“UKIP edged just in front of Labour in the last poll before the European election today as the three main parties prepared for the voters to smash the established political order. A YouGov poll for The Times put Ukip on 27 per cent, one point ahead of Labour. The Conservatives look likely to come third with 22 per cent of the vote — the first time they would have failed to top a European election since 1994” – The Times (£)
>Today:
Mark Wallace: Six reasons to vote Conservative today
Harry Phibbs: It’s all about turnout
“So whom do I vote for today? For the first time since 1989, when I voted for the first time, I may not vote Conservative. I contacted the six Tory MEP candidates in my region (South West England and Gibraltar) to ask their views on EU membership…none are Bennite on the issue. I’m afraid I am. Like the late Tony Benn I believe voters should be able to change the laws of the land at general elections”- Tim Montgomerie, The Times (£)
>Today: Syed Kamal MEP: More Conservative MEPs are the route to reform or an in/out referendum
“Whether or not Ukip wins, this month’s European election campaign has belonged to one politician alone: Nigel Farage. Single-handedly he has brought these otherwise moribund elections to life. Single-handedly he has restored passion, genuine debate and meaning to politics. Single-handedly he has reinvented British democracy. This is a superlative achievement, and Mr Farage deserves to be celebrated. Instead strenuous attempts have been made to turn him into a figure of odium and contempt” – Peter Oborne, Spectator
>Today: Sunder Katwala: The Ukippers you can talk to – and those that you can’t
“An internal Liberal Democrat document reveals that the party is braced for a complete wipeout in the European parliamentary elections…senior party figures have been briefed to say that a failure to win any seats in the European parliament should be ‘expected’ at this stage in the electoral cycle for a governing party.The document, the contents of which have been leaked to the Guardian, advises Lib Dem spokespeople about what to say if the party wins between no seats and two seats in Strasbourg” – Guardian
“Home Secretary Theresa May left rank and file officers in shock today – after launching a furious assault on the police. The Tory minister, speaking at the Police Federation’s annual conference in Bournemouth, accused officers of treating the public with ‘contempt’ over the way they treated victims of abuse and domestic violence. She also announced that she was scrapping all Police Federation funding because the organisation sits on ‘vast reserves’ of cash worth tens of millions of pounds” – Daily Mail
>Yesterday: Mark Wallace: Theresa May stops the Police Federation’s taxpayer-funded subsidy
“The Bank of England is moving closer to a rate rise after some members of the interest-rate setting Monetary Policy Committee indicated they stand ready to vote for an earlier-than-expected increase. The Bank, which has kept interest rates at the historically low rate of 0.5 per cent since 2009, would be the first leading central bank to increase rates since the European Central Bank tightened its monetary policy in the summer of 2011” – Financial Times
“Scots are ready to accept tax hikes after a Yes vote to help bring about a ‘radical redistribution’ of wealth and create a fairer Scandinavian-style state, according to the head of the pro-independence campaign. Former Labour MP Dennis Canavan said voters want to see a ‘fairer, sharing society’ and warned that the ‘pooling and sharing’ of resources with Westminster has failed Scotland” – Scotsman
“A senior Russian ambassador is to meet an official from the Foreign Office on Thursday after the Prince of Wales caused a diplomatic row by comparing Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler. The Prince made his remark, in which he likened Russia’s annexation of Crimea to the actions of Nazi Germany, during a visit to a museum of immigration in Halifax, Canada” – Daily Telegraph