Manifesto mania
The news was dominated by the release of the Conservative Party
Manifesto, and not in the way Rishi would’ve liked. Before the
document had even been unveiled, there were already rumblings of an
alternate rebel rightwing manifesto in the works in case the original
fell flat. As our CEO Naomi remarked,
“Sunak’s problem is that even his own party doesn't believe him, never
mind the public.” When the document was later released…at Silverstone
racecourse… it was met with much scepticism. Both the Resolution
Foundation and the Institute for Fiscal Studies - the two leading
think tanks on public spending - responded that they were unconvinced
the plans for tax cuts passed the plausibility test. All in all, a bit
of a car crash.
Gaff-o-meter
Speaking of car crash moments, make sure you are following our Tory
gaff-o-meter thread
on X/Twitter where we are collating all the gaffes from the
Party’s election campaign so far. Taking the win yesterday, was the
Party’s
new online advertisement which suggested they might come third.
This came as YouGov released
new polling showing that 45% of people think the Tories are running
“the worst campaign so far,’ with just 9% saying Labour, 3% Lib Dem
and 2% Green.
Sorry statistics
New ONS
figures, released yesterday, showed the number of people
unemployed in the UK has risen by 138,000 in the three months to
April, amid growing signs of a weaker jobs market. This is the highest
it has been since September 2021.
Caffeine clampdown
Ahead of the release of their manifesto on Thursday, Labour announced
that they would ban under-16s from buying high-caffeine energy drinks,
with ID checks and fines of up to £2,500. The measure is part of
Labour’s Child Health Action Plan. The plan also includes an extra
100,000 urgent dental appointments for children every year and a ban
on TV junk food ads before 9pm.
Scottish Showdown
The Scottish party leaders' debate was far from a scripted
affair, featuring sharp exchanges driven by a hundred-strong audience
in Glasgow. A standout moment came when a questioner shouted, "stop
passing the buck!" at the leaders who were drawing lines between each
other on taxes and austerity, as the cost of living and public
services took centre stage.
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