UK general election live: Boris Johnson makes first appearance on campaign trail

Only mention Boris Johnson made of Rishi Sunak in his speech at a rally in Chelsea was when he thanked him for the invitationSign up to our Election Edition daily newsletterKeir Starmer has accused the Conservatives of desperate tactics amid claims that Tory criticism of his defence of family time was insensitive and had antisemitic undertones.Ben Quinn, Peter Walker and Kiran Stacey report:You should think of yourself (I said to myself) as something like the Ancient Mariner, just repeating over and over your tale of woe, in the hope that the next time the big bright bird of potential equity flies past the ship of state, we might remember what it looks like, and what it can do, and not let any Tories or neoliberals rush up on to the deck to shoot it down.This Ancient Mariner metaphor stood me in pretty good stead until I settled in the US, around 2010, returning 10 years later to a Britain I barely recognised. At this point, I became Rip Van Winkle. The list of things that have boggled my mind in the past four years is too long to recount here, but the final straw came just a few weeks ago, while I was washing up. The radio was on. A government spokesperson was extolling the virtues of conscription. Where else (asked the spokesperson) can people of different classes and races and genders meet each other on a more or less equal footing and pursue a common goal? Where else in modern-day Britain can community be fostered and encouraged, and people allowed a space in which their human capacities, whatever they may be, can flourish? Where else, I ask you, where else? Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2024/jul/03/uk-general-election-2024-live-updates-tories-labour-polls-boris-johnson

Author : Helen Sullivan

Publish date : 2024-07-03 07:48:04

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