Sebastian Payne

Campaign kick-off: 20 days to go

From our UK edition

The third week of the election campaign looks set to end with a day of reflection. Last night’s opposition leaders’ debate provided plenty of things to ponder, not least how messy any post-election coalition negotiations will be. To help guide you through the melée of stories and spin, here is a summary of today’s main election stories. 1. Nicola + Ed According to the snap poll, Ed Miliband ‘won’ last night’s TV debate, followed closely by Nicola Sturgeon and then Nigel Farage. That says all you need to know about where the action was. As James Forsyth summarised last night, Miliband’s gamble paid off.

Listen: The Spectator’s verdict on the opposition leaders’ TV debate

From our UK edition

Ed Miliband managed to surpass expectations in tonight's opposition leaders' debate. In this View from 22 podcast special, Fraser Nelson, James Forsyth, Isabel Hardman and I discuss the final televised debate with the party leaders — minus David Cameron and Nick Clegg. Did Nigel Farage target  his core base once again? How successfully did Nicola Sturgeon deal with Ed Miliband's attacks? And did Natalie Bennett and Leanne Wood manage to have their voices heard?

Campaign kick-off: 21 days to go

From our UK edition

Now that all the manifestos are in the public domain, we are back onto more conventional campaign territory. The big event of today is at 8pm this evening, when the ‘opposition leaders’ will debate each other on the BBC in the final televised debate before polling day. To help guide you through the melée of stories and spin, here is a summary of today’s main election stories. 1. Here come the insurgents Tonight’s TV debate represents an opportunity for the smaller political parties to give Ed Miliband a good kicking. Nicola Sturgeon, Nigel Farage, Natalie Bennett and Leanne Wood will all relish the chance to turn on Miliband — the only mainstream party leader taking part.

Podcast: the rise of left wing populism and Julie Burchill vs. Katie Hopkins

From our UK edition

What do Ed Miliband, Hillary Clinton and Nicola Sturgeon have in common? On this week’s View from 22 podcast, Jamie Kirchick, Fraser Nelson and Alex Massie discuss the rise of left-wing populism in Britain, Scotland and America. How has Ed Miliband managed to harness the anger of mob to build-up momentum in the general election campaign? It's a similar situation in Scotland, where the SNP has harnessed this angry mob to make it a one-party country. Across the Atlantic, Hillary Clinton has kicked off her 2016 presidential bid with a newfound populist side — is this at all credible? And will these stance eventually put all the three leaders into power?

Who lies behind these three new pro-Conservative blogs?

From our UK edition

Three new anonymous pro-Tory political blogs have popped up in recent weeks. All are rather curious: none carry bylines, and two are so technically similar that they could have been made in the same place. They were introduced to the world by Louise Mensch in a post for ConservativeHome. In fact, Guido Fawkes has suggested that Mensch might know who is behind them: https://twitter.com/LouiseMensch So are they real? Or astroturf — a Westminster term for something that looks like grassroots but is actually from someone connected to the campaign? I've done some digging to find out more. Publicly Inconvenient Publicly Inconvenient is a cheerfully designed site, layered with cartoons by Gary Barker.

New poll shows Tories will benefit from Lib Dem collapse in South West

From our UK edition

The Liberal Democrats are facing wipeout in their South Western heartlands. According to a new poll from ComRes/ITV News conducted in 14 Lib Dem seats, there is currently a 13-point swing to the Tories. If this was repeated on May 7, the Lib Dems would lose the following seats to their coalition partners: Bath, Cheltenham, Chippenham, Cornwall North, Devon North, Dorset Mid & Poole North, Somerton & Frome, St Austell & Newquay, St Ives, Taunton Deane, Thornbury & Yate, Torbay, Wells, Yeovil. Senior party figures who would be out include policy guru and Cabinet Office minister David Laws and the pensions minister Steve Webb. One of the reasons for the collapsing Lib Dem vote might be Nick Clegg.

Ukip attempts a professional manifesto launch in Thurrock

From our UK edition

There was one star of Ukip’s manifesto launch today: Suzanne Evans. For once Nigel Farage didn’t steal the show, it was the party’s deputy chairman — and the brains behind its ‘Believe in Britain’ manifesto — who came across as professional and reasoned. Over 100 people turned up at the Thurrock Hotel in Essex to see the release of the manifesto booklet. While it is a slick offering, and full of glossy pictures of its senior figures, it revealed nothing particularly new. The two main messages in Ukip's manifesto were already briefed out in the Telegraph and Daily Express this morning: a pledge to increase defence spending beyond the 2 per cent Nato commitment and a pledge to reform taxation to introduce a new 30p tax threshold.

Campaign kick-off: 22 days to go

From our UK edition

Three manifestos down, two more to go. Yesterday, the Conservatives launched their plan for government and promised to be ‘the party of the working people’ while the Green Party promised to end the ‘disastrous policy of austerity’ and increasing government spending by £170 billion a year. Today, Ukip and the Liberal Democrats take their turns to explain what they'd like to do. To help guide you through the melée of stories and spin, here is a summary of today’s main election stories. 1. Believe in more spending Ukip is returning to Thurrock for the second time this week to launch its 2015 manifesto.

Tories are consolidating while Labour are extending leads in key marginals

From our UK edition

Lord Ashcroft has released his latest round of polling, looking at ten competitive Tory-Labour seats. In all of the constituencies, Ashcroft has reported swings to Labour, ranging from 0.5 per cent to seven per cent. At present, five of the seats are set to remain with the Conservatives: Cleethorpes, Dover, Dudley South, Harlow and North East Somerset. Some of the Tory leads are considerable: Rob Halfon in Harlow has a ten point lead, while Jacob Rees-Mogg in North East Somerset has a 16 point lead. Use the interactive chart above to see all the latest polls for each seat. Equally, the other half of the seats Ashcroft has polled are looking beyond reach for the Conservatives.

Nigel Farage throws red meat to Ukippers in Thurrock

From our UK edition

Ukip held a campaign rally in a strip club yesterday evening. Well, that’s not entirely fair — it was an ‘entertainment centre’, as party officials were keen to point out, which had a gentlemen’s club on the top floor. The Circus Tavern hosted what was most likely the biggest in Thurrock’s history, featuring Nigel Farage and the party's candidate for Thurrock Tim Aker. The 29-year-old MEP and local councillor, is fighting a tough three-way battle with the incumbent Tory Jackie Doyle-Price and former BBC journalist Polly Billington for Labour. It’s one of the top seats Ukip hopes to take from the Conservatives and judging by the positive attitude in Thurrock, the party is confident of its chances.

Exclusive: watch a preview of the Conservatives’ manifesto launch video

From our UK edition

David Cameron will take to the stage in an hour to launch the Conservatives’ 2015 manifesto. Before he does, a short video will roll to introduce the themes of the document. We can bring you a teaser of that video now — watch above. The message in the short clip is based on how the Tories have turned around the economy over the last five years: 'When Labour left power it left a note. It read: "there is no money". 'Five years on, notes of a different kind are turning people's lives around. Job offers. Lower tax bills. Apprenticeship offers. Mortgage approval letters. Confirmation of school places. 'These notes are the result of a plan that's about giving you security of every stage of your life.

Campaign kick-off: 23 days to go

From our UK edition

Today, it’s the Conservative Party's turn to release its manifesto. Labour pushed out its own document ‘Britain can do better’ yesterday, so it's Tories' turn to try and better it. As with Labour's manifesto, the big announcement has already been briefed out and has made the front pages of most newspapers: extending right to buy. To help guide you through the melée of stories and spin, here is a summary of today’s main election stories. 1. Thatcherism is back Unless the Tories have another big surprise in store, the centre piece of their 2015 manifesto is a pledge to extend right-to-buy for 1.3 million families in housing association homes.

Tories six points ahead in new Guardian/ICM poll — but Ashcroft has the main parties tied

From our UK edition

The Guardian declared last Friday was ‘the day the polls turned’ — but they have turned again, it seems. ICM has released a new poll today, which puts the Conservatives six points ahead. This pushes the Tories way past the margin of error to 39 per cent, while are Labour on 33 and the Liberal Democrats jump back into third place at eight per cent. Ukip and the Greens are both tied on seven per cent. It’s an extraordinary number that, if it was repeated across the country — particularly given the rise of the SNP in Scotland — it would put the Conservatives into majority territory for the first time.

Ten things you need to know about Labour’s manifesto

From our UK edition

Labour has launched its election manifesto in Manchester today, entitled ‘Britain can be better’. The document (pdf here) includes some new policies and others already announced. Here are ten key things you need to know, just in case you don’t have time to read all 86 pages: 1. Reducing deficit every year — but for how long? The centrepiece of the manifesto is the ‘budget responsibility lock’, which will ensure that a Labour government will cut the deficit every year. The commitment, which was reportedly added to the manifesto last Friday, doesn’t say by which point Labour will eliminate the deficit: ‘A Labour government will cut the deficit every year.

Campaign kick-off: 24 days to go

From our UK edition

The third week of the campaign is going to be all about manifestos. Today, it’s Labour’s turn to launch its plan — while the Tories, Liberal Democrats, Ukip and Greens will take their turns in the coming days. But instead of the traditional strategy for government, folks in Westminster are describing the documents as ‘the opening salvo for coalition negotiations’. To help guide you through the melée of stories and spin, here is a summary of today’s main election stories. 1. The party of fiscal responsibility? There’s one big story to watch today: Labour’s manifesto. Many inhabitants of the Westminster bubble are currently en route to Manchester for the launch this morning.

Campaign kick-off: 27 days to go

From our UK edition

It's the Conservatives’ turn to try and bounce back today. After the ‘dead cat’ thrown onto Ed Miliband’s kitchen table, it looks as if Tories parties will be hoping to return to policy — not slashing non-doms — and move away from personal attacks. To help guide you through the melée of stories and spin, here is a summary of today’s main election stories. 1. Polls everywhere, but not a lead in sight No fewer than five opinion polls were released yesterday, three of which showed Labour leads while two had the Conservatives ahead. The Guardian went as far to deem Thursday as ‘The day the polls turned’, but there is still no clear frontrunner at this stage.

Podcast special: polls and personal attacks

From our UK edition

With 28 days to go, is the momentum beginning to move towards Labour? In this View from 22 podcast special, Fraser Nelson, James Forsyth, Isabel Hardman and I discuss the latest polls and campaign developments. Five new polls have been released today, three of which show a Labour lead — should the Tories be worried? Have the two Scottish leaders' debates made any difference to the SNP's vote? And was Michael Fallon's attack on Ed Miliband premeditated?

Three new polls put Labour ahead

From our UK edition

Three new polls out today have put Labour ahead of the Tories. At a time when the Conservatives are firing all guns at the opposition, Labour appear to be gaining some momentum. According to a new Survation/Daily Mirror poll, Labour is four points ahead on 35 per cent, compared to the Tories on 31 per cent, Ukip on 15, the Lib Dems on nine and the SNP and Greens both on four. Panelbase has conducted an online poll, which suggests Labour has a six-point lead at 37 per cent and the Conservatives are on 31 per cent. TNS has also released a poll which puts Labour ahead by three points on 33 per cent, compared to 30 per cent for the Tories.

Campaign kick-off: 28 days to go

From our UK edition

Trident is set to be the big issue today — but the fight isn't just about policy. Several newspapers have splashed on the news that the Tories are attempting to embarrass Labour over whether they would allow the SNP to box them into scrapping our nuclear deterrent. To help guide you through the melée of stories and spin, here is a summary of today’s main stories. 1. Fallon vs. Miliband The Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has launched an attack on Ed ‘backstabber’ Miliband in the Times today — claiming that he would trade renewing Trident for SNP support to prop up his government. ‘Ed Miliband stabbed his own brother in the back to become Labour leader.