Newslinks for Thursday 12th December 2019

Election Day dawns: Don’t risk letting Corbyn in by voting Brexit Party or Lib Dem, Johnson warns

‘Boris Johnson has warned that every vote for the Brexit Party today will increase the likelihood of Labour gaining power after a new analysis revealed that Nigel Farage could stop the Tories taking 16 seats. The prime minister issued a direct appeal to potential Brexit Party voters, saying that they were risking the “terrifying prospect of Jeremy Corbyn moving into Downing Street”. The move came as an analysis by YouGov identified 16 Labour marginals where the Tories could fail to make a breakthrough because Mr Farage’s party was splitting the Leave vote… The prime minister also warned about the risk of voting for the Liberal Democrats amid concerns that they too could hinder the Tories. There were suggestions that the party was two points from taking Esher & Walton from Dominic Raab.’ – The Times

• The Conservative leader’s 500-mile last-day tour to say “End the chaos” – The Times
• “Finish what we started” is his message to Sun readers – The Sun
• He took dog Dilyn to vote with him this morning – Daily Mail
• Ten key targets to watch out for – The Sun
• Big Beasts who could be at risk – John Curtice, Daily Telegraph
• The Conservative campaign culminated in a high-energy rally in East London – Quentin Letts, The Times
• He was self-effacing – Henry Deedes, Daily Mail
• Aide gets sweary as Johnson avoids Piers Morgan – The Guardian
• The NHS is the most Googled issue – The Times
• Activist feared acid attack when perfume was sprayed in her face in Barnet – The Sun

>Today: Interview. Boris Johnson: This election is “going down to the wire. It is absolutely vital that every Conservative gets out and votes.”

>Yesterday: Lord Ashcroft on Comment: The limits of tactical voting – why all Brexiteers should vote Conservative tomorrow

Editorials

• Vote Conservative – The Times Leader
• It’s a choice between a bright future with Johnson, or lights out with Labour – The Sun Says
• Vote Tory to move the country forward – Daily Telegraph Leader
• Stop Corbyn, save Britain – Daily Express Leader
• Back Boris – your vote has never been more vital – Daily Mail

>Today: ToryDiary: Boris, Actually

Opinion

• Our last chance to save Brexit – and democracy itself – Allister Heath, Daily Telegraph
• Why the young should vote Tory – Olivia Utley, The Sun
• If Boris wins a majority, prepare for an economic boom – Howard Shore, Daily Telegraph
• High points and low points – Matt Chorley, The Times
• I won’t vote Conservative – Peter Oborne, The Guardian
• Brexit is not achievable – Martin Kettle, The Guardian
• Time to confront the aid target – Ian Birrell, The Times

Final polls show the lead continuing to narrow

‘The latest opinion polling average for the general election shows the Labour Party struggling to catch up to the Conservative Party, though a final poll for the Telegraph on Wednesday night showed the election was “on a knife edge”. Mr Johnson and Mr Corbyn have made their final push for Downing Street before polling stations open today, with opinion polls before today showing the Conservative Party still in front with an average lead of 9-points. Despite both leaders facing criticism, Mr Johnson’s “get Brexit done” message has appeared to be cutting through the noise, while Mr Corbyn has struggled to break over 35 points in the polls… The Telegraph’s final poll of the campaign shows that the Conservatives’ lead has shrunk to just five per cent. With the result now “too close to call”, the exclusive Savanta ComRes survey puts the Conservatives on 41 per cent ahead of Labour on 36 per cent, the smallest Tory lead since mid-October.’ – Daily Telegraph

• 50 seats where Brexiteers should vote tactically for the Conservatives – Daily Mail
• Uncertainty is the only certainty – Andrew Hawkins, Daily Telegraph
• Late-stage wobbles – FT
• The polls may be flattering the Conservatives – Politico
• ComRes forecast a six-seat majority – The Sun
• The crucial seats to watch – The Times
• ‘Get Brexit Done’ is the only message that has cut through – Deborah Mattinson, The Times
• Polling cards sent to people who cannot vote – The Times
• Timetable of the night – Daily Telegraph

>Today: Harry Phibbs: This is my fourth general election at ConHome. So far only one has seen a clear victory. I hope today will be the second.

Labour is drafting a Queen’s Speech to secure SNP support

‘Labour is preparing to adopt key policies proposed by the Scottish National Party and the Liberal Democrats to woo them into supporting a minority government led by Jeremy Corbyn. Mr Corbyn used a series of rallies in key marginal seats yesterday to urge voters to “shock the establishment” in a “truly historic” choice about the future direction of the country. The call came as 15 former Labour MPs appealed to voters on the eve of the election not to support the party, warning that Mr Corbyn was “not fit to be prime minister”. Lord Blunkett, the former Labour home secretary, also refused to endorse Mr Corbyn. A group called Mainstream, set up by Ian Austin, the former Labour MP, took out full-page advertisements in local newspapers in Labour’s heartlands, claiming that Mr Corbyn was an extremist and an antisemite who sides with Russia and the IRA… A senior Labour source said that the party had looked closely at the SNP manifesto and believed that there was ground to produce a Queen’s speech that could be acceptable to Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister.’ – The Times

• Senior opposition figure boasts of Corbyn in Downing Street by Christmas – The Sun
• Of course Jews are thinking of leaving the UK – millions plan to vote for an antisemitic party – Stephen Pollard, Daily Telegraph
• Labour candidate – aide to the Labour leader – liked post saying ‘Jewish leaders are worse than Nazis’ – Daily Mail
• Never, ever Corbyn – Maureen Lipman, Daily Mail
• Labour isn’t the party of the poor, it’s bribing the middle classes – Robert Colvile, Daily Telegraph
• Labour leavers are locked out of politics – Aditya Chakrabortty, The Guardian
• Experts predict the pound will plummet if Labour gets in – The Sun
• Sturgeon seeks to squeeze the Labour vote – FT
• Business is going to have to find a way to influence the new government – Simon Nixon, The Times

>Today: LeftWatch: Read the Jewish Labour Movement’s submission on anti-semitism in their party

Over 100 victims of the IRA demand Corbyn apologise for his behaviour

‘Victims of IRA bombings demanded yesterday that Jeremy Corbyn apologise for his alleged historical sympathies for terrorists. A letter signed by more than 100 victims seeking a meeting with the Labour leader and John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, was delivered as the families of four soldiers killed in an IRA attack on Hyde Park began a court case against the alleged bombmaker. Mark Tipper, whose brother, Trooper Simon Tipper, was killed in the 1982 Hyde Park atrocity, said that the victims wanted an apology from Mr Corbyn “because he has given us, the families, no support at all”. Mr Tipper said his family believed that the Labour leader had shown greater interest in meeting supporters of terrorist groups than in speaking with victims of terrorism.’ – The Times

• He is a threat to NATO and our must crucial alliances – Nile Gardiner, Daily Telegraph
• Putting these Marxists into power would be madness – Stephen Glover, Daily Mail
• We want equality – John McDonnell, The Guardian
• ‘You can’t trust him to park a car’, says ex-Labour voter after Corbyn causes £2,000 of damage – The Sun
• US Democrats are watching to see if a far left leader can succeed – Gerard Baker, The Times
• London Bridge Police bullet may have ricocheted through a bus – The Times
• Reformed prisoner who fought terrorist says he was prepared to die – Daily Mail

>Yesterday: ToryDiary: Unfit for office. But worse even than Corbyn are Labour’s moderates – who are willing to put his anti-Jewish racism into power.

Swinson hints the Lib Dems would be willing to work with Labour in a hung Parliament

‘The Liberal Democrats could work with Labour in a hung parliament if Jeremy Corbyn stands down as leader, Jo Swinson suggested last night. Ms Swinson repeated her insistence that ‘Liberal Democrat votes will never put Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn in Number 10’. But speaking to ITV’s Robert Peston on the eve of the general election, she dropped a strong hint that she would be prepared to back a different Labour leader. ‘If we’re in a scenario where there is no overall majority, where for the second time Jeremy Corbyn has failed to win a majority, it is entirely feasible that he may no longer be leader of the Labour party,’ she said.’ – Daily Mail

• I won’t quit regardless of the result, she adds – The Times
• From would-be Prime Minister to a defensive strategy targeting Remain seats – FT
• Coogan calls Leave and Tory voters “ignorant” – The Sun
• Remainers have become less rational – Robert Tombs, Daily Telegraph

The weather is the unknown factor, as voters face rain and ice

‘Voters are set to shiver on their way to the polls today with temperatures plunging to -4C and snow to hit parts of Britain. The Met Office issued four weather warnings as an icy snap grips the UK, with a risk of injuries from falls on frozen surfaces and travel disruption. And voters casting their ballot are braced for a soaking as a blanket of rain covers the UK. There are fears the bad weather could lead to a low turnout in some constituencies in the UK’s first December election in nearly 100 years. Forecasters have said that conditions for Britain’s first December election in almost a century will be wet and chilly. Steven Keates from the Met Office told Sun Online: “It is going to be a bit of a miserable sort of day. Most people will see some rain, it is going to be quite breezy as well. If you are going out to vote take a brolly.”‘ – The Sun

• But it’s a once in a lifetime chance to bin the Labour Party – Sherelle Jacobs, Daily Telegraph
• The BBC denies Kuenssberg broke the law by speculating about postal vote patterns – Daily Telegraph
• The Left barraged me with abuse for raising money to help the homeless – Iain Dale, Daily Mail

Barnier recorded saying it won’t be possible to get a trade deal done on the current schedule

‘Boris Johnson’s timetable to ‘get Brexit done’ has been described as unrealistic by Michel Barnier. In a leaked recording, the European Union’s chief negotiator says that a global trade negotiation cannot be completed in the time frame promised by the Prime Minister. Mr Johnson has consistently vowed to take the UK out of the EU by January 31 and then finalise a trade deal with Brussels within 11 months. His commitment to ‘get Brexit done’ has become his main campaign slogan during the election battle. Mr Barnier has previously said the trade talks after the UK leaves the EU might be just as tough as the negotiations that have taken up the last three years.’ – Daily Mail

• They won’t say it out loud, but European leaders are praying for a Tory victory – Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Daily Telegraph

Aung San Suu Kyi continues to deny that Burma committed genocide against the Rohingya

‘Aung San Suu Kyi, once revered the world over for her defence of human rights, admitted yesterday that members of her country’s militia may have used “disproportionate force” against civilians and broken international law, but denied that their acts amounted to genocide. The Burmese leader, a Nobel peace prizewinner, giving an unprecedented personal defence of her government at the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague, said: “It cannot be ruled out that disproportionate force was used by members of the defence services in some cases in disregard of international humanitarian law, or that they did not distinguish clearly enough between fighters and civilians.” She was speaking on the second day of a three-day hearing in a case brought to the ICJ by the government of Gambia on behalf of dozens of other Muslim countries. Burma is facing allegations of genocide, with its military accused of committing atrocities against the Muslim Rohingya minority.’ – The Times

• Hong Kong’s protesters need clear leadership – Jamil Anderlini, FT

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