unclear whether the PM will opt to go to the country in the spring or wait until the autumn.

The latest the election can possibly be is January, 2025 – an option supported by just 9% of the public.

According to the poll of more than 10,000 by Focaldata for the Best for Britain group, 61% want it to be held by June. Of those, 36% want it to be as soon as possible.

The findings echo a separate poll by the More in Common think-tank, which found that 73% want an election my next May.

The Focaldata poll also found that 38% of voters would consider voting tactically to change the government, with just 13% saying they would do so to keep Sunak in No.10.

Rishi Sunak must decide whether to go to the country in the spring or autumn.
Rishi Sunak must decide whether to go to the country in the spring or autumn.

JACOB KING via Getty Images

Meanwhile, Keir Starmer is the most popular choice to be prime minister in 390 of the country’s 650 constituencies, including Sunak’s seat of Richmond.

The poll also showed that three-quarters of Brits believe that Brexit has increased the cost of their weekly shop, while nearly two-thirds think it has stunted the UK’s economic growth.

Naomi Smith, chief executive of Best for Britain, said: “The message in our polling from voters is clear – they want an election, they think Brexit has hurt them in their pockets, and they’re prepared to vote tactically for change.

“Labour may be on course for a victory, but under our broken electoral system nothing can be taken for granted.

“With the possibility of Nigel Farage’s party offering a life raft to his vulnerable friends on the Conservative right, tactical voting will be more important than ever.”

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James Cleverly Announces Major Crackdown On Migration Following Record Numbers

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Foreign workers will need to earn at least £38,700 to be given a visa to come to the UK under plans to slash net migration.

Home secretary James Cleverly told the House of Commons that the move was part of a five-point plan to bring down the numbers of immigrants coming to the UK by 300,000 a year.

It comes after new figures revealed two weeks ago that 672,000 more people entered the UK than left it in the 12 months to June.

The Tories’ 2019 general election manifesto pledged to bring the figure down to less than 229,000.

Right-wing Tory backbenchers have warned Rishi Sunak that the party could cease to exist unless it keeps its promise to voters.

Cleverly said he was increasing the minimum salary threshold for foreign workers from £26,200 to £38,700, although it will not apply to those coming to work in health and social care.

The minimum income requirement for anyone wanting to move foreign family members with them will also more than double to £38,700.

Overseas care workers will be banned from bringing dependents with them to the UK, while the shortage occupation list, which allows companies to hire overseas workers for 20% less than the going rate, will be scrapped.

The immigration health surcharge, paid by foreigners who use the NHS, will also be increased from £624 to £1,035, while the graduate visa route will also be reviewed amid concerns it is currently being abused.

He told MPs that immigration was “far too high” and that ministers were now “taking more robust action than any government before” to deal with it.

He said the government’s plans would lead to the “biggest ever reduction in net migration” and mean 300,000 a year fewer people coming to the UK in future.

The home secretary added: “We have taken decisive action to reduce legal migration – enough is enough.”

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said Cleverly’s statement was “an admission of total failure for years by the Conservative government – failure on the immigration system and failure on the economy”.

Christina McAnea, general secretary of the Unison trade union, said: “These cruel plans spell total disaster for the NHS and social care. They benefit no one.

“Migrant workers were encouraged to come here because both sectors are critically short of staff. Hospitals and care homes simply couldn’t function without them.

“There’s also a global shortage of healthcare staff. Migrants will now head to more-welcoming countries, rather than be forced to live without their families.

“The government is playing roulette with essential services just to placate its backbenchers and the far-right.”

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Keir Starmer Faces Left-Wing Backlash After Praising Margaret Thatcher

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Keir Starmer is facing a left-wing backlash after he lavished praise on Margaret Thatcher as he attempts to persuade Tory voters to back Labour at the next election.

He said the former prime minister – a hate figure for many – had “sought to drag Britain out of its stupor by setting loose our natural entrepreneurialism” during her 11 years in office.

The Labour leader also said Thatcher, like ex-Labour PMs Tony Blair and Clement Attlee, had brought about “meaningful change” in the UK.

But his comments, in an article for the Sunday Telegraph, received fierce criticism from many of those on the left of British politics.

Andrew Fisher, a former senior adviser to Jeremy Corbyn when he was Labour leader said Thatcher had “set loose unemployment and inequality” in the country.

Former Labour mayor Jamie Driscoll, who left the party after failing to get selected as an election candidate, accused Starmer of “abandoning the Red Wall”.

Left-wing singer Billy Bragg posted on X: “Oh fuck off.”

Labour-supporting Daily Mirror journalist Kevin Maguire said Thatcher had “turbo-charged inequality, created mass unemployment, flogged public assets on the cheap to her mates and tried to crush trade unions”.

Asked about Starmer’s words on Sky News this morning, health secretary Victoria Atkins said: “I think the public will see this for what it is.

“Don’t forget he wasn’t appealing to Margaret Thatcher’s entrepreneurial spirit when he was courting votes from the hard left.

“And I suspect the great lady herself would view a man who is trying to ride on the coattails of her success with the following words: No, no, no.”

Elsewhere in his Sunday Telegraph article, Starmer said he wanted to “extend the hand of friendship to you, no matter where you are or who you have voted for in the past” – a clear pitch to disaffected Tories.

He said: “Across Britain there are people who feel disillusioned, frustrated, angry, worried. Many of them have always voted Conservative but feel that their party has left them. I understand that.

“I saw that with my own party and acted to fix it. But I also understand that many will still be uncertain about Labour. I ask them to take a look at us again.”

The Labour leader also accused the Conservatives of squandering “the possibilities of Brexit”.

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‘We Need Them’: Tory MP Sums Up Why Politicians Have Gone Too Far With Immigration Crackdown

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A Tory MP has called on politicians to be “honest with the public” about why the UK needs immigrants.

Former health minister Steve Brine said there wouldn’t be enough social care workers to “look after your ailing parents” without an influx of foreign labour.

Official figures last week revealed how net migration hit 672,000 in the year to June – three times higher than the government’s target.

Right-wing Conservatives have warned that the party could cease to exist if it fails to bring the number down before the next election.

Rishi Sunak has vowed to “clamp down” on immigration with new measures to reduce the numbers coming to the UK.

But on Times Radio today, Brine said “we need these workers” to do the jobs British people won’t.

And he took aim at former home secretary Suella Braverman, who said the immigration numbers were “a slap in the face to the British public”.

Brine, who is chair of the health and social care select committee, said: “Would that be a slap in the face to the care workers from outside the UK who look after your ailing parents?

“Would it be the Ukrainians that are living among us and contributing to our society, are they the slap in the face? Or would it be the people coming here from British Hong Kong?

“I hear this talk all the time and Labour has fallen into this trap as well. Oh, you know, ‘we need to get to the numbers down’, but which of the groups?”

The Winchester MP added: “We need these workers. We need them, particularly in social care.

“We’ve got around 152,000 vacancies in adult social care. And I just say it again, they are the people who look after your ailing parents and grandparents when families can’t because they’re working. They’re the people that pick up the slack.

“And we need to have a very serious look at ourselves as a society as to what do we actually want to be? Do we do we want to be honest with the public, because we need migration into this country.

“And if we’re just going to slash migration so that we can, you know, meet a political priority, and please the former home secretary then I don’t think we’re serving the society and the economy as we should be.”

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Tory MPs Have Warned The Party Could Cease To Exist If It Breaks This Manifesto Pledge

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Tory MPs have warned the party could cease to exist if it breaks its pledge to cut immigration before the next election.

Members of the New Conservatives group said the party faced a “do or die” moment after new figures showed net migration had trebled since 2019.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 672,000 more people entered the UK than left it in the 12 months to June.

The Tories’ 2019 general election manifesto pledged to bring it down to less than 229,000.

In a statement published on X (formerly Twitter), the New Conservatives said the party could not afford to break that “solemn promise”.

“The word existential has been used a lot in recent days, but this really is ‘do or die’ for our party,” they said.

“Each of us made a promise to the electorate. We don’t believe that such promises can be ignored.”

The group, which is largely made up of MPs in the Red Wall seats the Tories won from Labour at the last election, called on the government to produce “a comprehensive package of measures to meet the manifesto promise by the time of the next election”.

They added: “The prime minister, chancellor and new home secretary must show that they stand by the promises on which we were elected to parliament. We must act now.”

Miriam Cates, on of the members of the group, said: “Today’s UK migration figures are astounding: a million new people from abroad were added to our population last year. There is simply no democratic consent for this.

“Attempts to reduce NHS waiting times or solve the housing crisis are futile unless we drastically reduce numbers.”

The Times reported that the PM is looking to announce new plans to curb migration over the next week because of fury on the Tory backbenches over the issue.

Sky News reported that home secretary James Cleverly had promised the government was still “completely committed to reducing levels of legal migration, while also focusing relentlessly” on illegal migration.

From July 2019 to June 2023, the total estimated UK net migration stood at over 1.6 million.

The Office for Budget Responsibility has also estimated that an extra 150,000 migrants would arrive in the next five years – adding around 1.5 million people to the population by 2028-29.

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‘The Hunt Hoax’: Chancellor Accused Of Autumn Statement Con As Taxes To Hit Post-War High

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Jeremy Hunt has been accused of trying to “hoodwink” voters as his Autumn Statement unravelled within minutes of him delivering it.

The chancellor boasted that he had announced “the biggest package of tax cuts since the 1980s”.

He reduced the National Insurance rate paid by workers from 12% to 10%, while also unveiling cuts to business taxes.

But the independent Office for Budget Responsibility’s own assessment of the chancellor’s plans revealed that while the overall tax burden will initially come down, it is soon set to soar.

That is because of income tax thresholds remain frozen, meaning millions of workers end up in a higher tax bracket as their wages rise – a process known as “fiscal drag”.

The OBR said: “Tax changes in this autumn statement reduce the tax burden by 0.7% of GDP, but it still rises in every year to a post-war high of 37.3% of GDP by 2028-29.

“Income tax increases explain most of the increase in this forecast … driven by threshold freezes and strong nominal earnings.”

As a result, the Treasury will rake in an extra £201 billion in tax over the next six years – four times more than the cost of Hunt’s cuts to National Insurance payments.

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said: “This Autumn Statement was a Hunt hoax.

“Buried in the small print is a massive stealth tax raid that will drag millions into paying a higher rate in the coming years.

“The British people will rightly be furious at this deception, as they are forced to pay the price for Conservative chaos through years of unfair tax hikes.

“It is high time that this Conservative government came clean about just how much money they are taking out of hard-working families’ pockets.”

The OBR also downgraded its forecasts for economic growth over the next few years.

It also said that inflation will fall to 2.8% next year, well up on the 0.9% they forecast in March.

Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “After 13 years of the Conservatives, the economy simply isn’t working. And, despite all the promises today, working people are still worse off.”

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Greg Hands Sacked As Conservative Party Chairman In Rishi Sunak’s Reshuffle

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Greg Hands has been sacked as chairman of the Conservative Party, as Rishi Sunak conducted a major cabinet reshuffle ahead of next year’s election.

He has finally paid the price for a succession of humiliating by-election defeats.

Richard Holden, who was only elected as an MP in 2019, has been given a big promotion to take over the job of running the Tory party machine.

Less than a month ago, Hands said he would not quit in the wake of two heavy by-election defeats in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth.

At the time, he said the losses were caused “by legacy issues” that predated Sunak’s time in No.10.

Hands remains in government, but has been demoted to a minister of state job at the department for business and trade.

Richard Holden leaves 10 Downing Street after he was made the new Conservative chairman (Photo by Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images)
Richard Holden leaves 10 Downing Street after he was made the new Conservative chairman (Photo by Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images)

Victoria Jones – PA Images via Getty Images

Holden snatched the red wall seat of North West Durham for the Tories in 2019, but the constituency is disappearing due to boundary changes and he is now on the lookout for somewhere else to stand at the next election.

Holden was appointed transport minister when Sunak became prime minister last October.

He now has the extremely difficult job of helping the prime minister overhaul a huge Labour poll lead over the next 12 months.

Leaving No.10 on Monday afternoon, Holden gave a thumbs-up when asked if the Tories could win the election.

As part of his reshuffle, Sunak also dramatically brought David Cameron back into government as foreign secretary.

Suella Braverman has been sacked as home secretary, replaced by James Cleverly.

Meanwhile, Therese Coffey has also been sacked as environment secretary, with Steve Barclay replacing her.

He has been replaced as health secretary by Victoria Atkins, with Laura Trott also being appointed chief secretary to the Treasury as the reshuffle continued.

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Labour On Course For Landslide Election Victory As Tories Face Wipeout, Mega-Poll Says

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Keir Starmer is on course to lead Labour to an even bigger victory than Tony Blair’s landslide in 1997, according to a major new poll.

The Survation survey of more than 12,000 people for the UK Spirits Alliance predicts the Tories will return just 156 MPs – around 200 less than they have now.

Labour, on the other hand, would see their number of MPs soar to 431, handing Starmer a 212-seat majority.

In 1997, Blair’s New Labour won a majority of 179 and ended up holding on to power for 13 years.

In recent days he has also been embroiled in a row with home secretary Suella Braverman over her article in The Times accusing the police of having a left-wing bias.

Sunak is now under intense pressure from many within his own party to sack the home secretary, but that could spark an angry backlash from right-wing Tory MPs.

Starmer, on the other hand, will be delighted at the poll’s findings, which come despite his own internal problems.

The Labour leader is facing a major rebellion by dozens of his own MPs – including many frontbenchers – over his refusal to support calls for a ceasefire in the Israel/Hamas war.

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Suella Braverman Sparks Tory Civil War Over Plan To Stop Rough Sleepers Getting Tents

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Suella Braverman has triggered a Tory civil war over her plans to stop rough sleepers being given tents.

Moderate Conservatives accused the home secretary of “ill thought out policies that divide” after she confirmed the controversial move.

Braverman accused rough sleepers who use tents for shelter of “living on the streets as a lifestyle choice”.

She said: “Unless we step in now to stop this, British cities will go the way of places in the US like San Francisco and Los Angeles, where weak policies have led to an explosion of crime, drug taking, and squalor.”

But the Tory Reform Group – which includes senior party figures such as Damian Green, Ken Clarke, John Major and Robert Buckland – condemned the home secretary’s remarks.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) they said: “The UK’s streets are not being taken over by tents. We are not San Francisco.

“If this is a sign to come of the King’s Speech, it is a missed opportunity for the government to focus on those issues that really matter to voters – not ill thought out policies which divide.”

Braverman has also come under fire from opposition politicians, with Manchester mayor Andy Burnham describing her plans as “frankly abhorrent”.

Lib Dem Alistair Carmichael said: “It is a new low for Braverman to criminalise homeless charities for simply trying to keep vulnerable people warm and dry in winter.

“The British public raise millions of pounds for homeless people at this time of year, and the government’s response is to criminalise those charities trying to help.

“This policy will do nothing to stop rough sleeping and will leave vulnerable people to face the harsh weather conditions without any shelter whatsoever.”

On Sky News this morning, deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden defended Braverman by claiming her comments – in a series of four posts on X – had been taken out of context.

He said: “If you look at what she said, she did talk about addressing push factors as well.

“And if we get to a position where those factors are removed, I do think the tents and other things that that we see on our streets are not acceptable if we’ve got somewhere else for these people to go.”

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Boris Johnson Believed Old People Should ‘Accept Their Fate’ And Catch Covid

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Boris Johnson wanted old people to “accept their fate” and catch Covid so that the young could get on with their lives, it has been revealed.

The former prime minister also suggested that he agreed with Tory MPs who believed the virus was “nature’s way of dealing with old people”.

The shocking revelations were contained in former chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance’s diaries, which have been made public by the Covid Inquiry.

It also emerged yesterday that a former aide to Johnson believed the former PM had asked “why are we destroying the economy for people who will die anyway soon” in the early days of the pandemic.

Writing in his diary on August 28 2020, Vallance said: ”[Johnson] is obsessed with old people accepting their fate and letting the young get on with life and the economy going. Quite a bonkers set of exchanges.”

In a further entry on December 12 that year, said: ”[Johnson] says his party ’thinks the whole thing is pathetic and Covid is just nature’s way of dealing with old people – and I am not entirely sure I disagree with them.”

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said: “This inquiry is painting a clear picture of a Conservative Party totally unfit to govern our country.

“Every shocking revelation is another devastating blow to the families who lost loved ones to Covid. It is hard to hear how badly Conservative ministers failed them, our NHS and our country.”

Natalie Grayson, national officer for care at the GMB union, said Johnson’s remarks “reveal the utter contempt his government showed to people living and working in care homes”.

“Care workers long suspected ministers were treating the lives of the elderly and vulnerable as less valuable than others,” she said.

“Emergency workers, care workers, residents and their families are the ones who have had to live with the trauma of the government’s failure. Boris Johnson is a disgrace.”

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