“The YouGov survey for The Sunday Times — the first by the pollster since the Conservative manifesto was published on Thursday — puts the Tories down to 44%, with Labour up to 35%. It is the smallest advantage for May this year and suggests that the publication of the general election manifesto has slashed her lead in half since last weekend. Labour’s standing is at its highest since the last general election, suggesting that Jeremy Corbyn’s unashamed socialist pitch is connecting with a growing number of voters.” – Sunday Times (£)
“A Survation poll for The Mail on Sunday showed the Conservative lead over Labour has fallen to 12 per cent, a five point drop in a week….According to the poll, the Conservatives are now on 46 per cent, Labour on 34 and the Lib Dems on eight. Just seven days ago, the average Tory poll lead was 17. The Survation poll indicates 47 per cent oppose Mrs May’s social care funding plans, with 28 per cent in favour. Significantly, 28 per cent say the proposals have made them less likely to vote Tory, with eight per cent more likely to do so.” – Mail on Sunday
“Mrs May said: “There is much debate about what the UK’s obligations might be or indeed what our rights might be in terms of money being paid in in the past. We make it clear that we would look at those both rights and obligations.” Pushed on what areas Britain may be “owed a proportion” of when it leaves, Mrs May added: “There’s the investment bank, there’s the investment fund, there are various areas. This will be, as you know, an important part of the negotiations.” – Sunday Telegraph
“What is baffling is why this proposal was in the manifesto at all. The means-testing of winter fuel payments was eye-catching enough. It marked a break from a policy that David Cameron had been bounced into, and it allows £2bn a year to be freed to pay for better social care. There was no need for the manifesto to spell out detailed changes that would produce winners and losers. You do not need a degree in psychology to know the fury of potential losers easily outweighs the gratitude of potential winners. Nor do you need to be a genius to see that the plan hits the middle group of pensioners – poor pensioners aren’t affected and nor are the rich, if they have more than £23,250 in savings.” – The Independent
> Today:
> Yesterday:
‘’For pensioners they offer a triple whammy of misery, ending the triple lock which protects pensioner incomes, means-testing the winter fuel allowance and slapping a ‘dementia tax’ on those who need social care by making them pay for it with their homes. Some claim that cutting support for the elderly is necessary to give more help to the young. But young people are being offered no hope by the Tories either – loaded up with tuition fee debts and next to no chance of a home of their own.” – Mail on Sunday
“In this election, Corbyn has defied his critics — myself included — with an energetic roll-out of policy. But if he is to stay as leader afterwards, he needs to make a significant advance by winning seats from the Conservatives rather than losing more. Such a result would give May real reason to pause before taking Britain on her brittle Brexit-at-any-cost collision course and allow Labour to come together as a united party of opposition giving voice to the national interest. If, however, the Tories do even better than they did two years ago and increase their majority, Corbyn should have the good grace to clear his desk the next day.” – Sunday Times (£)
“In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, he threw Mrs May’s famous 2002 declaration that the Conservatives had become ‘the Nasty Party’ back in her face. ‘She’s making the Tories nastier than ever. David Cameron may have tried to soften them with a Blairite conservatism, but that is gone.’ Mr Farron was speaking in Stockport during a break in canvassing on Friday. His campaign has struggled to take off after he was quizzed over his devout Christian faith and was forced to say he did not disapprove of gay sex.” – Mail on Sunday
“Speaking in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon said: “My position hasn’t changed and the Scottish Parliament has backed that position. “But there is a priority now in this election and an opportunity in this election to strengthen Scotland’s hand in the Brexit negotiations, because Theresa May is not just pursuing Brexit, she’s pursuing an extreme form of Brexit that will put thousands of Scottish jobs on the line.” – Scotland on Sunday
“I could not move. I’d be dead if I had just got up and bolted. The rounds were now coming in single shots from two enemy positions, trying to pick me off. They were kicking up the dirt around me. I hoped death would be painless but I suspected it wouldn’t be. I’ve never been so scared, before or since. People talk about what comes into your mind when you are about to die. Some mention poignant things like their mother, or their children, some think of regrets. Well, I may be a bit too simple, but I just wondered how much it was going to hurt.” – Mail on Sunday
“He added: “I like Jeremy Corbyn. He believes in what he says. I would much rather have a Labour Party government than a Conservative one led by Theresa May.”…Izzard, who campaigned for Remain in the EU referendum, has donated thousands of pounds to the Labour Party and has floated the idea of running as London mayor. He has previously announced his intention to enter politics but failed to be elected to Labour’s National Executive Committee last year.” – The Independent