Category Archives: bbc

‘Admission Of Defeat’: Laura Kuenssberg Calls Out ‘Desperate’ Tory Campaign Tactics

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Laura Kuenssberg laid into transport secretary Mark Harper on Sunday and said the Conservatives’ campaign tactics are “desperate”.

The Tories have been trailing in the polls for weeks now – YouGov even put them in third place behind both Labour and Reform on Thursday.

The Conservatives have responded by telling voters supporting any party other than them is the same as giving Labour a “blank cheque” for a huge majority.

So, on her show, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the presenter said: “The message shifting somewhat in the last few days, not so much necessarily to say, ‘let’s win this,’ but to say ‘you should worry about a big Labour majority to stop the other side romping home’.”

She showed viewers one of the Tories’ more recent social media adverts, which predicts a Labour victory with 490 seats.

Kuenssberg showing Harper the Tories' own attack ad, which gives 57 seats.
Kuenssberg showing Harper the Tories’ own attack ad, which gives 57 seats.

“You seem to be resorting to just spooking people into some kind of massive majority.

“Isn’t that an admission of defeat, when as you said, not a single vote has been cast, apart from a few postal votes?” the BBC presenter asked.

The minister replied: “It’s not, it’s simply doing what you did before with me, just to point to the polls.

“All we’re doing is if you look at the polls, and if people voted the way the polls are suggesting, that’s what you’d get.

“And we’re saying to people is that what you want? And actually I don’t think it is what people want.”

He claimed the Tories are still fighting for every vote, and there’s still plenty of undecided voters.

According to research from consultancy firm More in Common, about 15% of voters are still undecided.

Kuenssberg hit back: “Isn’t that exactly the point?

“There are still millions of people in this country, probably many of them watching this morning, who haven’t decided what they’re going to do yet, and they’re hearing from you, is not ‘hey here’s our positive vision’.

“What they’re hearing is, ‘oh well you can’t give the other side everything they want so stick with us.’

“Isn’t that something that sounds a bit desperate?”

“Not really,” Harper said, and claimed broadcasters often talk about polls.

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Support For Tories Is ‘At Its Lowest Ever In British Polling History,’ Elections Guru Says

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Public support for the Conservatives have fallen to a historic low in polling history, John Curtice said today.

The famous pollster told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “Standing at just 20%, Conservative support is now at its lowest ever in British polling history.

“Mr Sunak, whose own personal ratings have clearly fallen, must be beginning to doubt his decision to call the election early.”

He added that a eight-point lead over Reform last week has fallen to just a four-point.

But Curtice also noticed that Labour are “being challenged by the Greens and the Lib Dems”, and support has fallen by two points – to 41%, on average.

His remarks came after another wave of polls predicted a pretty bleak result for the Conservatives when the public go to the ballot box.

A Savanta survey of 2,045 adults for The Sunday Telegraph found the party were at the lowest point since the final days of Theresa May’s time in office in early 2019, having dropped down four points to just 21%.

The same poll, conducted between 12-14 June and released on Saturday, showed Reform UK had climbed up three points to 13%.

Political research director at Savanta, Chris Hopkins, said it showed “nothing short of electoral extinction for the Conservative Party”.

“The hopes of Conservative candidates are being shot to pieces by poll after poll showing the Conservative Party in increasingly dire straits – and we’re only halfway through the campaign,” he said.

“There’s a real sense that things could still get worse for the Conservatives, and with postal votes about to drop through millions of letterboxes, time is already close to running out for Rishi Sunak.”

It comes after a separate Survation poll for Best for Britain, published in The Sunday Times, suggested the Conservatives would secure only 72 seats in the next parliament.

It predicted Labour would win 456, meaning the party would win a stomping 262 majority, the Liberal Democrats 56 seats, Reform seven and the Greens one.

Survation – which had polled 22,000 adults between 31 May and 13 June – showed the vote share would have halved from 44% in 2 019 to 24%.

Meanwhile, YouGov poll released last Thursday caused a huge stir within Westminster as it put Reform ahead of the Conservatives for the first time.

Nigel Farage’s populist party was on 19% of the vote while the Tories were on 18%, prompting his party to position themselves as the “opposition to Labour”.

Rishi Sunak downplayed this poll on Friday.

Speaking to journalists from the G7 summit in Italy, he said: “We are only halfway through this election, so I’m still fighting very hard for every vote.”

He also pledged to stay in parliament as an MP even if the Conservatives lose the election.

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Strictly Come Dancing Announces Exciting Plans As Show Celebrates Its 20th Birthday

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Strictly Come Dancing has announced it will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in style.

Wednesday marks 20 years since the first episode of Strictly began airing on the BBC, back when Tess Daly was co-hosting with the late, great Sir Bruce Forsyth and the judging panel was made up of Craig Revel Horwood, Dame Arlene Phillips, Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman, who died in April 2023.

To coincide with Strictly’s big birthday, the BBC has announced a one-off special will be airing later in the year celebrating the show’s impact in the last two decades.

Fresh from Strictly’s win at the TV Baftas over the weekend, a BBC press release has teased that the “unmissable one-off programme” promises “a journey through 20 years of unforgettable entertainment featuring iconic performances and plenty of heart-warming interviews with past celebrity stars, professional dancers, and judges”.

This nostalgic special hopes to “showcase why Strictly Come Dancing has captured the hearts of the nation for the past 20 years”, and helped it become one of the broadcaster’s “best known and well-loved programmes”.

Kalpna Patel-Knight, the BBC’s Head of Entertainment, enthused: “Strictly Come Dancing is more than just a TV show, it has become an integral part of British culture, bringing families together and inspiring viewers of all ages to embrace the joy of dance.

“Throughout its 20-year history, the show has launched careers, sparked trends, and touched the hearts of millions with its dazzling performances, emotional journeys, and unforgettable moments and we will be showcasing it all in this very special programme.”

Meanwhile, as well as this one-off special, Strictly will be returning for its 22nd series later in the year, with actor Nicola Peltz Beckham, boxer Tommy Fury and all-round national treasure Hannah Waddingham among those tipped to be taking part.

Last year’s series was won by Coronation Street actor Ellie Leach and her partner Vito Coppola, beating Layton Williams and fellow soap star Bobby Brazier in the live final.

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Chris Mason Skewers Liz Truss For Not ‘Lasting Longer Than A Lettuce’

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Chris Mason clashed with Liz Truss over whether the public cared about her “lasting less time than a lettuce”.

The BBC’s political editor said the UK had been left “an international laughing stock” by her 49-day stint as prime minister.

As she battled to survive in No.10, the Daily Star began a stunt to see whether she could outlast a lettuce. She didn’t.

In an interview for a BBC podcast, Mason told Truss: “Your time as prime minister left the UK as an international laughing stock.”

The ex-PM replied: “Well I don’t think that’s true.”

Mason hit back: “All the stuff about lasting less time than a lettuce.”

Truss described that as “pathetic point scoring”.

She added: “This is the kind of thing that obsesses what I describe as the London elite. What do other people think of me? What’s Brtain’s international standing?

“Britain’s international standing will be improved …”

But Mason interrupted her to say: “It’s not just people in wine bars in London who were interested in whether or not a prime minister lasted longer than a lettuce.

“People could see there was a situation where you were humiliated and so people felt that the country was humiliated.”

Truss replied: “I put forward what were perfectly rational policies that I’d won a leadership election on.”

But Mason told her: “The reality is that it blew up.”

The Daily Star’s gimmick became an internet sensation during Truss’s 49 days as PM.

It was inspired by an article in The Economic, which said: “Ms Truss entered Downing Street on September 6th.

“She blew up her own government with a package of unfunded tax cuts and energy-price guarantees on September 23rd.

“Take away the ten days of mourning after the death of the Queen, and she had seven days in control. That is the shelf-life of a lettuce.”

The Daily Star set up a live action cam on YouTube with a real (60p) lettuce next to a picture of Truss to see which would last longer.

Asked at a conference in Dublin last year whether she could now see “the funny side”, Truss said: “I don’t think it’s funny, I just think it’s puerile.”

However, she had earlier said “the irreverence of the media in Britain is a good thing on the whole”.

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Kuenssberg Skewers Chancellor Over Economy Claims: ‘Sounds Like You’re In A Parallel Universe’

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The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg told Jeremy Hunt “it sounds like you’re in a parallel universe” after his recent claims about the cost of living crisis and the economy.

The chancellor made headlines after he posted on X on Friday that £100,000 is not “a huge salary” after mortgage costs and childcare.

His colleague, minister Andrea Leadsom, also caused a stir this week after she claimed the cost of living crisis had ended now inflation is down.

The presenter of Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg then pointed out that private rents are up 9% since 2023, council tax for band D up 5.1% since 2023 and petrol prices up 2.3p since January 2024.

After reminding Hunt of these incidents, she asked: “Isn’t there a danger that actually you sound like you’re in a parallel universe?”

Hunt said he was talking to one of his own constituents about paying for childcare in an area where the house prices are averaging around £670,000.

But, the BBC journalist noted: “In your own area, in Surrey, the average full time wage is not even half of that. It’s £42,000.

“So, don’t you think, to many people hearing that, it just sounds completely out of touch?”

Hunt said: “Well, I was talking to one of my own constituents who was saying that, but I do accept that even those people on those higher salaries do feel under pressure.”

He said for the national average salary – those on £35,000 – he reduced their National Insurance contributions, while those on National Living Wage have seen an increase.

Actually, due to fiscal drag – where tax thresholds do not change in line with inflation and rising wages – people will be paying more in tax.

“By the end of this parliament, those people will be worse off,” Kuenssberg said, noting PM Rishi Sunak is still saying the economy is bouncing back.

The chancellor pointed out the Office for Budget Responsibility says we are going to recover to pre-pandemic living standards “two years earlier than previously thought”, saying the “plan was starting to bear fruit”.

Elsewhere, Kuenssberg also asked: “Has the cost of living crisis ended?”

Hunt admitted, “we’ve had a very very tough patch,” but blamed the invasion of Ukraine for driving up energy prices and the Covid pandemic.

He continued: “I think people will welcome the fact that inflation has fallen – but we’re not there yet.

“We need to stick to the course because we need inflation to get down to 2%.

“The thing that will make the biggest difference for families up and down the country is when interest rates falls, and the mortgage rate starts to fall.”

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‘People Are Laughing At What You’re Saying’: Tory MP Bombs With His Defence Of Levelling Up

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A Tory MP has faced a BBC audience “laughing” at the government’s flagship levelling up plans.

On Monday, a live episode of Newsnight was broadcast from Doncaster as part of a series of town hall-style “on the road” programmes ahead of the general election.

The city is one of the areas to receive funding as part of the agenda to reduce regional inequalities, which was championed as “levelling up” by former prime minister Boris Johnson.

But when an audience in the newly-created Doncaster East and Isle of Axholme constituency were asked by presenter Victoria Derbyshire whether they’d experienced any impact of the policy, she was greeted with a unanimous “no” (See video at top of story).

When asked about the plan, Conservative MP Brendan Clarke-Smith, one of the panellists, put forward a version of Rishi Sunak’s “stick with the plan” argument.

He said: “We’re the only people who do actually have a plan, certainly in terms of how we want to invest. Now levelling up, of course, it’s something Boris Johnson made a big deal of in 2019.

“I think it’s not just about large cash transfers, though, it’s about pride in our communities. It’s about opportunities …”

While in full swing, Derbyshire interjected to say: “With respect, there are people here in the audience who are laughing at what you’re saying.”

Clarke-Smith, who represents a Nottinghamshire constituency, went on: “We just had a pandemic for two years. We spent £400 billion on that. That’s going to impact a lot of things. It’s impacted the NHS. It’s impacted a lot of building projects. It’s impacted all of these things together, so we are still recovering from that.”

He added: “But we’re going on the right path. We’re getting inflation down and we will see that levelling up and we will see that investment, including here in Doncaster East.”

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Jonnie Irwin, A Place In The Sun Presenter, Dies Aged 50

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TV personality Jonnie Irwin has died aged 50, his family has said.

The presenter, who fronted Channel 4’s A Place In The Sun and the BBC’s Escape To The Country, revealed in 2022 that he had two years earlier been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer which had spread to his brain.

A statement on his Instagram account announcing his death said he touched “the lives of so many with his kindness, warmth and infectious spirit”.

Alongside a photograph of the late TV host and his wife, Jessica Holmes, with whom he has three young sons – Rex, and twins Rafa and Cormac – the tribute read: “In Loving Memory. It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of Jonnie’s passing.

“A truly remarkable soul, he fought bravely against cancer with unwavering strength and courage. Jonnie touched the lives of so many with his kindness, warmth and infectious spirit.”

It continued: “At this time, we kindly ask for the privacy of Jonnie’s family as they navigate through this profound loss. Their grief is immeasurable, and your thoughts, prayers and support are deeply appreciated.

“As we remember the beautiful moments shared with Jonnie, let us celebrate a life well-lived and a legacy that will for ever be etched in our hearts. Jonnie may be gone from our sight, but his love, laughter and memories will live on.

“Rest in peace, dear Jonnie. You will be dearly missed, but never forgotten.”

Since going public with his diagnosis, Jonnie has been documenting his experience of living with cancer on social media. He had been open about his illness in the hope of inspiring others to “make the most of every day”.

Jonnie said the first warning sign of his illness came while he was filming A Place In The Sun in August 2020 in Italy, when his vision became blurry while driving. “Within a week of flying back from filming, I was being given six months to live,” he told Hello! magazine

Jasmine Harman, his long-time co-presenter on A Place In The Sun, wrote on Instagram: “I have never admired you more than over the last few years as you’ve faced life with cancer with positivity, determination and bloody mindedness. The world is a little darker today without you, but I will always smile when I think of you.”

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UK Journalists Taken Into Gaza For First Time Describe The ‘Wasteland’ And ‘Hell’ Of War Zone

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Israelis soldiers have started to take international news crews into Gaza, and UK journalists have now reported on the “hell” they’ve discovered in the active war zone.

While reporters inside the Palestinian territory have been covering the war since it began a month ago, foreign journalists are only now being allowed into the Gaza Strip under the surveillance of the Israel Defence Force (IDF).

Israel then declared war, launched a series of air strikes and a ground invasion in the north, while putting the whole of Gaza under siege. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza say more than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed so far.

Each broadcaster has made it very clear that they had maintained editorial independence over their own reports, but various parts of the footage had to have IDF approval before it could be released.

The Israeli forces would only take journalists if their reports did not reveal anything about their position.

Jeremy Bowen, the BBC’s international editor, released his report into Gaza on Wednesday night.

He explained: “We got out of the back of an armoured vehicle and walked into a wasteland.

“After a month of air strikes and more than a week of tanks and troops, every building I saw was damaged or destroyed.”

The IDF showed each journalist what it described as a weapons factory in a building where a family clearly lived upstairs.

The army told reporters that was an example of Hamas using civilians as human shields.

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Channel 4′s Secunder Kermani also went into Gaza with IDF, and explained: ″Coming here with them is the only way for foreign journalists to get a first hand glimpse of this deadly conflict.”

His report, also released on Wednesday, focused on the Gaza civilians trying to move to the south of the territory, as on Israel’s instructions.

He showed how two Palestinian men were detained for “acting suspiciously”, and filmed how Israeli soldiers called out in Hebrew to the stream of evacuees just in case any Israeli hostages were among the crowds.

Kermani then went to the areas of Gaza which have already been “reduced to rubble in an Israeli strike”, and explained “this is the hell they are running from” in the north.

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