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Tory activists and candidates in nearby areas have been diverted to campaign for James Cleverly, the home secretary, Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, and Steve Barclay, the environment secretary.
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Cleverly held his Braintree constituency by 24,673 votes in 2019, but some senior Tories believe the Essex seat, which elected Labour MPs in 1997 and 2001, could be vulnerable.
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Barclay held his North East Cambridgeshire seat by 29,993 votes in 2019 and Dowden held Hertsmere in Hertfordshire by 21,313. Neither constituency has ever returned a Labour MP before.
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All three seats are in the southern Tory heartlands, which Labour is heavily targeting at this election. They have been altered by the boundary review, but still have Conservative majorities of more than 20,000, according to 2019 modelled results for new boundaries.
“,”elementId”:”b8549ede-548c-4f34-8dfb-c6d15e5fbe7d”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement”,”prefix”:”Related: “,”text”:”Tories in election retreat as resources diverted to defend ministers’ seats”,”elementId”:”1eb8c784-260b-4c8a-a85c-761295296141″,”role”:”thumbnail”,”url”:”https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jun/24/tories-in-election-retreat-as-resources-diverted-to-defend-ministers-seats”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1719291023000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”00.50 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1719291995000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”01.06 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1719291996000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”01.06 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”01.06″,”title”:”Conservatives suffer electoral setback as resources diverted to protect minister’s seats”,”contributors”:[{“name”:”Eleni Courea”}],”primaryDateLine”:”Tuesday, June 25, 2024 01:06 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First Published Tuesday, June 25, 2024 00:50 EDT”},{“id”:”667a4a648f081b914d712137″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The Guardian’s Hazel Sheffield and Larry Elliott report: The crisis of poverty that has taken root in the UK over the past 14 years has been laid bare in two reports that reveal the devastating effects low wages and price increases on the lives of 900,000 children.
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With both main parties proposing tough welfare spending plans, reports have highlighted the link between rising child poverty and slow wage growth under five Conservative governments since 2010 – the slowest growth since the second world war.
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Research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) found that over the past 14 years, an additional 1,350 children a week in households with at least one working parent had been dragged into poverty.
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Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the TUC, said: “No child in Britain should be growing up below the breadline. But under the Conservatives we have seen a huge rise in working households being pushed into poverty. We urgently need an economic reset and a government that will make work pay.”
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Wage stagnation was part of a “toxic combination” of insecure work and cuts to social security that had had a devastating impact on household budgets, the TUC found, increasing the number of children in poverty with at least one parent in work by 900,000 between 2010 and 2023.
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The Institute for Fiscal Studies thinktank said on Monday that 30% of children now live in households below the official poverty line, up from 27% in 2010. Over the course of the next parliament, an additional 670,000 children will be affected by the two-child limit, which restricts eligibility to benefits, it said.
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Senior Conservatives and campaigners are calling for a ban on political bets by MPs, as the Gambling Commission was urged to look into another £500 wager connected with the growing election gambling scandal, Rob Davies, Jessica Elgot and Matthew Weaver report.
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The former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said parties should examine the rules when parliament returns amid growing outrage over Tory candidates and aides allegedly staking money on politics. The former defence minister Tobias Ellwood also said there should be new restrictions.
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The Conservatives have launched their own inquiry into whether politicians or officials gambled on the timing of the election. Rishi Sunak was forced to deny having placed any bets himself and told reporters he was not aware of any further candidates under scrutiny.
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“We’ve been conducting our own internal inquiries and of course will act on any relevant findings or information from that and pass it on to the Gambling Commission,” he said.
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The Gambling Commission has been urged to investigate a flurry of unusual activity around the time Sunak called the election, an industry source told the Guardian.
“,”elementId”:”25793d35-32a5-481f-b2ba-c3c76bbbb22a”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement”,”prefix”:”Related: “,”text”:”Senior Tories call for ban on political bets by MPs after election scandal”,”elementId”:”8cb5deab-bf70-4ae6-856e-b100cc568eb2″,”role”:”thumbnail”,”url”:”https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jun/24/senior-tories-call-for-ban-on-political-bets-by-mps-election-date”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1719291023000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”00.50 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1719291285000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”00.54 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1719291285000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”00.54 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”00.54″,”title”:”Conservative leader calls for ban on MPs gambling after election scandal”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tuesday, June 25, 2024 01:06 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First Published Tuesday, June 25, 2024 00:50 EDT”},{“id”:”667a0b3e8f082b1178349546″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the UK General Election with me, Helen Sullivan.
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Two reports have revealed the devastating effects of low wages and price increases under Conservative rule on the lives of 900,000 children, the Guardian’s Hazel Sheffield and Larry Elliott report.
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Reports have highlighted the link between rising child poverty and slow wage growth under five Conservative governments since 2010 – the slowest growth since the second world war. Both main parties are proposing tough welfare spending plans.
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Research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) found that over the past 14 years, an additional 1,350 children a week in households with at least one working parent had been dragged into poverty.
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Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the TUC, said: “No child in Britain should be growing up below the breadline. But under the Conservatives we have seen a huge rise in working households being pushed into poverty.”
\n More on this shortly. Meanwhile here is what is coming up this morning:
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9am: Home secretary James Cleverly and shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper go head-to-head on immigration in an LBC debate hosted by Nick Ferrari.
\n 9.30am: Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves and Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie will visit a major business in West Dunbartonshire. They will be accompanied by local candidate Douglas McAllister. The Scottish Conservatives are campaigning in Ayrshire.
\n 9.45am: Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex-Cole Hamilton will be in Fife, where he will discuss his party’s plans to get everyone faster access to GPs and create world-class mental health services.
\n 11.30 Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes will be on the campaign trail in East Lothian. She will join the SNP candidate for Lothian East, Lyn Jardine.
\n 11.35am: Rishi Sunak, Foreign Secretary David Cameron and home secretary James Cleverly welcome the Emperor and Empress of Japan, who are on a state visit.
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Important Events
Conservative Party suffers electoral setback as resources are diverted to defend ministerial seats
Eleni Kourea
As the Conservatives retreat to safer ground, they are reallocating resources to defend at least three seats held by ministers with a majority of more than 20,000.
Conservative activists and candidates in the neighbouring area have been busy campaigning for Home Secretary James Cleverley, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden and Environment Secretary Steve Barclay.
Mr Cleverley retained Braintree by 24,673 votes in 2019, but some senior Conservative leaders believe his Essex constituency, which elected Labour MPs in 1997 and 2001, could be in danger.
Mr Barclay retained his North East Cambridgeshire seat by 29,993 votes in 2019, while Mr Dowden retained his Hertsmere seat in Hertfordshire by 21,313 votes – neither constituency has ever elected a Labour MP.
All three of these constituencies are in the southern Conservative heartland and Labour is focusing on them in this election. Although they were changed in the boundary review, modelled results for the new 2019 boundaries still show the Conservatives have a majority of over 20,000 seats.
Low wages under Conservative governments have pushed 900,000 British children into poverty
Guardian Hazel Sheffield and Larry Elliott Report: Two reports have laid bare the poverty crisis that has taken root in the UK over the past 14 years, revealing that low wages and rising prices are having a devastating effect on the lives of 900,000 children.
With both major parties proposing tough welfare spending plans, the report highlights the link between rising child poverty under five Conservative governments since 2010 and slowing wage growth – the slowest since the Second World War.
A Trades Union Congress (TUC) study found that over the past 14 years, 1,350 children per week have fallen into poverty in families where at least one parent is working.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “No child in the UK should grow up below the poverty line, but under the Conservative government we have seen a sharp rise in working families being pushed into poverty. We need a government that will quickly fix our economy and reward work.”
The TUC concluded that stagnant wages were part of a “toxic combination” of precarious work and social security cuts, which had a devastating impact on household finances, leading to an increase of 900,000 children living in poverty with at least one working parent between 2010 and 2023.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank said on Monday that 30 percent of children now live in families below the official poverty line, up from 27 percent in 2010. Over the next parliament, an additional 670,000 children will be affected by the “two-child limit” that limits benefit eligibility, the institute said.
Senior Conservative Party leader calls for MPs to be banned from gambling on politics after election scandal
Senior Conservative party figures and campaigners are calling for a ban on political gambling by MPs, following calls for the Gambling Commission to investigate a £500 bet linked to the widening election betting scandal. Rob Davis, Jessica Elgot and Matthew Weaver report.
Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said parties should review the rules when Parliament returns amid growing anger over allegations that Conservative candidates and their aides had gambled with money, and former defence secretary Tobias Ellwood also said new restrictions were needed.
The Conservative party has launched its own investigation into whether politicians and officials placed bets on the timing of the election, with Rishi Sunak being forced to deny that he had done so and telling reporters he was not aware of any other candidates being investigated.
“We are conducting our own internal investigation and will of course act on any relevant findings or information that arise from it and communicate this to the Gambling Commission,” he said.
The Gambling Commission has been asked to investigate a series of unusual activities around the time Chancellor Sunak called the election, industry sources told the Guardian.
Study finds ‘significant increase in working families falling into poverty’ under Conservative government
Welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the UK general election. Helen Sullivan.
Two reports by the Guardian revealed that low wages and rising prices under the Conservative government are having a devastating impact on the lives of 900,000 children. Hazel Sheffield and Larry Elliott report.
The report highlights the link between rising child poverty under five Conservative governments since 2010 and slowing wage growth – the slowest since the Second World War – and both major parties have proposed tough welfare spending plans.
A Trades Union Congress (TUC) study found that over the past 14 years, 1,350 children per week have fallen into poverty in families where at least one parent is working.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “No child should grow up below the poverty line in Britain, yet under the Conservative government we have seen a huge increase in working families falling into poverty.”
More on that in a moment. In the meantime, here’s what’s on the agenda for this morning:
9am: Minister of the Interior James Cleverley Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper They will go head-to-head on immigration in an LBC debate moderated by Nick Ferrari.
9.30am: Scottish Labour Leader Anas SarwarShadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party Jackie Bailey You will visit key businesses in West Dunbartonshire and will be accompanied by a local candidate. Douglas McAllisterThe Scottish Conservatives are campaigning in Ayrshire.
9.45am: Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole Hamilton He will visit Fife to discuss the party’s plans to give everyone faster access to a GP and build a world-class mental health service.
11.30 Deputy First Minister of Scotland Kate Forbes She will be campaigning in East Lothian. She will join the SNP candidate for Lothian East. Lynn Jardine.
11:35 AM: Rishi SunakForeign Secretary David Cameron Minister of the Interior James Cleverley We welcome Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress, who are visiting as state guests.
