Election 1) Conservatives hit 50 per cent with ComRes. Two more polls point towards a big Tory win. Survation is the outlier with a Conservative rating of 40 per cent
“In a sensational Sunday Mirror ComRes poll today the Conservatives have pulled a further four points ahead of Labour since a survey last Sunday. Labour remains on 25 per cent. If those figures were mirrored on election day, Prime Minister Mrs May would be left with a thumping overall majority of more than 200 – while Jeremy Corbyn would lose at least 90 MPs. If Mrs May pulls that off it means she would beat the 418 seats Tony Blair won in the 1997 landslide” – Sunday Mirror
- Big Tory NHS lead – Sunday Times (£)
- Labour ‘no longer party of the NHS’ – Sunday Telegraph
- Tories ‘more than double’ lead over Labour – The Observer
- May ‘roars ahead’ of Corbyn on leadership ratings – Mail on Sunday
- Tories hit 50 per cent for the first time since 1991 – Sunday Mirror
- …or has their lead been ‘slashed in half’? – Mail on Sunday
- UKIP voters flee to the Conservatives – Sun on Sunday
- May looking at ‘massive’ win as voters ditch Corbyn and Nuttall – Sunday Express
- Voters turning away from Labour on five key issues – Sunday Telegraph
Comment:
- Both parties want you to think it’s close: it isn’t – Dominic Lawson, Sunday Times (£)
>Today: ToryDiary: The Conservatives hit up to 50 per cent in today’s polls. Here’s why this is bad news for them.
Election 2) ‘Detoxified’ Scottish Conservatives could win 12 seats
“Scotland’s once “toxic Tories” are poised for a remarkable general election comeback that could derail the SNP’s independence campaign, according to an exclusive poll for The Sunday Times. The Panelbase survey of 1,029 voters in Scotland points to a surge in support that would take the Tories to 33%, up 18 points from two years ago and taking them from one to 12 seats. It would be their strongest showing north of the border since Sir Edward Heath’s government in the 1970s, which was followed by a steep decline associated with Margaret Thatcher and subsequent Tory leaders unpopular with Scots.” – Sunday Times (£)
- Tory vote share set to soar whilst Labour face more misery – Sunday Post
- Tactical voting will have only limited affect, experts warn – Scotland on Sunday
Comment:
- Election turns Sturgeon into the image of Salmond – Euan McColm, Scotland on Sunday
>Today: MPs Etc.: Scottish Conservative candidate selections proceed apace using fast-track rules
Election 3) Adam Boulton: The Prime Minister’s strategy – win big, hard Brexit
“If May does well on June 8, she will have secured a mandate for a hard Brexit or no deal, which amounts to the same thing. However many inconvenient old pledges are left out of the manifesto, due out a fortnight tomorrow, she will not abandon the commitments on Brexit already given by her own government in the Great Repeal Bill and elsewhere. The prime minister’s article 50 letter to Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, stated that “the United Kingdom does not seek membership of the single market”. The customs union is out too because it grants jurisdiction to the European Court of Justice. Ardent Brexiteers, such as Iain Duncan Smith, are entirely content with this position and do not propose kicking up about a transition period after Brexit or continued limited payments to the EU, whatever the expectations of the voters.” – Sunday Times (£)
- Our supreme leader will bore her way to victory – Andrew Gimson, Mail on Sunday
- May swoops before tougher times hit – David Smith, Sunday Times (£)
- I’ve voted Labour for 30 years, but I must vote Tory in June – Dan Hodges, Mail on Sunday
- A hasty election before Britain sees the hard truth of Brexit – William Keegan, The Observer
Editorial:
- No soggy centre: the real May must stand up – Sunday Times (£)
- Only May can slay the dragon of divison – Mail on Sunday
Election 4) Prime Minister won’t commit to Cameron’s ‘tax lock’
“Theresa May today refused three times to rule out tax rises after the election – making clear voters will have to trust the Tories to do what is right. The Prime Minister repeatedly dodged questions about whether the party’s manifesto will again include a ‘tax lock’ guaranteeing no increases to tax or national insurance during the next parliament. Instead she insisted the Conservatives had a record of keeping taxes low for ‘ordinary working people’ – while Labour’s ‘instinct’ was to raise the burden. The evasive answers came as Mrs May upped her attack on Jeremy Corbyn and Nicola Sturgeon – branding the SNP leader a ‘separatist’ who wanted to tear the ‘precious’ United Kingdom apart. Speaking at a campaign rally at the Netherton Conservative Club in Dudley, Mrs May was asked three times whether she would keep the tax lock introduced by David Cameron in 2015.” – Mail on Sunday
- May insists the Conservatives are still the party of lower taxes – Sunday Express
More policy:
- Prime Minister ‘parks tanks on Labour’s lawn’ with energy price cap – Sunday Times (£)
- Tory MPs want to halt £100 billion High Speed 2 to pay for Brexit – Sun on Sunday
- Snap election could derail new line – The Observer
Editorial:
- The Tories must pledge to cut taxes – Sunday Telegraph
>Today: Suella Fernandes in Comment: We need a radical plan to reform family justice in the coming Conservative manifesto
>Yesterday: Huw Merriman in Comment: Overseas aid. We’re right to reject the claim that charity begins at home
Election 5) May eyes post-election reshuffle
“Theresa May is planning a ministerial cull to give her a cabinet more closely aligned with her own views — in a post-election reshuffle modelled on Margaret Thatcher’s clearout of the Tory “wets”. May’s aides say there is “no chance” of her moving the most senior ministers, pointing out that she valued David Cameron’s decision to keep her in the Home Office for six years. But middle-rankers judged to be underperforming are at risk, according to cabinet ministers familiar with the discussions. Andrea Leadsom, the environment secretary, and Sajid Javid, the communities secretary, are top of the hitlist, along with Liz Truss, the justice secretary who has endured a bruising relationship with the judiciary, which has led to repeated clashes over policy.” – Sunday Times (£)
- Ministers who have fallen out of favour fear for their jobs – Mail on Sunday
Election 6) McLoughlin says Corbyn would put Britain at risk
“Britain would not be safe under Jeremy Corbyn because he cannot take the “difficult decisions” needed in the event of a terrorist attack, the man running the Tory campaign has said. In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, Sir Patrick McLoughlin claims it is “blindingly obvious” that voters would be better protected under Theresa May. In a very personal attack, he questions the Labour leader’s judgment in matters of war and says he is “not suitable” to take on the responsibilities of being prime minister. “There are decisions which prime ministers have to take and those people in authority have to take [which] are sometimes very uncomfortable,” Sir Patrick says.” – Sunday Telegraph
- Corbyn attacked over IRA connections as he campaigns in Warrington – Sunday Times (£)
Comment:
- Stop Corbyn and his coalition of chaos from getting to Number 10 – Patrick McLoughlin, Sun on Sunday
Election 7) Corbyn’s seat in Lib Dem sights as they chase the Remain vote
“Jeremy Corbyn is named on a general election “hit list” drawn up pro-EU campaigners. The Labour leader appears in the Lib Dem’s “Operation London” strategy targeting the party’s big guns, secret papers show. Volunteers are being sent to the areas where the sitting MPs backed the vote to trigger Article 50 vote – despite campaigning to stay in the European Union. The Lib Dems also want to focus on voters who overwhelmingly backed Remain in last year’s EU vote. Tim Farron’s party are throwing substantial resources into at least a dozen seats in the capital ahead of the June 8 vote – more than originally planned.” – Sun on Sunday
- Farron rules out coalition with either May or Corbyn – The Observer
- Interview with Tim Farron – The Observer
More ‘progressive alliance’:
- Miller raises £250,000 for anti-Brexit tactical campaign – Mail on Sunday
- Women’s Equality Party leader to stand against Davies – Independent on Sunday
Comment:
- How the Opposition parties can make a contest of this election – Andrew Rawnsley, The Observer
Election 8) Labours’s union backers demand safe seat for ‘life-long Trot’
“Jeremy Corbyn’s union backers are preparing to parachute a life-long Trot into a safe Labour seat in the Election. Top of Unite’s candidates list is Daniel Carden for June 8, a top aide to firebrand leader Red Len McCluskey. Mr Carden – who has worked in politics and trade unions for all his career – shared a social media post describing Brexit as the “stupidest, most self-destructive act a country could undertake”. He is an anti-monarchist who denied Labour has a problem with anti-Semitism and backed up Ken Livingston. An insider described him as “a total momentum Trot”. But he is likely to be elected as an MP in June because he will stand in one of the safest Labour seats up for grabs.”- Sun on Sunday
- Party to hijack Brexit pledge to spend millions on the NHS – Sunday Express
- Abbott hints at plan to drop migration target – Independent on Sunday
- Labour abandoned plan to brand Tories ‘extremists’ – Sunday Express
- Labour leader ‘blasted’ by his MPs – Sunday Express
- Opposition mark St George’s Day with call for four new bank holidays – Sunday Telegraph
- Insider reveals ‘chaos’ in Corbyn’s office – Sunday Times (£)
- Want to be a Labour candidate? They’re advertising on Twitter – Sunday Express
Comment:
- Behind the scenes, the real struggle is for the leadership – John Rentoul, Independent on Sunday
- Only Cooper can save Labour from oblivion – Stephen Pollard, Mail on Sunday
- Brace yourself for more pain than gain, Theresa – Andrew Marr, Sunday Times (£)
>Yesterday: MPs Etc.: Election 2017: The MPs standing down (running total)
Election 9) UKIP to call for burqa ban
“Ukip is expected to call for a ban on wearing full-face veils in public as it shores up its core vote and addresses an alarming slide in the polls. The party’s leader, Paul Nuttall, is to argue that the burqa and niqab harm social cohesion and pose a security risk. The move, touted as part of a new “integration agenda”, would follow similar bans in France and Belgium. An explicit ban on sharia law is also expected to be proposed tomorrow, along with a new legal obligation to report female genital mutilation to police and a clampdown on postal voting by demand.” – Sunday Times (£)
- People’s Army may stand down against pro-Brexit MPs – PoliticsHome
- Council candidate wants to bring back the death penalty… by guillotine – Independent on Sunday
News in Brief:
- Trump aims for big hit to mark first 100 days – Sunday Times (£)
- French riot police clash with protestors in Paris on polling day – Mail on Sunday
- Marine Le Pen rides high in bellwether French town – Sunday Telegraph
- Senior tax officials are being ‘rewarded for failure’ – Sun on Sunday