Craig Williams is running in Montgomeryshire & Glyndwr but no longer for the Conservatives.
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When the serious melds with the absurd, it’s easy to react in the wrong way.
Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer are entering the last week of campaigning.
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Rishi Sunak hasn’t visited a hospital yet, which is a very unusual move for a prime minister.
G F.
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The Conservatives campaigned against changing the voting system in 2011, but it could have saved them from a potential wipeout at this election.
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Why we shouldn’t let the actions of a few taint the reputations of an entire political class.
Alamy/Andrew Matthews
Britain’s centre left has been divided since the end of the first world war – now it is the centre right that has been split.
Alamy/Mark Hawkins
Boundary changes are making this election difficult to map, so we turned to the census.
Self-employed workers may be left confused about their pension entitlement under the Conservative plans.
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National insurance payments are linked to state pension entitlement in the UK – but the Conservatives want to abolish them for the self-employed.
Both parties agree some reform of planning regulations will be needed to keep house prices from spiralling further.
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The UK needs 300,000 new homes every year to fix the housing crisis.
The Conservatives’ manifesto relies on efficiency savings, welfare cuts and a crackdown on tax evasion.
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Tax evasion crackdowns, efficiency savings and welfare cuts are easy political sells – but getting these measures to deliver large amounts of revenue is much more difficult.
The Conservatives want to keep drilling for new oil and gas in the North Sea.
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Proposals are either poor (and eventually expensive) solutions, or suggest processes that are already in place.
Rishi Sunak at the ITV debate in June 2024.
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Political calculations with Treasury figures can be wide of the mark.
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Sunak and Starmer clashed over the cost of living, immigration and the NHS. The Conversation’s expert analysis puts their claims into context.
Are political pledges not to increase income tax, national insurance or VAT believable?
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Both the Conservatives and Labour have promised not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT should they win the election – but most voters don’t believe them.
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The Tories have 346 seats and could lose more than half of those. Labour is aiming for huge gains, the SNP is fighting for relevance – and the Lib Dems are hoping to become the third party again.
The triple lock plus would guarantee that the UK state pension remains below the threshold for income tax.
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Many older people fear being pulled into income tax as the state pension climbs closer to the tax-free allowance.
Candidates for the Greater Manchester combined authority mayoral elections in May 2024.
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The lessons from the mayoralties writ-large give a good indicator of how the UK’s political sands have shifted in recent years.
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The large number of MPs deciding not to stand in the forthcoming election adds yet more electoral pressure on the PM.
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The prime minister is being optimistic at best with his reading – but these results to suggest Labour’s win might not be as decisive as polls currently suggest.
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In a dismal night for the government, one result towers above the others.
Stop the…votes.
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Local election results are strong predictors of general elections held in the same or following year.