“Theresa May today condemned the brutal attacks at London Bridge and insisted ‘enough is enough’. The Prime Minister said the three attacks in the past three months were not directly connected but were linked by the ‘the single evil ideology of Islamist extremism’. Speaking from the steps of No 10, Mrs May said Britain faces a ‘new trend in the threat we face’ warned ‘things have to change’. The Premier said there was ‘far too much tolerance’ of extreme views and vowed to stand up for ‘pluralistic British values’ that were ‘superior’ to the fanatics’ ideology. She vowed: ‘We will take on and defeat our enemies.'” – Daily Mail
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Comment:
>Today: ToryDiary: We say “enough is enough”, but know more is coming. What are the strategic choices?
>Yesterday: Video: WATCH: May – “There is far too much tolerance of extremism in our country…Enough is enough.”
“An overhaul of the government’s key counter-radicalism programme was put back until after the election amid rows over cash. Amber Rudd, the home secretary, faced resistance from the Ministry of Defence and some in the security and intelligence services over moves to divert more resources to Prevent. The MoD was said to have complained that other elements of the counterterrorism strategy would miss out. Senior officials said that Ms Rudd had prevailed but that extra cash would come with greater pressure on people to co-operate with the programme, which is designed to keep mainly young people safe from the terrorist groomers.” – The Times (£)
May:
Comment:
Editorial:
>Yesterday:
“We have seen all too often that there are some people in our country who reject our shared values. Who are born here, raised here, have the same opportunities and advantages enjoyed by the rest of us, yet choose to turn on their fellow citizens in the most brutal way imaginable. We talk about the actions of a poisonous few, but the reality is that the problem is significant in size. It is only human to wish to pull together at times of tragedy, to believe that our hope can stand against hate, but if we only talk about standing together in our communities we risk ignoring the divisions that corrode our society. After any terrorist attack a lot of well-meaning people line up to say it has nothing to do with Islam. That the perpetrators are not true Muslims. They are, of course, right. But speaking as a Muslim myself, we need to ask ourselves searching questions.” – The Times (£)
Editorial:
“Jeremy Corbyn tonight accused Theresa May of ignoring warnings about the terror risks of cutting police officers. Labour’s leader said Mrs May accused the Police Federation of ‘crying wolf’ about the cuts as he responded to the third terror attack in three months to hit Britain. He said the Government could not protect the public ‘on the cheap’ in a hard-hitting address. Mr Corbyn also accused her of suppressing a report believed to make embarrassing allegations about major British arms customer Saudi Arabia funding extremists. And he sought to end the earlier controversy over his support for police use of ‘shoot-to-kill’ tactics against armed attackers, by stating that he backed the ‘full authority for the police to use whatever force is necessary to protect and save life as they did last night, as they did in Westminster in March’.” – Daily Mail
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Comment:
>Today: Nicky Morgan’s column: This is Labour’s Momentum Election – nasty, intimidating, abusive and troll-ridden
“The defence secretary was misinterpreted when he pledged that the Conservatives would not raise taxes for the highest earners under any circumstances, senior Tories claimed last night. In an attempt to limit the damage caused by Sir Michael Fallon’s remarks the party released a transcript of the interview in which he said that the only way higher income earners’ taxes would go up would be if they stayed at home on Thursday. Senior sources suggested that Sir Michael had been referring to Labour plans to increase taxes on the highest earners and did not represent a pledge not to raise taxes under any circumstances.” – The Times (£)
“Theresa May is to visit Scotland again on Monday as the General Election campaign enters its final few days. With Conservatives enjoying increased support north of the border, the Prime Minister will make another bid to woo Scottish voters. Her visit comes as election campaigning gets under way again after the terror attacks in London on Saturday night. A Question Time special featuring Nicola Sturgeon and Tim Farron, that was scheduled to take place on Sunday evening, was postponed in the wake of the attack. The SNP leader and Liberal Democrat leader will now face questions from the public in Edinburgh on Monday.” – The Scotsman
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“The Tories are pulling away from Labour as the election finish-line approaches, according to an exclusive poll that has the Conservative lead at nine points. A Labour surge throughout May appears to have been reversed in the last week, according to The Telegraph’s election tracker. Some 45 per cent of voters now back the Tories, according to ORB International – up one point. Labour is on 36 per cent – down two points. That means that the Conservative hold a nine-point lead going into the final week of campaigning, up from six points a week earlier.” – Daily Telegraph
More:
>Today: MPs Etc.: Battleground Seats 11) East of England
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: Polls apart?
“More than ten million households will be whacked by Labour’s ‘garden tax’ bombshell, it was claimed last night. Under plans buried in its manifesto, the party wants to replace council tax and business rates with a charge based on land value rather than house prices. The Tories have claimed the cost of the 3 per cent annual levy for an average home would be £3,837 – more than three times the £1,185 council tax bill they currently pay. Homes with larger gardens are likely to face the steepest increases. According to official figures, there are 10.3 million homes in England and Wales with gardens above the national average size of 200 square metres.” – Daily Mail
Comment:
>Today: