Boris Johnson news – live: PM launches Conservative election campaign after day of gaffes and mishaps
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Your support makes all the difference.Boris Johnson launched his general election campaign with a rally in Birmingham, where he attacked Labour’s Brexit stance as a “Bermuda Triangle” barren of intelligence, and compared Nigel Farage to “candle sellers on the dawn of the electric lightbulb”.
But Labour party deputy leader Tom Watson stole the headlines as he announced his decision to stand down as an MP in the middle of Mr Johnson’s speech, citing reasons “personal, not political” and a desire to campaign about ”the public health challenge facing our country”.
Boris Johnson’s campaign had earlier been thrown into disarray as Alun Cairns quit as Welsh secretary after being accused of “brazenly lying” about his knowledge of an allegation that his former aide sabotaged a rape trial.
The Tories were also accused of doctoring footage to falsely suggest Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer was unable to answer a question about Brexit, while James Cleverly was brutally “empty-chaired” after missing a Sky News interview.
Mr Johnson was criticised for comparing Jeremy Corbyn’s “hatred” of wealth creators to the persecution of the Kulaks – a group of landowning peasants killed by Stalin in the 1930s.
One Tory MP admitted it hadn’t been a “great day” for the party and said “people cocked things up”.
Boris Johnson's first election rally met with anti-racism protest
As the Tory party gears up for its first campaign rally, where the hopeful PM will address activists in Birmingham, security are having to herd anti-racism protesters out of the area.
....And apparently they're not alone.
Remain campaigner Femi Oluwole has reportedly also been removed from the rally site.
“Apparently the conservative party don’t me in the vicinity of their campaign launch…the conservative party as an institution isn’t a massive fan of political opposition,” he said.
Sylvia Hermon to stand down
Independent unionist Sylvia Hermon has announced she will not contest her North Down seat in Northern Ireland in the upcoming election.
She has served her constituency for 18 years, backed Remain in the referendum and had voted against Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal.
“My priorities for the next few years are to spend my time at home in Northern Ireland to see more of my family and to step back from the frontline of public life,” Ms Hermon said.
West Midlands mayor kicks off Tory rally
Andy Street, West Midlands mayor, is kicking off the Tory campaign rally in Birmingham.
“If I may use a European word tonight, it’s perhaps the start of our renaissance as a region.”
Credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
...And now Priti Patel takes the stage.
“Our party is the greatest political party in the world,” she asserts.
Outgoing Home Secretary Priti Patel pledges to introduce "an Australian-style points-based immigration system".
She ends her speech with a variation on tonight's theme:
"Only the conservatives will get Brexit done, only the Conservatives will deliver on the people's priorities and only the Conservative Party will get our country back on the road to a brighter future.”
Jacob King/PA Wire
James Cleverly revisits the day's controversies
Now onto James Cleverly, who begins his speech by repeating one of the day's controversial claims:
“We didn’t want this election, our hand was forced, but we do need this election.”
Mr Cleverly revisits another of the day's mishaps as he attacks Labour's Brexit policy.
He appears to have recovered from his bruising Good Morning Britain encounter in which he defended the Conservative Party's heavily edited video of Keir Starmer discussing Brexit.
And after a short promotional video, Boris Johnson takes the stage.
His arrival is soundtracked by some distorted guitars and chants of “Boris!”
The Independent's Lizzy Buchan is in Birmingham tonight.
Boris Johnson also choosing to revisit some early linguistic hallmarks of the December election, and looking to create a few more...
Breaking: Tom Watson to step down
Labour's former deputy leader Tom Watson has announced he will stand down this election.
The parliamentarian of 18 years stated an intention to write and campaign on “the public health challenge facing our country, taking on the sugar companies, campaigning for policy change, and setting up a ‘remission for all’ movement for type 2 diabetics”.
Jon Sharman brings more details here:
While Conservative thunder has been effectively drowned out by Mr Watson’s resignation, here are some key points from Boris Johnson’s speech.
Trumpian comparisons would arguably be no more of a stretch than today’s reference to Joseph Stalin in The Telegraph.
He repeated the false claim that his party had green-lit plans for 40 new hospitals.
He also repeated claims about putting 20,000 extra police on the streets – roughly the same figure by which the force’s numbers has decreased since the start of austerity.
He again referred to his party as “One Nation”, despite having given several such notable MPs the boot during his tenure.
Political opponents received a kicking, with Nigel Farage falling foul to a comparison with “candle sellers on the dawn of the electric lightbulb, or makers of typewriters on beholding their first laptop computer”.
While Corbyn “sided with Vladimir Putin” in the wake of the Salisbury poisonings, his position on another proposed referendum also came under fire:
“The only bit of flotsam of intelligence to have emerged from the Bermuda Triangle of Labour’s Brexit policy is that they’re preparing ot do a new deal and then campaign against it six months later, with all the futility of those suicidal knights in Monty Python.”
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