TV debate

Express
Viewers were quick to blast host Julie Etchingham for interrupting Boris Johnson during ITV’s live television debate this evening. The leaders of the Conservative Party and Labour Party kicked their debate off to a fierce start as they debated Brexit. Mr Johnson maintained the UK will leave the EU on January 31. But Mr Corbyn replied: “The idea that the Prime Minister’s deal can be dealt with and finished by the end of January is such nonsense.” He said the Prime Minister was proposing a trade deal with the US which would take “at least seven years to negotiate” while also holding talks with the EU on trade, claiming: “The two things are actually incompatible.

Telegraph
Jeremy Corbyn was mocked over his Brexit policy by a live television
 audience on Tuesday night after he refused nine times to say whether he thought Britain should leave the EU or remain. The Labour leader was also jeered during the ITV leaders’ debate over his proposals for a four-day working week and his spending plans, and for his 
environmental policy and his party’s anti-Semitism scandal. Boris Johnson, meanwhile, faced jeers over the issue of truthfulness, as both leaders experienced hostility in the first television debate of the general election campaign.

Times
Boris Johnson accused Jeremy Corbyn last night of having a “magic money forest” as the leaders clashed in their first head-to-head election debate. The prime minister said that Labour’s spending plans would be “catastrophic” for the economy and leave families facing higher interest rates. The Labour leader said the Conservatives had presided over “grotesque” inequality, with greater numbers of both billionaires and people in extreme poverty. They agreed, however, that the era of austerity had come to an end.

Guardian
Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn have clashed over which of them is best placed to safeguard the NHS if they win the general election, with the Labour leader accusing the prime minister of being ready to sell it off to US corporations. In a testy live debate on ITV, during which the prime minister repeatedly returned to the claim that he would “get Brexit done”, both men lavished praise on the NHS, but Corbyn said Johnson would put it up for sale. Throughout the debate, Johnson continually tried to bring the focus back to Brexit, on which Corbyn repeatedly declined to say how he would campaign in a second EU referendum, while the Labour leader attacked the prime minister over the NHS and public services.

BBC News
Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn have clashed over Brexit in the first TV election debate of the campaign. Mr Johnson promised to “end this national misery” and said Labour offered “only division and deadlock”. Mr Corbyn said Labour would “get Brexit sorted by giving you, the people, the final say”. The two leaders also locked horns over the NHS, trust and leadership, the future of Scotland – and the Royal Family. BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said it was not clear if either men had won or lost the debate but it was striking how the audience had been ready to laugh at their statements.

Mirror
Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn clashed over trust, Christmas presents and Brexit on Tuesday night in the first TV clash of the general election campaign. The powerful pair were challenged over trust by a forthright audience that said what they meant. And audience members laughed as the Tory leader said the truth was important – despite making a string of dodgy claims and his party trying to style themselves as factcheckers.  Mr Johnson was also quizzed on Prince Andrew after ducking questions yesterday.

Mail
Boris Johnson edged a bruising first election TV debate tonight as Jeremy Corbyn was jeered by the audience for refusing nine times to spell out his position on Brexit. With just over three weeks until the nation goes to the ballot boxes, the two leaders exchanged vicious barbs in the ITV special – but a poll suggested they fought each other effectively to a standstill.  A snap YouGov survey found 51 per cent thought Mr Johnson triumphed, with 49 per cent saying Mr Corbyn came out on top.

Sun
JEREMY Corbyn has refused NINE times to say whether he would back his OWN Brexit deal in a bruising TV clash last night. The PM repeatedly pushed the leftie Labour boss to answer in their first live debate ahead of the December 12 poll. In the first head-to-head fight of the election, Boris’ high stakes gamble paid off as the Labour boss was left floundering and was booed by the audience. Despite going in as the favourite and the incumbent, Boris came out fighting and won the debate, viewers thought.

Independent
Boris Johnson’s central promise of getting Brexit done if he wins a Tory majority on 12 December has been dismissed as “nonsense” by Jeremy Corbyn as the pair clashed in the first TV leaders’ debate of the general election campaign. In the ill-tempered ITV broadcast, Mr Corbyn accused the prime minister of planning to “sell our National Health Service out to the United States and big pharma” in trade talks with Brussels and Washington which he predicted would drag on for seven years or more. But Mr Johnson repeatedly returned to the attack, demanding to know whether the Labour leader would back Remain or Leave in the referendum he has promised if he wins, and what price he would pay for the support of Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP to secure the keys to No 10 in a hung parliament.

Times
Jeremy Corbyn refused repeatedly to say how he would campaign in another EU referendum as he clashed with Boris Johnson in the first head-to-head televised debate between the two main party leaders. Mr Johnson used the event last night to expose what he said was the “void” at the heart of Labour’s Brexit policy as he hammered home his main campaign message. The Labour leader managed to land a series of blows on the prime minister, including on the NHS after the worst recorded A&E performances.

Labour Party

Times
Jeremy Corbyn’s plans to increase taxes for high earners would hit 1.6 million people and could end up costing the economy £1 billion, an independent analysis has concluded. Labour will confirm in its manifesto tomorrow that it will introduce a 45p rate of income tax on those earning more than £80,000 and a 50p rate on those earning above £125,000. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said that the proposals would cost an employee earning more than £100,000 an additional £1,000 in tax.

Express
NEARLY three million pensioners could face council tax hikes averaging more than £300 a year under Labour plans to scrap discounts for single people, the Tories alleged last night. New Tory analysis of proposals for a local “progressive property tax” floated by a Labour policy discussion group showed retired households would be hardest hit by the levy. But Labour insiders distanced themselves from the plan, insisting the measure will not be included in the party’s general election manifesto due to be published by Jeremy Corbyn tomorrow.

Breitbart
Business leaders in the United Kingdom have condemned the socialist policies of Jeremy Corbyn, saying a No-Deal Brexit would be better than a Corbyn led government. Business leaders at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual meeting this week expressed credulity at leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn’s denial of being anti-business. Despite the CBI’s long history of being against Brexit, many at the conference felt that even a No-Deal Brexit would be preferable than having to endure the Labour Party’s Marxist agenda, according to reports. Chris Buxton, chief executive of the British Fluid Power Association, told The Mail that: ‘I would rather crash out of Europe with No Deal than elect a Corbyn government.

LibDems

Mail
The Liberal Democrats have pledged to spend an extra £10 billion a year on schools and recruit 20,000 more teachers if they gain power. As the party launches its General Election manifesto on Wednesday the Lib Dems are promising to reverse front line school cuts imposed since 2015 with an ’emergency cash injection’ of £4.6 billion next year. The Lib Dems insisted that by 2024/25, the party will spend £10.6 billion more on schools than in 2019/20. The money will help boost teacher numbers by 20,000 over five years, the Lib Dems said.

Independent
Liberal Democrats will promise to boost mental health services for new mothers as Jo Swinson launches the party’s general election manifesto on Wednesday. The first of the three major national parties to unveil their manifesto, the Lib Dems are fighting to turn around a squeeze in the polls which has seen them struggle to push beyond the mid-teens since the election campaign began. Ms Swinson will promise a transformation in mental health support for pregnant women, new mothers and those who have experienced miscarriage or stillbirth, in a bid to tackle issues such as post-natal depression and stress disorder.

Evening Standard
The Liberal Democrats have pledged to spend an extra £10 billion a year on schools and recruit 20,000 more teachers if they win the General Election. As the party launches its manifesto on Wednesday the Lib Dems promised to reverse frontline school cuts imposed since 2015 with an “emergency cash injection” of £4.6 billion next year. The party insisted that by 2024/25, the party will spend £10.6 billion more on schools than in 2019/20. The money will help boost teacher numbers by 20,000 over five years, it said.

Mail
The Liberal Democrats have vowed to put income tax up by 1p to raise billions to end the GP crisis. The UK has a shortage of around 2,500 GPs, but the figure is projected to rise to 7,000 within five years. The Liberal Democrats will today unveil plans for a penny on tax to invest £35billion in the health service and social care. A total of £7billion a year would be ringfenced – amounting to £35billion over the next five years. The party said the cash would address GP and nurse shortages, and be invested in mental health and services to help Britons prevent illness.

Green Party

Times
The Green Party wants to spend £100 billion a year to tackle climate change and make Britain carbon neutral by 2030. Launching the party’s most radical election manifesto to date yesterday, Jonathan Bartley, its co-leader, likened the threat facing the planet to a war. He pledged that the party would introduce tax and spending policies to decarbonise all sectors of the economy, including a huge investment in renewable power. The Greens also pledged to lower income inequality, with higher taxes on corporations and top earners to pay for an £89-a-week universal basic income.

The Brexit Party

Mail
Nigel Farage has told people to stop apologising for Britain’s colonial past because ‘obsessing’ about events 300 years ago is useless. Pointing to a ‘different world’, the Brexit Party leader railed against the constant dredging up of the country’s imperial history and suggested politicians should instead focus on forging a better future. His intervention came as Jeremy Corbyn was poised to pledge an inquiry into the country’s colonial-steeped past in Labour’s general election manifesto.

Express
NIGEL FARAGE has thrown down the gauntlet to Boris Johnson and issued him with a stern warning, telling the Prime Minister the Brexit Party will get MPs into Parliament to “hold him to his promises”. The Brexit Party leader was speaking to ITV after the first live television debate between the Prime Minister and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as the battle lines are firmly drawn in the lead up to the general election on December 12. Mr Farage even went as far to claim that a “meaningful Brexit” wouldn’t happen if his party didn’t exist. He also questioned Mr Johnson’s ability to keep promises.

Mail
Nigel Farage today defended his decision to stand Brexit Party candidates in Labour-held seats as he insisted it will not cost Boris Johnson a majority on December 12.  The Brexit Party leader said many of the people who will vote for him in seats won by Labour in 2017 ‘wouldn’t vote Conservative if you paid them’.  He said Conservative claims that voting for the Brexit Party would put Jeremy Corbyn in 10 Downing Street were ‘wrong and utterly disproved by history’.

iNews
Brexit Party MEP and parliamentary candidate Anne Widdecombe claimed she was offered “a role” in Brexit negotiations in exchange for not running in the general election on the 12 December. The former Tory MP now standing for the Brexit Party in Plymouth Sutton and Devonport said she had received a “call from Number 10” by someone asking her to step aside. It is currently held by Labour but was previously a Tory constituency, and is a key swing seat that the party could need to form a majority in the Commons.

Economic Voice
Nigel Farage has doubled down on his claims that his Brexit Party candidates were offered all manner of rewards if they stood down before the upcoming general election. The Brexit Party leader, Nigel Farage has reasserted his claims that his candidates for the General Election were offered inducements by Conservative Party bosses of jobs and peerages, if they agreed to stand aside in favour of Tory candidates. According to the Guardian, telephone calls did take place, but the Tories are saying no offers of jobs or peerages were made.

Scotland

Mail
Nicola Sturgeon tonight made clear she will demand Jeremy Corbyn allows a new Brexit referendum as the price of propping him up in power. The SNP leader also ridiculed the Labour leader’s wriggling on the issue of when he would permit a new ballot on breaking up the union – quipping that his ‘position changes every day’. Laughing off Mr Corbyn’s suggestion that a referendum should not in the ‘early years’ of the next Parliament, rather than her schedule of next year, she said: ‘I drive a hard bargain.’ The comments came as Ms Sturgeon, Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson and Brexit Party leader were interviewed on ITV.

Independent
An SNP majority at the next Holyrood elections in 2021 would provide a “democratic mandate” for a second independence referendum for Scotland, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack has said. Mr Jack’s comments contradict Boris Johnson’s position of ruling out a second referendum for the duration of his premiership if he wins the general election on 12 December. The Scottish National Party accused Mr Johnson of “extraordinary arrogance” and said Conservatives’ position on independence was “undemocratic, unsustainable and crumbling”.

EU

Independent
French citizens living in the UK are widely ignoring the Home Office’s EU citizens registration scheme, the country’s parliament has warned. A report by the French senate foreign affairs committee says that three quarters of French nationals in Britain hadn’t registered by the end of September, despite the elapsing of several Brexit extensions.  “As of 30 September 2019, just over 70,000 French have registered, only a quarter of the French population living in the United Kingdom,” the senate committee report said.

Express
THERE is “no way” the new European Commission will wait for Britain to get started, French MEP Nathalie Loiseau warned following London’s refusal to name a representative to the bloc’s powerful executive body. Mme Loiseau told Public Sénat television: “There is no way we will wait [for the UK] – wait because [Prime Minister] Boris Johnson has found yet another excuse to not do what he will eventually end up doing. “We have seen since the very beginning that Mr Johnson has a tendency to say one thing and do another.”

HS2

Times
Proposed stations for the HS2 railway line have all the “quirkiness and charm” of an airport baggage drop-off area, according to the West Midlands mayor. Andy Street said that the project risked its “architectural and regeneration magic” in the race to lower its price. He also called for a name change: HS2 reinforced the image of “men in suits with Apprentice-style wheelie suitcases whizzing down to London”. Writing in The Times, Mr Street, a Conservative, said that the “grand vision” should be recaptured.

Illegal migration

Mail
At least 25 migrants were found stowed away on a cargo ferry bound for Britain shortly after it left the Netherlands. Police stopped the vessel and quickly returned it to the Dutch port of Vlaardingen, emergency services in the Netherlands said. Officers have not confirmed on the condition of the migrants, who were discovered on a Britannia Seaways ferry.  Ambulances were seen arriving in the port after the vessel returned on Tuesday afternoon.

Breitbart
A cargo ship bound for Britain was turned back to Europe Tuesday night after a refrigerated truck onboard was found to have a human cargo of illegal migrants. The 25 unofficial passengers were removed from the ship and placed on busses to meet dozens of ambulances and immigration police after a Britannia Seaways vessel was turned back to the Netherlands. The truck — a refrigerated lorry trailer — was apparently of the same kind that 39 migrants were found dead in last month. Indeed, Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reports the migrants recovered from the back of a truck Tuesday night had been saved from death, implying they may too have been locked inside a stifling air-tight container for the journey to the UK.

Maternity

Times
Babies and mothers died or were left disabled after catastrophic failings in what is believed to be the NHS’s worst maternity scandal. An independent review has found there was a “toxic” culture at the maternity unit at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust dating back more than 40 years. This led to at least 45 avoidable deaths, including 42 babies and three mothers, 51 cases of brain damage or cerebral palsy in infants and 47 further incidents of substandard care, a leaked interim report of the findings said. Investigators expect to examine hundreds more potential cases.

Mail
More than 90 babies died or suffered severe harm due to disastrous failings at a hospital trust. A damning report has identified 620 cases of shocking care, with at least 42 babies and three mothers dying between 1979 and 2017. Another 51 infants were left with brain damage or disability after being deprived of oxygen at birth. In some cases staff failed to realise or act upon warning signs. One mother who had just lost her child was even told to ‘keep the noise down’ or she’d have to leave the hospital.

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