Wednesday 25th April Morning Briefing

Some people are travelling the country throughout this general election with their party leaders and senior politicians, trying to win the fucking thing.  Project KKI will give a firmly (disgracefully) biased interpretation of all the General Election stories cutting through the fog-of-war, to help them keep a grip. We’re not aiming for ‘first with the news’ but ‘most useful on the bus’ coverage.  Lies I made up are highlighted in orange, but are designed to show the general tone of the event.

Recap on yesterday:

UKIP went mad, proposing:

  • Mandatory annual medical checks on women ‘at risk’ of ‘FGM’ (for which you can read ‘Islam’)
  • A ban on Sharia Law. Someone needs to draw them a diagram.
  • A ban on face coverings in public. After some barracking questions, it was confirmed that nuns and bee-keepers would have exemptions. (Note that this is not in orange)
  • After the press conference, Paul Nuttall locked himself in a room and refused to say whether or not he would be a candidate.
  • Arron Banks went to Clacton to eat ice-cream and get selected and was told to do one.

Liberal Democrats

Went mad and put Tim Farron on a stage in Vauxhall, where they’re trying to unseat Kate Hoey.  He again refused to answer the ‘is gay sex a sin’ question, saying “One’s personal faith is one’s personal faith. What counts is your actions and beliefs in politics.” When pressed on whether he is the leader of the Liberal Democrats he said “The position I hold is a private position between me and the Liberal Democrats” and when asked if he was planning to be a candidate in the General Election, he said “I’m not comfortable giving airtime to this kind of nonsense. Your viewers want to know whether gay sex is a sin.”

Labour.

Two helpful interventions for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party yesterday:  Wes Streeting MP confirmed he’s not Jeremy’s biggest fan, and the Communist Party of Britain has decided to throw its weight behind Labour candidates and not stand.

JC himself went to the tropical climate of Aviemore to tell Scottish trades unionists that the Labour Party is supportive of Trades Unions and that a Labour Government would be nice to Trades Unions.

Tories.

Theresa May met some conservatives and, presumably in time for the Channel 4 News, bought some popcorn to see the others getting on with it.  Meanwhile, one poll (YouGov / ITV 19-21 April) has Conservatives on 40% in Wales, 10% ahead of Labour, which would give the Conservatives the majority of seats in the principality for the first time since before universal suffrage.  Again, please note that this is not in Orange.

Plaid Cymru

Local elections on 4 May, of course. Leanne needs a TV debate, Stat. Still waiting for some PC selection data, particularly looking forward to Pontypridd.

SNP

Nothing to see here. Elsie’s still banging on about the Tories. She gave a 20 minute speech and said ‘Tories’ 22 times.

Northern Ireland

Nothing of value was lost.

Afternoon Update at 6pm.