it's >> good afternoon. britain it's 12:00 on tuesday, the 28th of may. i'm tom harwood, and i'm emily carter. will boost your pensions, not us. a promise from rishi sunak, who vows to protect state pensions. and those payments from being taxed if he wins the general election. it's being dubbed a quadruple lock. but critics say the pledge isn't credible and risks alienating young voters as well. >> this, as the labour party claims to be both socialist and the new party of business, with 120 ceos openly backing the party ahead of the general election. >> meanwhile, nigel farage has thrown himself into the campaign, giving his first major speech in dover as the prime minister slaps down his challenge to debate him on immigration. it's all go. >> and just in, nigel farage is

accusing the bbc of bias. take a look at this. >> about the wave of . and i'm >> about the wave of. and i'm using his words, not mine. aggressive young males that are coming into poland having crossed the mediterranean. and he has said that this is now a matter of national security . matter of national security. >> nigel farage with his, customary inflammatory language there at a reform uk press conference, he declined to stand as a for a seat. but we will have more . have more. >> well, that was, geeta guru—murthy, bbc presenter , guru—murthy, bbc presenter, saying that nigel farage uses customary in inflammatory language, but in fact he was just quoting donald tusk, the prime minister of poland and former president of the eu council. yes. >> so nigel farage has come out swinging, as you might imagine, on his social media platforms, accusing the bbc of bias. get your views in gbnews.com/yoursay is the way to get in touch and also get in touch on that

pension pledge. it's a big one. it's a big one. will it win over the grey vote? hold on to the, grey vote, as it were. >> but we want to know if you agree with nigel. do you think that the bbc was out of line there, or were they just accurately reporting what was going on? did you detect a slight hint of venom in the in the tone in which those words were said according, causing a lot of debate online in a pretty, pretty strident thing to say. as as it was out of a press conference, it was, shall we get your headlines with tatiana ? your headlines with tatiana? >> emily, thank you and good afternoon. the top stories this houn afternoon. the top stories this hour. the prime minister says the treasury has crunched the numbers and claims labour's economic promises do not add up. speaking at an event in staffordshire, rishi sunak said his government's plan is working while labour's promises would only bring uncertainty to the economy and migration . economy and migration. >> that's what you'll get with

us. let's just take the topic of illegal migration, something i know is important to all of you. something jonathan and i speak about a lot, right? it's fundamentally unfair that people jump fundamentally unfair that people jump the queue and come to our country illegally puts pressure on local services, whether it's hotels here or elsewhere , it hotels here or elsewhere, it puts people's lives at risk. it's simply not right. we've got a bold plan to deal with the boats, right? and when i first announced it or announced it, my predecessor and i first got this job, people said, oh, no , this job, people said, oh, no, this is not the right thing to do. do you know what? now across europe, the penny has dropped that our approach is the right approach. >> the shadow chancellor is promising to introduce new budget rules aimed at preventing the turmoil seen following liz truss's mini—budget. in her first major speech of the election campaign, rachel reeves said the conservative party deserves to be judged on what she called 14 years of chaos and decline. she said average homeowners were paying around £240 more every month due to the mini—budget, while wages

remained flat and taxpayers are asked to pay more for less . asked to pay more for less. >> if our economy had have grown at the average rate of oecd countries, these last 14 years, our economy today would be £150 billion larger, worth £5,000 for every household and providing £55 billion more investment for our public services . that is our public services. that is their record and they deserve to be judged on it. >> pensioners could be in for a tax break worth up to £24 billion a year, as part of an election pledge by the conservative party it could see cuts worth around £95 in the next tax year, rising to £275 by 2029. the prime minister says it will be funded by a clamp down on tax dodgers, despite recent data showing that staff shortages have led to hmrc answering 22% fewer calls than

it did in 2020. the liberal democrat leader, sir ed davey, says the government has a poor record for pensioners . record for pensioners. >> it's rather remarkable. they're trying to make out this is some great policy. when they were the ones who increased taxes on pensioners in the first place by not raising allowance, it was the liberal democrats who fought hard to increase the income tax allowance to help pensioners and help people on low incomes , and the low incomes, and the conservatives froze those tax allowances. so i don't think pensioners or anyone else is going to be fooled by the conservatives having broken their promise, having raised taxes now suddenly, just before election, saying they're going to do something different and staying with the liberal democrats, the party's pledging to put environmental experts on boards of water companies. >> they're ed davey took to a paddleboard in lake windermere this morning as he outlined plans to have experts sit on water company boards to improve pubuc water company boards to improve public accountability and transparency . he said water transparency. he said water utilities are getting away with what he called a national sewage scandal, while conservative mps

and ministers have sat on their hands. it comes as data shows sewage spills in england's rivers and seas more than doubled in 2023. now, more than 120 business leaders offer their pubuc 120 business leaders offer their public support to the labour party. in an open letter published by the times , the published by the times, the leaders say that a new outlook is needed, so the uk can break free from a decade of economic stagnation . some of those who've stagnation. some of those who've signed the message include the chef, tom kerridge, and former ceos of heathrow jp morgan and aston martin. in other news, the mayor of london has criticised the government's failure to introduce a total ban on zombie knives, calling it a betrayal of the safety of young people. sadiq khan is calling on the home secretary to bring forward the legislation , which would the legislation, which would include a ban on the sale of the weapons. he says the government isn't taking the crisis seriously enough and that he's set aside more than £150 million for policing and crime prevention in london, and nearly

£30 million was lost to courier fraud in the last year as scammers targeted pensioners. the scam sees fraudsters pose as police officers or bank officials and trick householders into handing over money or valuables to a courier. police say people in their 80s are most likely to be targeted, with one person losing £56,000. five arrests were made this month following a combined police effort across england and wales . effort across england and wales. for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen or go to gb news. common alerts now back to tom and . emily. back to tom and. emily. >> good afternoon britain. it's 12:07 now. here we are in the sixth day of election campaigning. >> after announcing national service for the young. the conservatives are now promising

pensioners a boost to their coffers. will the tories hang to on the grey vote? >> on the labour side, sir keir starmer has a spring in his step after his party was endorsed by 120. what they're describing as business leaders , including some business leaders, including some executives from jp morgan, iceland and aston martin, and sir ed davey. >> the lib dem takes a tumble whilst trying his hand at paddle boarding. yes, there he is as his party's campaign battle bus arrives in the lake district. >> and not to be outdone, nigel farage is back on the campaign trail for reform uk as he challenges the prime minister to a debate on immigration. an invitation that has been turned down. >> yes, rather slap down, really 7 >> yes, rather slap down, really ? rishi sunak just said, you know what? it's between me and keir starmer essentially calling him irrelevant. we're now joined by gb news political editor christopher hope, who's been with the shadow chancellor rachel reeves, in derby today. christopher, any more meat on the bone ? the bone? >> not yet. and hi, omelette. i

tom and hi, emily. not yet. no. we have heard, though, some commitments here on this triple lock plus policy that came out from the tories overnight. labouris from the tories overnight. labour is refusing to match that. so they are refusing to say to pensioners this election that they will not be paying income tax on their state pension. the tory that's set to go above that level, the threshold by 2027. labour will not match that. a degree of frustration, i think, amongst rachel reeves , she's she's rachel reeves, she's she's sticking to her fiscal rules while the tories are going much further than that, almost a reversal of the 2019 general election, when we had the so—called corbyn nomics and the magic money tree, where it looks like the tories have not done enough to find that magic money tree and labour is saying they won't go there, she said. interestingly, that that stability is change. so the labour party is offering change, but no real exciting new shiny policies. the tories are doing the opposite, not least on national service over the weekend. and now this commitment that pensions will not pay income tax on state pension. >> it seems that the labour party is determined to run the most boring, mundane don't look

at us campaign in the history of british politics, in the hope that the tories will continue tearing chunks out of themselves. but but i suppose on this issue of pensions, there is now clear blue water between the conservative offering and the labour party offering. ironically, the labour party , by ironically, the labour party, by sticking to the plans originally set out by jeremy hunt , the set out by jeremy hunt, the labour party will now drag pensioners into paying tax on their state pensions, whereas their state pensions, whereas the tories promise they won't . the tories promise they won't. >> well, that's exactly right, tom. although labour may change tack when they get into government. but as things stand from around 2027 2028, pensions on the state pension will be paying on the state pension will be paying tax. income tax under laboun paying tax. income tax under labour. and that's what it's always saying will not happen. i think the labour is so careful to protect its poll lead not to offer anything unfunded, and they are now on the back foot. they are being pushed into positions where they talk about the tory policy on the day when they make their own speeches, as also we heard, we heard some

facts from the speech by rachel reeves here in rolls—royce in derby. she said that the budget won't happen until ten weeks have elapsed to allow the obr to check out the labour plans for the next the new budget, so there won't be a budget of any new labour government until early september, or rather late september at the earliest. so there's some way away from that happening. so we're hearing more from more from her. >> that sounds a bit of a swipe at perhaps liz truss, former prime minister. also a little bit of a tension in the labour party. keir starmer saying that he is a socialist and rachel reevesis he is a socialist and rachel reeves is calling herself a social democrat, is that interesting? yes >> well, i think it is. what does socialism mean? because i asked a question in the press conference just gone. if you're not a socialist, then do you believe that those in business can get filthy rich ? and she can get filthy rich? and she said she recognised that people should be able to get the pay, be paid properly for what they get for the work they do. if they work hard, get a decent wage. and i think that whole

kind of the labour's position on big business fat cats, to use the old jargon from, from the, from the 80s and 90s, what would labour do when you have these big bonuses being paid out? what would labour do? i think that the base of the party may be interested to hear that. yes certainly. >> and it does seem that we haven't heard all that much. there's a big, lot of speculation about whether or not the labour party would raise more taxes than they're talking about. they have had absolutely nothing to say on capital gains tax, for example. markets speculate that they might double that tax . that tax. >> that's right, a wealth tax. the whole idea of wealth hasn't yet been raised in this lecture campaign . tom and emily, we have campaign. tom and emily, we have heard a commitment today to no increase in the 25% corporation tax rate for the lifetime of next parliament. that's still until 2020 to 2030. you have heard of course, these these business leaders, 120 or so backing labour, but there's no ftse 100 business leaders doing that. so some are saying well who are these people backing

them. we spoke earlier to the federation of small business. that interview will play out on gb news at some point later today. they have welcomed what they're hearing. there's some good noise from the from labour on business rates . that good noise from the from labour on business rates. that is what that's crippling so many small companies and they seem quite relaxed so far about this, this new deal for working people which has caused such alarm. the angela rayner agenda , they think angela rayner agenda, they think there's a probation period built into that which could allow it to work . it was called, by the to work. it was called, by the way, the new deal for working people not making work pay. so it looks like the original banding has been written back in by labour after suggestions of a wobble overnight. >> yes, labour won't be pressed really on any alternative tax rises at the moment, so we await to see christopher. just a quick one on reform, nigel farage has been out campaigning. he's been in dover delivering this , first in dover delivering this, first major speech of the election campaign. he challenged rishi sunak to debate him on immigration. rishi sunak said absolutely not. and now he's accusing the bbc of bias.

>> yeah, we heard that clip play out at the beginning of your show. i didn't know the name of the presenter saying it, but thatis the presenter saying it, but that is that is almost grist to the mill or someone like nigel farage, of course. honorary president of reform uk. not standing in the election formally, but not working at the moment as a presenter on gb news. i mean, the fact that they would a presenter would say editorialise over his remarks, saying it's inflammatory when all he was doing was quoting remarks by another eu leader, donald tusk, is grist to the mill of people who support farage, who think that the bbc is biased against people who who are concerned about migration . are concerned about migration. and he's down in dover at the moment he's unveiled howard cox , moment he's unveiled howard cox, the fair fuel uk boss, as the new candidate in dover, and deal for the reform uk party. but clearly immigration is the big issue.i clearly immigration is the big issue. i think , which reform uk issue. i think, which reform uk are going to try and major on at this election with small boats crossings at 10,000 already this year and set to rise through the summer . summer. >> summer. >> well, there you go. it looks

like it's an exciting sixth day of the election campaign. thanks, christopher. christopher hope there are our political edhon >>i edhon >> i think we covered just about every single thing under the sun there. so it was good. rapid, ring round of all the of all the political parties. >> we don't miss anything. >> we don't miss anything. >> we don't miss anything. >> we did miss the greens, but, i mean, after all, will they have any next hour, in an attempt to shore up his base, rishi sunak is, of course, pledging this tax free pension allowance via a so—called triple lock plus. or is that a quadruple lock? a double plus good lock. i think we can all go a super duper plus triple lock squared. i like quadruple, quadruple, i like that i'm going to dub it to quadruple. >> well, a triple quadruple lock if he wins the election . yes. if he wins the election. yes. announcing the pledge, the prime minister said it showed his party was on the side of pensioners and claimed they would save £275 by 2030. >> however, the labour party has dismissed the plan as not credible. >> well, should we get the thoughts now of the director of popular conservatism, mark littlewood , mark, as expected,

littlewood, mark, as expected, thank you for joining littlewood, mark, as expected, thank you forjoining us. as thank you for joining us. as expected , there are quite a few expected, there are quite a few young people who don't see this as awfully fair. >> yes, i can understand that. look i mean, the strongest base of conservative support in a penod of conservative support in a period of time where conservative support is not at its highest, but it marginally is among the over 60, that is a cohort that tends to vote conservative. and rishi sunak, i think, is desperate to get some sort of movement in the polls. the conservatives are so far behind that even if you could just tick up the tory poll rating by, i don't know, three, 4 or 5, you would get some sort of sense of momentum. so he's very much appealing to the base here, it is a quadruple lock , here, it is a quadruple lock, this plan couldn't be in place in perpetuity because eventually the pension would sort of outstrip average earnings and no pensioner would be paying tax on it. and the demographics of the uk are such that we're having fewer and fewer people in the workforce and more and more claiming the state pension. so it's an appeal to the base. the

one thing i would say modestly in its defence is although pensioners have done very well out of the triple lock, by and large they've done very badly over an era of very low interest rates. we sometimes talk as if getting interest rates as low as possible is the best thing possible. well, that's true if you've got a very big mortgage, but generally speaking, pensioners have cleared their mortgage or are relying on savings. so low interest rates have done that cohort quite a lot of harm over the past 10 or 15 years. so maybe this is a bit of kickback, although low interest rates have also increased asset prices . increased asset prices. >> they've contributed towards house price growth. so for people who are of pension age, who do own their own property , who do own their own property, they've seen that soar in value. the price of property now, compared to even 10 or 15 years ago, is just through the roof, partly down to interest rates as well. yeah that's a very fair point, tom. >> i mean, what we and a very good economic point, but what we know politically rather than economically is people don't

tend to treat their house as a disposable asset. if you can remember back to the 2017 general election, the suggestion by theresa may and the conservatives was, you should sort of borrow against your houseif sort of borrow against your house if you needed . social care house if you needed. social care was the way to fund it, which has good economic reasoning behind it. but i think most pensioners see their house as part of their estate. that's to say it will be passed on to their kids or their grandkids, once they pass on. so you're right on economics , but i think right on economics, but i think on political optics, most people living in their home would consider that's just something i'm going to live in until i die, and then it will be passed down generationally. so i'm not suggesting, tom, that's a way of fixing the housing crisis. i'm just querying who will actually get their hands on that, those sort of assets. at the end of the day . the day. >> and of course, we have seen some cuts on working age people with the national insurance cut most recently, a lot of pensioners at the time were saying, where's our cut? where's our cut? we're not working. we don't get an income tax cut and the like. so i guess this could be seen as a balancing that. >> well yeah i suppose that's

right emily. i mean one one trap. i wish we could get out of is if you cut taxes for any cohort, apparently you've got to cut it for all cohorts, right? so i rather welcome the national insurance cut. it encourages work, it encourages employment. and all of the parties are really talking about this need to get economic growth back into the system . labour are the system. labour are particularly underscoring that. but sometimes to listen to our politicians, you would think that the problems in britain are that the problems in britain are that we don't have enough regulations, but state spending is too low and that taxes can go up higher. and i would take rather a different view, there isn't a vast amount of state money to go around. we're still running a budget deficit of £50 billion. there are going to have to be reductions in government expenditure, i think overall. so if you're increasing something somewhere , you're going to have somewhere, you're going to have to find equal and opposite or probably even bigger reductions elsewhere. and we do need to try and get the tax burden down, it seems most of the parties are talking about growth as a kind of act of god, something we'll

catch some sort of natural phenomenon that will spring up. whereas by and large, it is a feature of our own domestic politics. we might get lucky with what happens in the rest of the world, but a lot of it was within our gift. and i'd like to hear a bit more from the conservatives, especially about what plans they've got to tick up our growth rate back up to the sort of 2 or 3% per annum we were used to, because if you can crack that, if you can crack that, a lot of these other problems don't go away. but they are enormously mitigated . are enormously mitigated. >> yes. it is a very, very important point. you raised that all of these conversations that we have talking about, oh, how can we tax more? how can we spend more? it's as if we've had five years of the lowest tax in history, and the lowest spending, the lowest debt. i think that's a it's a pretty cunous think that's a it's a pretty curious position where we've got to ourselves as if the tax hasn't been high enough, as if the spending hasn't been high enough, the debt hasn't been high enough. it's been a very odd period where all of those things have gone up, and yet still people tend to clamour for more. >> yeah, tom. that's right.

more. >> yeah, tom. that's right . and >> yeah, tom. that's right. and i would just add this in as an observation of , economic history observation of, economic history in britain. it seems damned near impossible for a government of any stripe to squeeze out more than about 38% of national income in tax. i'm measuring that over my entire lifetime . that over my entire lifetime. and going back before i was born, we've had governments of all different stripes with all different tax policies. >> even when income tax was up in the 90% range, you still wouldn't collect more than 38% in real income. >> that's right . in real income. >> that's right. no, no government has managed it. and we're actually at the at the peak about now. now maybe somebody has got some wizard wheeze scheme about how to dial it up to, i don't know, 38.5, 39. but we are pretty much taxing at the max. this is the highest tax burden since the late 40s, so sooner or later you have to actually operate and spend within that envelope. and that's going to have to mean some reductions somewhere, especially if you're handing out goodies like this in other areas, like pensions. >> absolutely. thank you very much indeed. mark littlewood,

director of popular conservatism. always great to chat to you about these types of things. i also do think that the government need to give something, have something for families. you know, in order to fund these state pensions in, in, in, oh my gosh, perpetuity. yes. you know, there needs to be people having children to be able to fund all of this, to be in work , to be paying taxes and in work, to be paying taxes and the like. don't know whether this is child care or something. >> that's the fundamental conceit about pensions . they conceit about pensions. they were set up so that people think that, you know , i pay into my that, you know, i pay into my pension, i get the money that i paid in back, but it's not set up like that at all. it's taken out of current taxation. so, when pensions that are being paid for now are being paid out of people who pay tax now, not. and the money that was being paid into pensions a generation ago was paying the current pensions of that generation a generation ago . so you do need generation ago. so you do need a growing population to sustain it. we need people to actually be working, which is another problem in our economy. >> anyway, coming up, nigel farage calls the small boat crisis a national emergency.

he's challenging rishi sunak to a televised debate. he's also accused the bbc of bias. you want to see that this is good afternoon britain. we're on

gb news. >> good afternoon. britain. it's 12:26 now. former politician turned tv presenter turned into part time politician again. perhaps we don't know. nigel farage has challenged rishi sunak to a live tv debate on immigration as he branded the small boats crisis a national security emergency . security emergency. >> vie us. in an article for the telegraph, he accused the prime minister of calling the snap election because he knew his plan to deport migrants to rwanda simply would not work well. >> speaking of heated debates in the last hour, nigel farage has got his, or stuck into another

one. do you get an or stuck into a debate? >> i'm not quite stuck his all in there we go, but he's taken to social media to accuse the bbc of bias by claiming that he used, quote , customary used, quote, customary inflammatory language when discussing migration. he was actually just quoting an eu politician . but let's take politician. but let's take a listen about the wave of and i'm using his words, not mine. >> aggressive young males that are coming into poland having crossed the mediterranean. and he has said that this is now a matter of national security. >> nigel farage, with his, customary inflammatory language there at a reform uk press conference, he declined to stand as a for a seat. but we will have more . have more. >> well, that was geeta guru—murthy, the bbc presenter , guru—murthy, the bbc presenter, saying that he used customary inflammatory language. >> yeah. so nigel farage has, gone onto social media and said that this is an example of bbc

bias. so joining us now is howard cox, deputy leader of reform uk and parliamentary candidate for dover. howard just your reaction to begin with to that bbc clip we just played, nigel has come out and said this is bbc bias . is bbc bias. >> well, before i say that i'm not the deputy leader, i'm i'm just a spokesman for reform uk. but in terms of actually. >> sorry, howard. >> sorry, howard. >> no, i've been promoted. i said thank you very much. >> well, it seems that our little, name badge down there has accidentally promoted you. >> we'll get that fixed. but sorry. yeah, do go on. >> just to be clear, to clarify, david baldwin, ben habib, underneath richard tice as the leader. anyway yes. i mean, it's typical bbc. i was at that conference, today, you know, in doven conference, today, you know, in dover. i'm still in dover, here now, in the working men's club. we're about to do a lot of, interviews and photography with our candidates down here. no, it's typical bbc. they can't actually rest. they just simply don't like nigel farage and, you know, they use the word

customary. it just. it's not necessary. let's talk about what's happening, this immigration and all the issues that are happening in this country is really impacting on everyone's lives. the cost of living, the whole aspect regarding immigration needs to be addressed. and at the moment, the elephant in the room continues to be brushed under the carpet by labour and the tories. >> well, what the bbc might say to that, howard, is that nigel farage is known as a controversial politician. he does speak in a way that perhaps some other politicians don't. and perhaps it's true that the language that he was quoting there from donald tusk, the prime minister of poland, former eu council president, perhaps that was inflammatory language, and perhaps it was right for the bbc to point that out. >> yeah, but they don't need to. in his customary, methodology of speaking, it's wrong. i mean , speaking, it's wrong. i mean, nigel, you know nigel better than anyone @gbnews, and he's a guy that's passionate and cares about things. he's the most influential politician of the last 20 years, and i wouldn't be in reform uk if he was. if he'd left the party, i would

definitely not be in reform . he definitely not be in reform. he is an inspiration and an incredible icon for me, and i do . i do incredible icon for me, and i do .i do get incredible icon for me, and i do . i do get very angry with the way certain parts of the media attack him and howard. >> just moving on to the reform uk's, general campaign, how are they doing in terms of candidates? because i know there were some, some gaps. >> yeah, i think we got less gaps than the tories. i think they're missing about 200 seats at the moment in terms of trying to fill. we've got 800 people on our list and we're going to stand in 630 of them, except northern ireland. so it's everywhere, you know, scotland, wales and england, but yes, we're done. and they're being vetted, vetted and vetted. they've been very checked, but obviously with the fact that is important, howard, because obviously everyone knows you. >> you've of course, been a figure in the media for, for many years now. but of course, reform uk has run into problems with candidates. we saw this in the local elections. i think i lost count of the number of candidates who had to be stood down after relatively fruity social media use was was

exposed. it is a problem for your party that perhaps more vetting is required than some of the other parties. >> well, i think it's the same vetting should be for anyone that's standing, the people who vote want to have trustworthy politicians, and we act quicker than most of the others. i promise you that. i've seen some particular, you know, nasty anti—semitic stuff from labour, and i've seen some, you know, particularly nasty things from the tories regarding islamophobia. those are the sorts of things i've seen on social media. i'm afraid social media is almost impossible to police. >> and do you think campaigning purely on immigration is enough to get out the vote, it does. i mean, nigel farage richard tice have called this an an immigration election, haven't they? so is that enough to just focus on one one issue? >> well, we're not going to focus on one issue over the next six weeks. you'll hear next week that richard will be launching things about our taxation policies, etc. very much. i mean, i'm standing you know, when i stood in london as london mayor, which obviously i was unsuccessful, you know, i stood on the fact, you know, a lot of

things had arose like ulez, etc. and then we talked about things like, tripling the number of policemen to make people see, you know, visible policing on the streets. and the third thing was affordable housing. all of those are in the contract with the people that reform uk has. and i really implore people to read it. i think you'll find a lot of people have come across once they read our policies. >> well, howard cox, former london mayoral candidate, now parliamentary candidate for dover for reform uk. thank you for your time. we'll let you get back to the candidate meeting. you have there. >> yes. now, gb news has reached out to the bbc for comment. they've got back to us and they say that please note on the bbc news channel at 1219, gita guru—murthy said. now an apology . earlier today we heard live from nigel farage speaking at that election event we just saw when we came away from his live speech, i used language to describe it, which didn't mean that didn't meet the bbc's editorial standards. on impartiality, she goes on i'd like to apologise to mr farage and viewers for this. wow. so an apology. >> well, let's see if we can get that clipped up and played out

because that seems to me the bbc admitting their, impartiality vie. but it's very, very good of them to have corrected that in a timely manner. we'll get that clip for you in the next few minutes. but coming up, a search for a knife man continues in bournemouth following the fatal stabbing of a 34 year old woman's football coach. we live on the scene after your headunes on the scene after your headlines with tatiana sanchez. >> tom. thank you. the headlines at 1233, the prime minister says the treasury has crunched the numbers and claims labour's economic promises do not add up. speaking at an event in staffordshire, rishi sunak said his government's plan is working. while labour's promises would only bring uncertainty to the economy and illegal migration. >> that's what you'll get with us. let's just take the topic of illegal migration, something i know is important to all of you. something jonathan and i speak about a lot, right? it's fundamentally unfair that people jump fundamentally unfair that people jump the queue and come to our

country illegally, puts pressure on local services , whether it's on local services, whether it's hotels here or elsewhere, it puts people's lives at risk . puts people's lives at risk. it's simply not right. we've got a bold plan to deal with the boats. right. and when i first announced it or announced with my predecessor and i first got this job, people said, oh, no, this job, people said, oh, no, this is not the right thing to do. do you know what? now across europe, the penny has dropped that our approach . that our approach. >> the shadow chancellor is promising to introduce new budget rules aimed at preventing the turmoil seen following liz truss's mini—budget. in her first major speech of the election campaign, rachel reeves said the conservative party deserves to be judged on what she called 14 years of chaos and decline. she said average homeowners were paying around £240 more every month due to the mini—budget, while wages remain flat and taxpayers were asked to pay flat and taxpayers were asked to pay more for less . the mayor of pay more for less. the mayor of london has criticised the government's failure to introduce a total ban on zombie knives, calling it a betrayal of

the safety of young people. sadiq khan is calling on the home secretary to bring forward the legislation, which would include a ban on the sale of the weapons. he says the government isn't taking the crisis seriously enough and that he's set aside more than £150 million for policing and crime prevention in london overseas. now blasts have been heard on the streets of rafah as israel launches a series of strikes . launches a series of strikes. the offensive on gaza's southern city is pressing ahead despite international condemnation. people could be seen carrying their belongings in an attempt to escape the violence . at least to escape the violence. at least 16 palestinians were killed overnight, according to the hamas terror group. this, of course, following the deadly strike on sunday in which more than 40 palestinians were killed . for the latest story, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen, or go to gb news. carmelites . go to gb news. carmelites. >> cheers! britannia wine club

proudly sponsors the gb news financial report, and here's a quick snapshot of today's markets. >> the pound will buy you $1.2788 and ,1.1746. the price of gold is £1,833.66 per ounce, and the ftse 100 is at 8293 points. >> cheers britannia wine club proudly sponsors the gb news financial report

good afternoon. britain. it's 12:39. now. the police are continuing their search for a suspect after two women were attacked in bournemouth on friday night, leaving one dead and the other with serious injuries . injuries. >> us dorset police have released cctv images here of the

hooded murder suspect warning the public not to approach him and urging anyone who recognises him to come forward as soon as possible. >> well, joining us now from bournemouth is gb news, south—west of england. reporter jeff moody. and jeff, this is the sort of thing that you might expect in the centre of a major metropolis , bournemouth. i think metropolis, bournemouth. i think many people think of as, as, as more quiet and perhaps more safe i >> -- >> well, absolutely. and a lot of people here are very shocked and distressed by what happened on friday. police had arrested a 17 year old boy from lancashire, but he has now been released without charge and so the hunt goes on to find out who killed a 34 year old woman who was on the beach behind me here just outside bournemouth. she's been named locally as amy grey from poole. she died at the scene here at durley chine beach on friday. she was with another woman, who was 38, who was now

suffering severe injuries and is currently receiving treatment in hospital. while the police, as you say, have released a cctv of a suspect that they say may have been responsible , but they have been responsible, but they have warned the public whatever you do, do not approach this man. if you see somebody that looks like him, call 999 but do not approach well. detective superintendent richard dixie of the major crime investigation team down here, said the investigation into this tragic incident is progressing and detectives are dedicated to finding out what happened and to ensuring our communities remain safe and secure. he goes on to say, we need the public's help to identify the suspect in the cctv images. if you recognise him or have any information, no matter how small, that may lead to us to his identity, please get in touch immediately. and they stress again that if you do see this man, do not approach him. call 999 and the police statement ends by saying that

all thoughts and prayers are with the families of those affected. >> and jeff, just tell us quickly a little bit about it, about the area down there in bournemouth. yes. it's not a major city. it's not a particularly urban area . but is particularly urban area. but is it somewhere that suffers from these types of crimes ? these types of crimes? >> it doesn't suffer particularly from these types of crimes. police were very keen to stress that this is a very unusual event, not something that that might be expected. and the sense of shock in the community tends to double down on that. people haven't seen anything like this before. there's an awful lot of holidaymaker in this area. of course, we're just coming into the main holiday season. the weather on friday was very nice, the beaches were packed so it could be somebody that was from the area, or it could indeed be somebody that had just come for down a holiday or a couple of days away. but certainly this isn't something that you would expect to happen down here normally. and the people that i've been talking to this morning say they are very shocked indeed.

>> well, thank you very much indeed. jeff moody, our gb news south west of england reporter. please let us know if you hear any updates from the police and their investigation. thank you. >> it is shocking that you know, these these these pictures are put out. you can barely make out any details on them. i mean, the guy, you know, the suspect of the suspect goes completely hooded.i the suspect goes completely hooded . i mean, how how how can hooded. i mean, how how how can you tell? how are people going to be able to spot who that is from these sort of pictures? it feeds into this question of people covering their faces or partially covering their faces, as we see at protests, as we see more and more on the streets in central london, i see people covering their faces with covid masks who don't look like the most sort of people concerned with virus infection, viral infection. and you sort of begin to think sort of, why are people more and more covering their faces? yeah. >> and this is not what you expect in bournemouth. i've been there for a little weekend away. nice seaside seaside town. there's a university. yes as well. just lots of people

walking up and down that beautiful beach side there. so a shocking story. we'll bring you any updates from jeff moody when and if we hear them. >> ed davey was there just a couple of days ago. >> yes, he was. yes. >>— >> yes, he was. yes. >> a the lib dems have their sights on winning some seats around there, but, remains to be seen. if the lib dems are the most associated party with crime and justice and law and order. but still to come, how social media platforms like tiktok and instagram have become key battlegrounds to grab the youth vote ahead of the general election. >> there's some quite funny videos going around we'll show you. you're watching

gb news. well, keep your views coming in. we've got a few here. gbnews.com/yoursay is the way to get in touch on farage's speech in dover, claudette says nigel farage gets straight to the point in plain english and is an

engaging speaker. he doesn't send people off to sleep like most politicians do. instantaneous yes. >> and it does seem that the bbc has admitted the way they reported that speech from nigel farage breached their own standards. they apologised about an hour after it happened. so a relatively quick backtrack very quick from the bbc. but of course, our, our elves are currently, clipping that , currently, clipping that, particular apology from the bbc. we will show it to you this houn >> yes. and on, tory pension promises. susan says tom, you know, the roads, schools and hospitals your generation uses today's pensioners taxes paid for them . what do you have to for them. what do you have to say to that, tom, yes . say to that, tom, yes. >> so they've paid into the system. they've paid into the roads. you use the hospitals, you use the school you went to? >> yes. that doesn't well, not the school i went to, but the that doesn't change the facts. that doesn't change the fact that current pensions are paid out of current taxation. i think

it would have been a much, much, much better system if we could go back 100 years and say, actually, sorry, we're going to delay pensions for a bit and everyone pays into their own pension. but sadly, that's not how the state pension works. so people can pay in for all their lives. and actually it's paying the previous generation. so in order to make sure that people's pensions are protected, we need to ensure the population is growing. otherwise. otherwise you get an upside down what's known as a population pyramid. and that just doesn't work in terms of we do. >> but one thing i will say is that there are a lot of people sort of reaching retirement age at the moment who, are not only having to help out their children, but also having to help out their parents. there is that squeezed middle of, you know, young retirees who are literally having to splash the cash left, right and centre. and perhaps they do deserve a bit of a bit of a. yes. election. i mean, might well be the case. >> the only way to afford it is by having more people in work. >> yes, well, there's a lot of people out of work at the moment costing the public purse quite a

bit. but there's a new campaign, battleground this year, and that's a social media platforms, particularly tiktok and instagram and their little video clips. >> yes. well labour, the conservatives and the green party even reform uk are all running active tiktok accounts despite the, claims from, many reputable security sources that perhaps it's not the safest app to be using. but some are using this popular video site to use trends and what are known as memes to take hits out of each other. well, let's let's have a little watch, some of you may die, but it's a sacrifice i am willing to make . willing to make. >> surprise, surprise surprise surprise . surprise. >> it's the greatest feeling. no body deny. >> so this is the labour party using what a viral formats of cilla black singing surprise, surprise and lord farquaad of shrek sort of saying that this

is this is rishi sunak. these have had millions and millions of views. that last clip, i don't know if you could see if you squinted very, very tightly, you squinted very, very tightly, you might be able to see it. half a million likes. that's crazy. people viewing it. that's people engaging with the content and liking it. that's a hugely powerful tool. yes. >> so they've very much been mocking this national service announcement, and i must say, a lot of tiktokers, not political tiktokers , but just, you know, tiktokers, but just, you know, the general public who use tiktok have been making some very funny, very funny video clips, smart thing about the labour strategy here is it doesn't use politicians. >> yeah, but let's let's talk about this a bit more deeply with the electoral strategist and social media campaigner, sean topham. sean, sorry to be breaking into your usual politics. >> oh, that's rishi sunak that's rishi sunak. >> this is sean, sean, thank you so much forjoining us. i know you worked on, helping the tories to their 2019, astonishing electoral victory. what makes social media campaigning work? >> yeah. that's right. look,

social media campaigning is all about getting attention, getting eyeballs and getting people to stick with your message for as long as possible. and that's why you have to throw so many different, formats, including memes with your message, and put them up online to try and retain them up online to try and retain the attention of voters. because voters are flicking through their phones. you're flicking through tiktok, swiping through video after video, to retain your attention and get your message across you. sometimes have to explore having a sense of humour as the labour party have certainly done with a range of memes over the last few days, and then you take the conservatives, for example , who conservatives, for example, who are taking a bit more serious policy led approach. which sort of sits within their frame of the election being serious , the election being serious, uncertain times. and i think you'll see over the next few weeks in the campaign, tiktok will be a platform of huge amounts of creativity for the parties, there's so much so many ways you can use that platform and use video to take your message to the public, but you ultimately have to win eyeballs and stop them from scrolling and

get get attention on your message for as long as possible, and you can take short videos and you can take short videos and memes, or you can do longer form, policy led content. i've seen both work in campaigns all over the world, so it's good to see both parties, getting onto tiktok and taking the gloves off a little bit, certainly the labour party are having having a bit of fun with it. >> do the conservatives need to be a bit bolder, use humour perhaps, like the labour party, look, i think there's always a place for a balance of content and campaigns. so yes, i'd encourage all parties to find a funny way to have a take on their message or their opponent's message, but you know, they have they've laid the terms of this campaign in a very serious way. this is an uncertain time. we've got a lot of pressure globally, and we need to, you know, come up with bold ideas, hints, rishi, leading on tiktok with his policy for national service. and they've used the platform by answering questions and engaging with voters in a meaningful way, which is, again, useful. would it be interesting to see whether

labour leans in and uses keir and some of their politicians? they've relied on cilla black and shrek to date, but maybe they'll put some of their people on tiktok too. well sean topham, i'm afraid we've run to the end of the hour, but thank you so much for coming on and explaining what is a vital new battleground in these in this general election. >> really fascinating to see different approaches there. >> i'm not going to lie. i like a little, a little short video clip like that on tiktok. anyway, coming up, our debate, are young people worse off in this day and age than past generations? this one could get feisty. so good afternoon britain. we're on gb news. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on . gb news. >> hello again. here's your latest gb news weather forecast brought to you in association with the met office . there will with the met office. there will be some thundery downpours to watch out for through the next couple of days, but we also have some persistent rain across the uk at the moment in association

with a frontal system which is marching its way north eastwards across the country. it's already brought quite a bit of rain to many areas through the morning, but it is bringing quite a soggy end to the day across parts of scotland and northeast england. that rain will clear away as we go overnight, but then plenty of showers following in behind. we've seen some of these turning heavy and thundery through the daytime, and they could still be a little bit on the heavy side overnight, most places staying quite cloudy. some clear skies, but on the whole temperatures not dropping a huge amount. many places holding up in double digits . so places holding up in double digits. so for most it places holding up in double digits . so for most it is going digits. so for most it is going to be a mild start to the day tomorrow and quite a cloudy one if we take a closer look and starting off across scotland. quite a cloudy picture here and some outbreaks of showery rain. nothing particularly heavy dunng nothing particularly heavy during the morning, but it is likely to turn a bit heavier and a bit thundery as we go through the day across northern ireland, a similar story and northern england to some bright or sunny spells perhaps, but on the whole quite a cloudy picture, a bit brighter, sunnier further south. that's because we will have some clear skies overnight here, and so there could be a few pockets

of mist and fog. first thing, but these should quite quickly clear. otherwise, as we go through the daytime tomorrow and it is going to be quite a showery picture for most the heaviest, most frequent showers across eastern parts of scotland. and here they are likely to turn thundery. could be some hail, could be some frequent lightning mixed in here, even elsewhere. some thundery downpours are possible, perhaps a greater chance of staying dry towards the southwest . highs in the low 20s southwest. highs in the low 20s towards the southeast. high teens generally elsewhere. not feeling too bad away from any of those thundery showers. similar picture as we go through the evening. tomorrow though, we should start to see the showers easing a little bit as we go through wednesday night into thursday. that being said, thursday. that being said, thursday still looking like a showery day for many of us, but with high pressure building from the west as we go into the weekend, it is going to start to turn drier for most by that warm feeling inside . feeling inside. >> from boxt boilers, sponsors of

gb news. >> well. good afternoon. britain it's 1:00 on tuesday, the 28th of may. i'm emily carver and i'm tom harwood now. will boost your pensions . a promise from rishi pensions. a promise from rishi sunak, who vows to protect state pension payments from being taxed if he wins the general election. it's been dubbed a quadruple lock, but critics say the pledge is not credible and risks alienating young voters. this is the labour party claims to be both socialist and the new party of business, with 120 ceos opening openly backing the party ahead of the general election. >> though none from the ftse 100. >> and meanwhile nigel farage throws himself into the campaign, giving his first major speech in dover as the prime minister slaps down his challenge to debate him on immigration. it's all go . immigration. it's all go. >> and is labour's policy to slap vat on private school fees starting to fall apart ? well, a starting to fall apart? well, a new survey has found that almost half of private school pupils could be driven out by sir keir

starmer's tax rate. we'll be joined by one headteacher. now here's a question are young people worse off in this day and age than any other peace time generation? >> well, i mean, you tweeted to that effect , didn't you? i did, that effect, didn't you? i did, you said young people have never been worse off. yeah, i which is absolute tosh. >> well no , i think i think >> well no, i think i think relative relative to all generations. the gap in terms of expected options and ability to accrue wealth and amounts that you're taxed and all the rest of it , relative between it, relative between generations. i mean, ultimate ugly things have been worse in the past, but it's usually been worse on an even keel over time. it's worse and it's tipped. >> the cost of living is very high. extremely high. and yes,

it is difficult to get on the housing ladder in some parts of the country, not all, but in some parts of the country, particularly where there are good jobs. yes, right. where people want to live, it is they're expensive to get housing, but also things have been pretty tough for past generations, have they not, huge interest rates, very high interest rates, very high inflation. like not what we've seen recently, far higher than in the past. but the question is, did that fall on more generations more evenly then and now? >> it's all more tipped. >> it's all more tipped. >> but even people on low incomes can afford to go on holiday. young people, they find the for money that. but what do you think at home? are young people worse off in this day and age? we're going to have a bit of a spicy debate on that one in just a few moments. so send your views in gbnews.com forward slash your say. but let's get to your headlines with tatiana. >> emily, thank you and good afternoon. the top stories this houn afternoon. the top stories this hour. the prime minister says the treasury has crunched the numbers and claims labour's

economic promises do not add up. speaking at an event in staffordshire, rishi sunak said his government's plan is working while labour's promises would only bring uncertainty to the economy and migration . economy and migration. >> that's what you'll get with us. let's just take the topic of illegal migration, something i know is important to all of you. something jonathan and i speak about a lot, right? it's fundamentally unfair that people jump fundamentally unfair that people jump the queue and come to our country illegally puts pressure on local services, whether it's hotels here or elsewhere. it puts people's lives at risk. it's simply not right. we've got a bold plan to deal with the boats right. and when i first announced it or announced when my predecessor and i first got this job, people said, oh no, this job, people said, oh no, this is not the right thing to do. do you know what? now, across europe, the penny has dropped that our approach is the right approach . right approach. >> the shadow chancellor is promising to introduce new budget rules aimed at preventing the turmoil seen following liz truss's mini—budget. in her first major speech of the

election campaign, rachel reeves said the conservative party deserves to be judged on what she called 14 years of chaos and decline. she said average homeowners were paying around £240 more every month due to the mini—budget, while wages remain flat and taxpayers are asked to pay flat and taxpayers are asked to pay more for less . pay more for less. >> if our economy had have grown at the average rate of oecd countries, these last 14 years, our economy today would be £150 billion larger, worth £5,000 for every household and providing £55 billion more investment for our public services . that is our public services. that is their record. and they deserve to be judged on it. >> pensioners could be in for a tax break worth up to £24 billion a year as part of an election pledge by the conservative party. it could see cuts worth around £95 in the next tax year, rising to £275 by

2029. the prime minister says it will be funded by a clamp down on tax dodgers. liberal democrats leader sir ed davey says the government has a poor record for pensioners. >> it's rather remarkable they're trying to make out this is some great policy. when they were the ones who increased taxes on pensioners in the first place by not raising allowance, it was the liberal democrats who fought hard to increase the income tax allowance to help pensioners and help people on low incomes, and the conservatives froze those tax allowances. so i don't think pensioners or anyone else is going to be fooled by the conservatives having broken their promise, having raised taxes now suddenly just before election, saying they are going to do something different and staying with the lib dems, the party is pledging to put environmental experts on the boards of water companies. >> sir davey took to a paddle board in lake windermere this morning as he outlined plans to have experts sit on water company boards to improve public accountability and transparency.

he said water utilities are getting away with what he called a national sewage scandal, while conservative mps and ministers have sat on their hands. it comes as data shows sewage bills in england's rivers and seas more than doubled last year. more than 120 business leaders offer their public support to the labour party. in an open letter published by the times , letter published by the times, the leaders say that a new outlook is needed, so the uk can break free from a decade of economic stagnation . some of economic stagnation. some of those who've signed the message include the chef, tom kerridge, and former ceos of heathrow jp morgan and aston martin. overseas now blasts have been heard on the streets of rafah as israel launches a series of strikes . the offensive on gaza's strikes. the offensive on gaza's southern city is pressing ahead despite international condemnation. people could be seen carrying their belongings in an attempt to escape the violence, as at least 16 palestinians were killed

overnight . that's after the overnight. that's after the deadly strike on sunday, which killed more than 40 palestinians, according to hamas. israel says it wants to root out hamas fighters in rafah and rescue hostages who are still being held by the terror group . and moving portraits of group. and moving portraits of blind and vision impaired d—day veterans will go on show to mark the 80th anniversary of the landings . the portraits capture landings. the portraits capture 16 veterans who served in normandy and are beneficiaries of blind veterans. uk. seven of the portraits are featured in a special exhibition at the national army museum in london, which runs until the 9th of june, and others will be displayed at the new winston churchill centre in normandy, which will open on thursday next week. marking the 80th anniversary of d—day. week. marking the 80th anniversary of d—day . for the anniversary of d—day. for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen or go to gb news. common alerts. now back to tom and . emily.

tom and. emily. >> well, in the past hour, we reported on nigel farage's complaint about the bbc during the broadcast of his speech at a reform uk event in dover. a bbc's presenter's commentary accused him of using inflammatory language. let's have a watch about the wave of. >> and i'm using his words, not mine. aggressive young males that are coming into poland having crossed the mediterranean. and he has said that this is now a matter of national security. >> nigel farage, with his, customary inflammatory language there at a reform uk press conference, he declined to stand as a for a seat customary inflammatory language. >> well , actually, we asked the >> well, actually, we asked the bbc, about that and for them to issue a statement , we thought it issue a statement, we thought it

was a little bit curious for the bbc to be making those sort of editorial judgements on air. i think nigel farage also asked for an apology. i think quite a lot of gb news viewers might have written as well. well, within an hour of that live moment on television , the moment on television, the presenter issued this on air apology. nigel farage now an apology. >> earlier today we heard live from nigel farage speaking at that election event. we just saw and when we came away from his live speech, i used language to describe it, which didn't meet the bbc's editorial standards on impartiality. the bbc's editorial standards on impartiality . vie i would like impartiality. vie i would like to apologise to mr farage and viewers for this. wolf >> not yes, an admittance that it didn't, live up to their standards. well, let's go to windermere now and speak to gb news political correspondent olivia utley olivia, quite a quick turnaround on that apology i >> -- >> very imam >> very quick turnaround indeed. just an hour was a little bit reminiscent of the coots experience , and it does feel as experience, and it does feel as though nigel farage has come up on top again . though nigel farage has come up on top again. he demanded an

apology and sure enough, just one hour later the bbc did apologise for saying that nigel farage was using customary inflammatory language of course, farage points out that he wasn't even using his own words. he was quoting the polish president donald tusk . so that seems to be donald tusk. so that seems to be the end of that. and farage is calling it a victory . calling it a victory. >> well, there we go. it's a it's an interesting one because of course, he is someone that drags perhaps much more media attention and perhaps quick response than richard tice, from whom we haven't really heard today and yet he's the guy that leads reform uk. it seems that there's a bit of a double headed act going on there that might confuse parts of the electorate . confuse parts of the electorate. >> i think so, and i think the conservatives will be breathing a big sigh of relief again today that nigel farage has said that he is not standing for the reform party in this election, as we've seen from this incident today. and of course , with that today. and of course, with that coots incident, when the ceo of natwest ended up having to step down from her role , while nigel

down from her role, while nigel farage commands public attention in an almost extraordinary way and manages to get himself to the top of the headlines on so, so many occasions . now that is so many occasions. now that is very, very useful for a politician . and i think if nigel politician. and i think if nigel farage were standing for the reform party , then the reform party, then the conservatives would be very worried indeed about reform splitting the right wing vote as it is, richard tice is managing to get the reform party polling pretty well. but in by elections, we're not really seeing that polling play out and the conservative mps i've spoken to don't seem to be that worried on the whole about the threat of reform, what they're really worried about, of course, is laboun >> that's very interesting, olivia. we can't ignore. you are on board the liberal democrat battle bus. what's going on today? it looks like it's raining outside . raining outside. >> we're in the lake district, so of course it is raining, we've been in windermere and tim farron and ed davey, the leader of the liberal democrats, have been doing a bit of paddle boarding to get across their

message about clean water. a huge liberal democrat policy campaign . when i asked ed davey campaign. when i asked ed davey earlier about what he made of keir starmer as a potential prime minister it's really interesting. ed davey almost never criticises keir starmer and refused to do so again today, even when pressed on the issue twice. the lib dems are determined to talk about only the conservatives. they want to unseat as many conservative mps as possible and after this we're heading off to wales and then down to the south of england, where the lib dems are really, really concentrating their efforts. what they hope to do is unseat a whole swathe of conservative mps, including some pretty senior cabinet members. the campaign from the liberal democrats this time isn't about winning the election. they're not going with the jo swinson, your next prime minister lie—in, which didn't do very well in 2019. jo swinson, the then leader, of course, ended up losing her seat to the snp in fact, what the liberal democrats are doing is simply talking about unseating local conservatives. and the more lib

dems that i talk to the more i realised just how targeted their general election campaign is. they have their target seats and thatis they have their target seats and that is where they are focusing all of their attention. and almost all of that attention is focused on unseating conservatives. plus a few snp mps in scotland. but labour is getting a very easy ride from the liberal democrats. >> very, very interesting. some might suggest that there's been some some backroom scheming, perhaps some secret dealing between those two parties. but olivia, you're on board the battle bus. it's called yellowhammer one. as if this is a big yellow hammer to smash through that tory blue wall. i wonder, can we have a little look around the bus? are we able to do that with you ? to do that with you? >> i think we are, ollie. can we can we get a little view of the bus? >> oh, very nice what we have there. >> we've got a sort of kitchen station and lots of journalists . station and lots of journalists. >> that's. that's the vibe. yep. lots of tea making facilities, lots of snacks, i have to thank

the lib dems for that. it does seem to be the plushest of the campaign buses, so we seem to have pulled the long straw here. so they're feeding you and watering you. >> that's good news. that's good news. thank you very much indeed. olivia utley on the battle bus there for the lib democrats. gb news. political correspondent. excellent stuff . correspondent. excellent stuff. yes. interesting to get a little insight into the, the bus features . yes. features. yes. >> well, the weather is particularly grim. i suppose it's , it's good that that ed it's, it's good that that ed davey managed to fall in the water before it started raining. or perhaps it wouldn't have mattered because he was going to be wet. wet wet anyway. >> well, did you see today also in the news that, we're set for the uk's record wettest summer ? the uk's record wettest summer? >> yeah, it's very disappointing, isn't it? >> which is good, particularly for those getting married this summer, particularly for those who are getting married, for those who have cancelled their honeymoons. >> thanks to the election, for those that have cancelled other holidays, as basically everyone in the gb newsroom has had to do. oh no, it's great. it's a great. >> the uk's wettest summer on record. hopefully they're wrong. they usually are . they're they usually are. they're usually wrong. they're usually wrong. the sun will come out tomorrow . and a brand new report

tomorrow. and a brand new report says labour's plan to charge 20% vat on independent school fees would force nearly half of fee paying would force nearly half of fee paying pupils into the state system . system. >> well, it comes amid fears of a pupil exodus from private to state schools, after sir keir promised that he would initiate the tax hike on day one of a labour government. well joining us now is sue hannam, headteacher at lichfield cathedral school. >> thank you very much for joining us, there's been a little confusion about the impact of what this policy is going to mean for private schools and also for the state schools and also for the state school system. you've got the ifs saying they're only expecting about 3 to 7% of pupils to drop out of the private school system. but now we get this report with a survey of actual parents suggesting that it could be as high as half of pupils. i mean, what's your what's your prediction here? >> well, it's interesting, isn't it, because the disparity there is absolutely enormous , what is is absolutely enormous, what is fair to say is that there was a recent report by the adam smith institute which suggested around

25% migration into the maintained sector , which cuts maintained sector, which cuts the difference, which which might be nearer the truth , if might be nearer the truth, if that happens, of course, it would cost the state sector about 1.6 billion a year. so on financial grounds, it doesn't really add up. i think there is genuine concern in our sector, that parents who work really hard to put their children in will have to make some difficult choices. but actually, we're also really concerned about the maintained sector and the impact it will have there . it will have there. >> what do you mean by that? the grant maintained sector being perhaps pretty severely impacted ? >> well, absolutely. and certainly the adam smith institute report would indicate that that's pretty much a likelihood. if you look at, greece's by way of an example, they put vat on school fees there for, for independent schools, it was 23% there. it closed many schools , and the closed many schools, and the state sector was totally overwhelmed. so if that's

anything to go by, it doesn't look good, and i mean, you, of course, speak to parents on a on a day to day basis. what are they telling you? how worried about this? are they are they doing any future planning ? doing any future planning? >> well, absolutely. and i think there are a large number of parents who work really, really hard, often with multiple jobs. it's a real, misconception . i it's a real, misconception. i think that everybody who has their children in the sector is hugely wealthy. it's simply not the case. children. i mean , even the case. children. i mean, even if you think about this, 100,000 pupils with special educational needs and disabilities that are in the independent sector, and that may well be the right school for them, you know what's going to happen to those is the fear for me is that people will lose choice. schools are about children. they're about families. they are communities, and this is a real threat to freedom of choice. >> and i suppose what the greek example shows us, sue, is that you don't need every single

family to be bankrupted by this. you just need a critical mass in a number of schools and the whole school has to close. so even those who could afford paying even those who could afford paying a fifth more for those fees suddenly don't have as much choice as they did before. in many of those children, even the wealthier ones are pushed back into the state sector. >> well, that's right , into the state sector. >> well, that's right, and i think we've also got two other critical things to consider here. one is where are the school places nationally anyway? and if children do need to move from one sector to the other, are the places even there for them in the area where they live? and that's a problem. we also know that we haven't hit the, the requirements for teacher recruitment and the targets for the last few years, andifs targets for the last few years, and it's all well and good saying that investment can go into, you know, replacing thousands of teachers, but where are they coming from? because they're not coming forward at they're not coming forward at the moment. they haven't done the moment. they haven't done the last few years. they're just simply not training and they're not there. so there's a much bigger picture here that is really, i think, going to the heart of the quality of education in our schools across

both sectors. yeah. >> and sue, just lastly, do you feel like the labour party is listening because i spoke to a minister, a shadow minister, yesterday about this and we spoke about children with special needs and where where are they going to go? a lot of these private schools cater for children with learning difficulties and just special needsin difficulties and just special needs in general, and he seemed to just dismiss it and say, well, we've got to make tough choices. >> yeah, absolutely. and i think we're being reassured that pupils with an education health care plan would be supported , care plan would be supported, but they're such a tiny percentage of a much larger number of children who have got specific learning difficulties . specific learning difficulties. and we have no idea what's going to be done to support those. >> of course, just finally, the labour party say that fees have risen year on, year on year. if you take fees in private schools a decade ago compared to today,

that's more than the equivalent rise than would come through vat . i suppose this would be in one go and faster. but do they have a point that actually a lot of schools could bear the brunt of this? >> i think you've got a really two tier system of schools who've got large endowments, who will be able to manage this, probably without too much of a bump in the road. and then the vast majority of everyone else who will not, you know, it really, it's not going to impact on the schools that i think they probably have the biggest ideological issue with. yeah, it will impact on hundreds, potentially of smaller schools that are doing amazing work in communities with children with all sorts of specialism . and all sorts of specialism. and that's pretty tragic, really. well, thank you very much indeed. >> sue hannam, a headteacher at lichfield cathedral school. great to speak to you. this is the thing, tom. isn't it a sort of narrative that every single private school is like eton and harrow, when actually a lot of them cater for a small number of pupils, some with different special needs, some with all

sorts of different, you know, interests. and so far , and, but interests. and so far, and, but obviously it suits them well ideologically to, to pretend like everyone's eton. >> yes. and the funny thing, i suppose here is that the policy designed to to, knock points off of eton and harrow and winchester and all the rest of them will actually attack all of them will actually attack all of the cheaper, smaller local private schools and make private education even more a reserve, more of an even, smaller elite. i mean, it's a counterproductive policy. also, the irony , a lot policy. also, the irony, a lot of these private schools are exporting their model overseas. >> so you've got a, a hong kong harrow. yes. you've got a various schools with, exporting their model to dubai and places like this. it's a huge it's quite an export. and i suppose one of the things is that that the sort of public school education system within the uk, you look at how many world leaders around the world have

gone to british schools and british universities. >> it's a huge soft power export. if you look at the number of schools de princes or i world leaders the world over who have spent some time in british education, it's something that we really, really should cling on to. >> i just think, you know, our support, any party that wants to improve the state system. but i'm not sure that this is going to be able to fund that anyway. coming up, as the tories set their eyes on the pensioner vote, youngsters are complaining they've never been worse off. is that true ? that true? >> well, that fiery debate coming after this

>> all right. good afternoon. britain. it's 125, >> all right. good afternoon. britain. it's125, and i think it's britain. it's125, and i think wsfime britain. it's125, and i think it's time for a debate. i think

so too. >> yeah. prime minister seeking to shore up support amongst the older generation, he's vowed that state pensions will never be taxed under what's being dubbed the triple lock plus policy, personal allowances will increase. >> yes. the reaction from some young people has been that pensioners get everything and they, the young have it the hardest. >> so today's big question, our young people worse off in this day and age compared to previous times. >> well to debate this we're joined now by author and broadcaster christine hamilton and also the communications officer at the institute of economic affairs, reem ibrahim, reem, i'll start with you. are young people worse off these these days? >> we are. and the economics statistics prove it. i mean, housing is entirely unaffordable for my generation, housing is now effectively , on average, now effectively, on average, across the uk, 12 times the average salary , whereas in the average salary, whereas in the 90s it was significantly less than that. sometimes 3 to 4 times the average salary. and the reason why housing is unaffordable is because the

government are actively restricting supply. we have a horrendous planning system, and perverse political incentives mean that the government are incentivised to listen to the interests of nimbys. those not interests of nimbys. those not in my backyard is now the reason why i think this policy, the additional triple lock plus or the or the quadruple, triple lock, is effectively so, so offensive to young people and effectively a slap in the face. it's because a quarter of pensioners are already millionaires. and so effectively, what the government is doing is bribing pensioners to vote for them and to continuously vote for them . now, continuously vote for them. now, from a political, political perspective, it completely makes sense . pensioners, older people sense. pensioners, older people generally have very high turnout and generally will vote conservative. it's effectively an election grabber. and it's no it's no surprise that the election is in july, and this is a kind of policy that they're coming outwith. >> okay, let's do that over to christine. >> well, whatever you say. there are massive generalisations. there are rich boomers and poor boomers. there are rich millennials and poor

millennials. so the whole thing is a generalisation , pensioners is a generalisation, pensioners deserve to have their pensions protected . they're not all protected. they're not all wealthy. some of them depend entirely on that pension. and if it's being eroded stealthily by tax grab, that just means that they have a poorer and poorer standard of living. so i think we have to be careful by making these sweeping generalisations. i mean, it's always claimed that people like me have never had it so good. you know, we missed the war or we missed national service. we got free orange juice, we got free university education. we did because not so many went to university. blame tony blair for the fact now that everybody wants to go to university, so people have to pay university, so people have to pay for it. but on the downside, you know, we didn't have foreign holidays. we didn't expect foreign holidays. we had the ever present threat of nuclear war, by the way. we didn't jet off to get married. we got married in the local church in a marquee on the lawn . we had. i marquee on the lawn. we had. i didn't even have a telephone when i was growing up. i got one earlier than most because my

father was a was a gp, but most people had no phone. they had to go to the box in the corner, you know, it's very difficult to compare the two. we've often been compared the boomers as a pig been compared the boomers as a pig swallowed by a python. and the allegation is that as we've moved through the through the years , we have, had years, we have, had a disproportionate effect on government policy, etc. and then we've turned around and pulled up the drawbridge. it's not true . i mean, for every boomer, every millennial there is a boomer who is either their father or mother or grandfather or aunt or whatever. and i think there's actually a lot more in common with the generations than people think, and they reach out to help each other. you know, whoever's got in some families , whoever's got in some families, it's the youngsters who've got the money. in other families, it's the older one. >> that's true, reem, i'll put that to you. you're out of touch. you don't know what it's like, actually. so i think that what what has been said. >> that's correct is that there are, of course, many boomers

that are wealthy and many that are not wealthy. but the statistics prove themselves that a quarter of pensioners are currently millionaires. so whether or not you believe that that's stuck in their house, though, isn't it, reem? exactly >> they're stuck in their house. >> they're stuck in their house. >> well, well, let's let's talk about housing. i mean, the fact of the matter is the housing crisis affects last time buyers just as much as it affects first time buyers. if you are an elderly couple and your children have moved out, you've moved away and you're in a big five bedroom family house. there is no incentive for you to go and move to a smaller house or indeed downsize at all, because there isn't that kind of supply and there isn't that kind of housing that would cater towards your particular needs. but just to address particularly what's been said, this idea that young people are out of touch or have never had it so good. you're absolutely right. over the last 100 years, the economy has improved. standard of living has improved, and that is directly as a result of people that work and contribute to the economy. people are young. people are not incentivised to do so in this country anymore. we have almost the highest tax burden since the second world war. we've got a

higher tax burden now than we did under the labour governments of gordon. gordon brown and tony blair. and yet at the same time, we are actively pushing our investment. it is unaffordable to own it. housing is entirely unaffordable and the cost of living is huge. and so actually the question is why would young people stay and who's going to pay people stay and who's going to pay for the next generation? >> let's put that to christine then, because christine, young people have extraordinarily for peace time , spent almost two peace time, spent almost two years indoors to protect older people. young people now see their work taxed more and more and pensions have been going up, sometimes by double digits, year on year , when pay for people in on year, when pay for people in work has not been going up by the same amount, whereas perhaps costs like housing are much higher for people who don't own their own homes. putting all those things together, it does seem like things are pretty tough for young people in this country at the moment. yeah i don't for an instant underestimate the impact that covid had on that generation.

>> i mean, it has been traumatising for a lot of them, and technology drives an awful lot of these differences. i mean, technology has has changed the world. it's changed life expectation. it's changed people's day to day expectations. people are globally connected , and yet globally connected, and yet young people are more likely to experience loneliness than my generation because as you y goodness knows, because they can have connectivity to anybody and everybody at the touch of a button. but it's very superficial. it's not the deep sort of connectivity that leads to, ameliorating loneliness . to, ameliorating loneliness. and, you know, people seem to think that pensions are a handout. they're not. i started working the minute i left university on a salary. i might tell you, of £800 a year , and tell you, of £800 a year, and i've been paying it ever, ever. i've been paying it ever, ever. i know , i have to admit, that i know, i have to admit, that was only for a few months, and my next job, i got 2500 a year. oh, quite the boost . quite a oh, quite the boost. quite a boost, but i was lucky. that was

a hell of a salary for somebody in my level, but the idea that this is just a handout, it is not a handout. we have paid in over the generations, and it's an entitlement. well, the problem, but you're not entitled. >> you're not paying. you didn't pay >> you're not paying. you didn't pay for your pension at the moment. so you when you were working, you paid for the previous generation, the current pensioners. >> i'm so sorry. i'm being told we've got to get to the news bulletins. this is a debate that no doubt will run and run. what a shame. and christine, thank you so much. spirited debate there. lots more to come including labour's , both including labour's, both socialist argument but pro—business argument. are they all things to all people, or are they really the party for business? well, after your news headlines. >> tom, thank you very much and good afternoon. the top stories from the gb newsroom. the prime minister has suggested that britain's approach to migration is the envy of europe , as he is the envy of europe, as he addressed a campaign event in

staffordshire today. rishi sunak said the conservative plan to deal with small boat arrivals across the channel has faced heavy criticism, but warned a labour government would only bnng labour government would only bring uncertainty . bring uncertainty. >> that's what you'll get with us. let's just take the topic of illegal migration, something i know is important to all of you. something jonathan and i speak about a lot, right? it's fundamentally unfair that people jump fundamentally unfair that people jump the queue and come to our country illegally, puts pressure on local services , whether it's on local services, whether it's hotels here or elsewhere, it puts people's lives at risk . puts people's lives at risk. it's simply not right. we've got a bold plan to deal with the boats. right. and when i first announced it or announced with my predecessor and i first got this job, people said, oh, no, this job, people said, oh, no, this is not the right thing to do. do you know what? now across europe, the penny has dropped that our approach is the right approach. >> the shadow chancellor has promising to introduce new budget rules aimed at preventing the turmoil seen following liz truss mini—budget. in her first major speech of the election campaign, rachel reeves said the conservative party deserves to be judged on what she called 14

years of chaos and decline. she said average homeowners were paying said average homeowners were paying around £240 more every month due to the mini—budget, while wages remain flat and tax payers are asked to pay more for less overseas. now, blasts have been heard on the streets of rafah as israel launches a series of strikes. the offensive on gaza's southern city is pressing ahead despite international condemnation. people could be seen carrying their belongings in an attempt to escape the violence. israel says it's working to root out operatives from the hamas terror group and release hostages. at least 16 palestinians were killed overnight. that's after the deadly strike on sunday, which killed more than 40 palestinians for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen or go to gb news. comment alerts . comment alerts. >> cheers! britannia wine club

proudly sponsors the gb news financial report . financial report. >> here's a quick snapshot of today's markets . the pound will today's markets. the pound will buy you $1.2791 and ,1.1755. the price of gold is £1,837.58 per ounce, and the ftse 100 is at 8290 points. >> cheers, britannia wine club proudly sponsors the gb news financial report

>> good afternoon. britain. it's 1:39. now, this general election seems like it has really kicked into gear. different leaders saying different things, new policies almost by the day. joining us now is the shadow minister for industry and decarbonisation, sarah jones. and sarah, i'm going to have to start with this. pensions

promise from the prime minister, it's created a bit of a dividing line between the labour party and the tory party because sticking to those tax threshold plans ffnns under labour pensioners would be paying tax on their basic state pension. but under the tories they wouldn't be. >> well, i think the dividing line is between a party that is realistic about the state the economy's in. after 14 years of conservative misrule and a party thatis conservative misrule and a party that is throwing promises left, right and centre that are completely unfunded. i don't think anybody believes that the conservative party will do what they say because they promise to cut taxes, and we've got the highest taxes we've seen in 70 years. they went back on their word when it came to the pension triple lock, and we know that the economy has been sluggish and we've suffered from a cost of living crisis that has cost people, on average , an extra. six. >> sarah james, the pensions triple lock on bills still in

place. the pensions triple lock has seen that pensions rose by double digits last year. >> yeah they they it didn't for a year because they changed the policy for a year during their term. but look the pensions triple lock. let's let's talk about pensioners. this is incredibly important . the last incredibly important. the last labour government of course brought a million pensioners out of poverty. we set up the winter fuel allowance. the pension credits and the free bus passes. so we have, every intention of making sure that those people who've worked hard through their lives can have a decent pension. so we are sticking to the triple lock, which is really important for the life of parliament. but what rachel reeves has said today , and which is right, is today, and which is right, is that we can't give unfunded commitments and do what liz truss did, you know, make all these promises and then crash these promises and then crash the economy . so we've been the economy. so we've been really clear what we will do and what we won't do and how we'll back british business to build

our economy so that we can all have more money in our pockets, and that the tax system can make sure we've got the public services we need. there's a whole wider range of things we need to do to help pensioners as well. energy costs will bring down energy costs by our net zero policies by 2030. travel costs you know, we need to see a travel system that works all of our cost of living proposals are really important for pensioners , really important for pensioners, as they are for everybody else. >> but just to be clear, by the end of this parliament, under your current spending plans, pensioners will be paying tax on their basic state pension. in a way they're not doing currently. >> well, the government have set out a commitment that we do not believe is feasible because they've already got a £46 billion tax, bombshell in terms of how they're going to fund this cut to national insurance. how is that going to work? if you pay how is that going to work? if you pay into national insurance, that then is directly connected to your pension at the end. so

how are they going to pay for that without putting up the pension age, for example, by five years, which would fill the gap or without making significant reductions in the state pension? the conservatives are not being honest about their policies. the labour party is being really clear. we'll protect the pension triple lock and we'll grow the economy so that everybody can be better off. okay are you starting to get a bit worried about this , get a bit worried about this, private school policy slapping vat on the fees? because, as i'm sure you've seen, there's a new report today that's done, a survey of parents with children at private schools. and it suggests that nearly half of those parents are considering pulling their children out of the private sector. and putting them into the state school system. up to 224,000 pupils could leave the private sector as a result. is labour going to magic up these spaces in the state system ? state system? >> well, look, government is about making choices and being

honest about those choices. now i've got three kids in state schools and i see the impact that 14 years of conservatives have had on their education. you know, not having teachers in the right places , not having the right places, not having the resources that those schools need.the resources that those schools need. the institute for fiscal studies, which is a credible report, unlike today's, which is funded by the independent schools lobby , say that we will schools lobby, say that we will raise £1.3 billion overall from this policy and we will put that into our education of our kids to make sure they have 6500 extra teachers that they have career advice and all the rest of the reforms. now, listen, the conservatives let's be honest, since 2010, a thousand independent schools have closed on their watch. so i'm not having criticism from them on that front. now we want parents to have choice. we want the state sector to work and to be where everybody wants to send their kids. and it's up to

private. yes, sarah, but the private. yes, sarah, but the private sector, the private sector has has caters for up to 100,000 children with special needs. >> where are those children going to go ? going to go? >> well, this is what i'm saying. the institute for fiscal studies, which is the only credible report out there, say that this policy will give us a net gain of 1.3. >> so you only listen to reports , so you only listen to look at you only listen to reports that you only listen to reports that you agree with. because there have been many other reports. the adam smith institute as well has done analysis saying this is going to cost the treasury and that many pupils will leave and that many pupils will leave and that will be a burden on the state. is there not an argument this could actually worsen the state sector because of pupils having to add to the pressures . having to add to the pressures. >> so a couple of things in answer to that. the first is that private school fees have gone up way above inflation over the last ten years. and, it is

up to schools what they do and how much they charge. the second point is on that particular report you mentioned from the adam smith, don't take my word for it. look at sam freedman, who is a conservative, very influential and expert in education, used to work for michael gove. he said that report is full of holes. the numbers don't stack up and they're not realistic and they're not realistic and they're not realistic and they're not based on on credible facts. i think sam freedman would say that he's not a conservative, but he did once advise michael gove. >> but sarah jones, thank you very much for joining >> but sarah jones, thank you very much forjoining us and talking through those two major, major issues . really appreciate major issues. really appreciate your thoughts and your time. >> thank you very much indeed . >> thank you very much indeed. well, still to come, the process for launching an independent inquiry into child sex grooming gangsis inquiry into child sex grooming gangs is now underway in oldham . gangs is now underway in oldham. we'll have the details for you. you're watching

gb news. right. it's 150, gb news. right. it's150, and gb news. right. it's 150, and the process for starting an independent grooming gangs inquiry in oldham is now underway . is now underway. >> yes. the council's labour group agreed to support an inquiry after losing control of the council in the local elections . elections. >> now, this comes after the former labour led council voted several times to reject the motion. in recent years. >> very, very interesting stuff to explain it all is gb news reporter charlie peters and charlie. they've resisted this inquiry for a very long time. but finally , finally it's happening. >> that's right, tom, and it's a it's a strange town, oldham. there is a toxic political atmosphere up there, and there has been for many years in particular due to the political point scoring over the issue of child sexual exploitation. this issue has batted back and forth over the several parties there. and in particular, there has been this issue with motions being brought forward by opposition parties and

councillors in the 60 seat councillors in the 60 seat council being rejected by the labour administration for the last 40 years. across most of that time, labour has been in control in that council, but earlier this month, on the 2nd of may, when local elections took place and a third of the seats were up for grabs, they did lose overall control, dropping to 27 seats and as a as a consequence of that, in to order maintain control with the current leader of the council, arooj shah, as a minority leader, there , she sought leader, there, she sought support from independent councillors who had been campaigning for an independent inquiry into cs in the town. two key members abstained from that vote, which passed 29 to 28, putting her in charge. and that's led to this situation now where labour, we understand, has agreed to that process. and today, in fact, possibly right now, independent councillors are meeting with a key and core

group of survivors who've been campaigning on this issue for recent years to determine the next steps on how to achieve that independent inquiry. they want something which is like the inquiries we've seen in telford and rotherham. judge led or panel led procedures to get something sorted there because there was a review in 2022 which was conducted by the greater manchester combined authority. that's been received very positively in some quarters. it found significant failings, but it was seen as reassuring and reaffirming the situation in the town. many survivors think it was insufficient and more work needs to be done. a similar pubuc needs to be done. a similar public inquiry, like the ones we've seen in rotherham and telford, as i've mentioned, being brought in. and so that report has, not satisfied the political perspectives of some parties in oldham. and also last yean parties in oldham. and also last year, a freedom of information request submitted by the local reporting service in oldham did also find that there had been a

580% increase in referrals by the local authority and greater manchester police, and social services of child sexual exploitation across eight years, a very significant spike. the council said that this was due to better understanding of the problem of the crisis of cs in the town. but a survivor, sophie, who we've spoken to , sophie, who we've spoken to, said actually this is because more victims have not been looked after and steps have not been taken to really get to gnps been taken to really get to grips with this crisis. so as we understand it this week, council officers will be assigned to start the process for this new independent inquiry into the child sexual exploitation by groups in oldham. the terms of reference, i've been assured, will be as far back as is necessary. and the labour party there, who have resisted some seven votes to push forward this inquiry, now in a minority leadership position, have agreed to let that go forward. quite a

significant development in that story . story. >> yes. very significant. let's hope there aren't any other obstacles thrown up. and this happensin obstacles thrown up. and this happens in a now a timely fashion. thank you very much indeed, charlie peters with that exclusive for us. yeah, really, really interesting stuff. >> and we'll keep an eye on that as it goes on of course. but much more to come, including sir keir starmer. he says he's a socialist, but his own shadow chancellor seems to disagree with him. who's right, who's wrong and who's very, very left. that. wrong and who's very, very left. that . next. that. next. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar , the sponsors of weather solar, the sponsors of weather on gb news. >> hello again. here's your latest gb news weather forecast, brought to you in association with the met office. there will be some thundery downpours to watch out for through the next couple of days, but we also have some persistent rain across the uk at the moment in association with a frontal system which is marching its way northeastwards

across the country. it's already brought quite a bit of rain to many areas through the morning, but it is bringing quite a soggy end to the day across parts of scotland and north east england. that rain will clear away as we go overnight, but then plenty of showers following him behind. we've seen some of these turning heavy and thundery through the daytime, and they could still be a little bit on the heavy side overnight, most places staying quite cloudy. some clear skies, but on the whole temperatures not dropping a huge amount. many places holding up in double digits. so for most it is going to be a mild start to the day tomorrow and quite a cloudy one if we take a closer look. and starting off across scotland quite a cloudy picture here and some outbreaks of showery rain. nothing particularly heavy dunng nothing particularly heavy during the morning, but it is likely to turn a bit heavier and a bit thundery as we go through the day. across northern ireland, a similar story and northern england to some bright or sunny spells perhaps, but on the whole quite a cloudy picture, a bit brighter, sunnier further south. that's because we will have some clear skies overnight here, and so there could be a few pockets of mist and fog. first thing, but these should quite quickly clear.

otherwise, as we go through the daytime tomorrow and it is going to be quite a showery picture for most the heaviest, most frequent showers across eastern parts of scotland, and here they are likely to turn thundery. could be some hail, could be some frequent lightning mixed in here, even elsewhere. some thundery downpours are possible. perhaps a greater chance of staying dry towards the southwest. highs in the low 20s towards the southeast. high teens generally elsewhere . not teens generally elsewhere. not feeling too bad away from any of those thundery showers . similar those thundery showers. similar picture as we go through the evening. tomorrow though, we should start to see the showers easing a little bit as we go through wednesday night into thursday. that being said, thursday. that being said, thursday still looking like a showery day for many of us, but with high pressure building from the west as we go into the weekend, it is going to start to turn drier for most by by that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers as sponsors of weather on

gb news. >> good afternoon. britain. it's 2:00 on tuesday, the 28th of may. i'm tom harwood and i'm emily carver. the prime minister's pension promise to grab the grey vote. rishi sunak pledges to protect state pension payments from being taxed. critics of the so—called quadruple lock say that the pledge isn't credible and could alienate young voters. this as the labour party claims to be both socialist and the new party of business. >> 120 ceos have openly backed the party ahead of the general election. nigel farage has thrown himself into the campaign, giving his first major speech in dover as the prime minister slaps down his challenge to debate him on immigration. meanwhile, the bbc has now apologised to nigel farage after accusing him of using customary inflammatory language during a live broadcast of his speech .

of his speech. >> i think there might be some clear blue economic water here. yeah, eking out between the conservatives and the labour party, up until today, they would say that we're basically going to do exactly the same thing on tax and spend. the labour party saying they're sticking to tory spending limits and saying they're not going to raise taxes, or at least income tax and national insurance. but here's an interesting point. the thresholds have been frozen and as inflation climbs, people are being dragged into more tax. it means that in a couple of years time, pensioners for the first time, pensioners for the first time will have to pay income tax on their state pension. yeah. the tories have promised today that they won't . but the labour that they won't. but the labour party aren't matching them, meaning under labour pensioners would pay tax on their state pension and under the tories they wouldn't . they wouldn't. >> yeah. so labour seem to be saying we're speaking to sarah jones, a shadow minister, a little bit earlier. they seem to be saying, well we can't afford it. and the conservatives are

essentially lying to you that they can, but is it enough to sway your vote a little bit extra in the pension ? in the extra in the pension? in the state pension? >> do you believe how the conservatives say they're going to be able to pay for all of their spending with this tax cut, because they say they're going to go after tax avoidance in to order in order to fund it, which, which is exactly what the labour party say for a number of their spending commitments, because it does seem tax avoidance. >> that's legal. right. >> that's legal. right. >> that's legal. right. >> that is legal. >> that is legal. >> tax evasion is what we want to go after. do people not have a right to try and pay less tax as long as it's legal? maybe that's a bit of a controversial question these days. gbnews.com/yoursay say, let's get to the headlines with tatiana . tatiana. >> emily. thank you. the top stories this hour. the prime minister has suggested that britain's approach to migration is the envy of europe, as he addressed a campaign event in staffordshire today , rishi sunak staffordshire today, rishi sunak said the conservative plan to

deal with small boat arrivals across the channel has faced heavy criticism, but warned a labour government would only bnng labour government would only bring uncertainty. that's what you'll get with us. >> let's just take the topic of illegal migration, something i know is important to all of you. something jonathan and i speak about a lot, right? it's fundamentally unfair that people j'uinp fundamentally unfair that people jump the queue and come to our country illegally, puts pressure on local services, whether it's hotels here or elsewhere. it puts people's lives at risk. it's simply not right. we've got a bold plan to deal with the boats. right. and when i first announced it or announced my predecessor and i first got this job, people said, oh no, this is not the right thing to do. do you know what? now across europe , the penny has dropped that our approach is the right approach . approach is the right approach. >> the shadow chancellor is promising to introduce new budget rules aimed at preventing the turmoil seen following liz truss's mini—budget. in her first major speech of the election campaign, rachel reeves said the conservative party deserves to be judged on what she called 14 years of chaos and

decline. she said average homeowners were paying around £240 more every month due to the mini—budget, while wages remain flat and taxpayers are asked to pay flat and taxpayers are asked to pay more for less . pay more for less. >> if our economy had have grown at the average rate of oecd countries, these last 14 years, our economy today would be £150 billion larger, worth £5,000 for every household and providing £55 billion more investments for our public services . that is our public services. that is their record. and they deserve to be judged on it. >> pensioners could be in for a tax break worth up to £24 billion a year as part of an election pledge by the conservative party. it could see cuts worth around £95 in the next tax year, rising to £275 by 2029. the prime minister says it will be funded by a clamp down

on tax dodgers . liberal on tax dodgers. liberal democrats leader sir ed davey says the government has a poor record for pensioners. >> it's rather remarkable they're trying to make out this is some great policy. when they were the ones who increased taxes on pensioners in the first place by not raising allowance, it was the liberal democrats who fought hard to increase the income tax allowance to help pensioners and help people on low incomes, and the conservatives froze those tax allowances. so i don't think pensioners or anyone else is going to be fooled by the conservatives having broken their promise, having raised taxes now suddenly just before election, saying they are going to do something different and staying with the liberal democrats . democrats. >> the party's pledging to put environmental experts on the boards of water companies. sir ed davey took to a paddleboard in lake windermere this morning as he outlined plans to improve pubuc as he outlined plans to improve public accountability, he says, and transparency he said water utilities are getting away with what he called a national sewage scandal, while conservative mps and ministers have sat on their hands. it comes as data shows

sewage spills in england's rivers and seas more than doubled in 2023, with all parties now out on the campaign trail. gb news spoke to people in derby about how they feel ahead of the upcoming election. >> i'm not going to vote for anybody because none of them are anybody because none of them are any good. >> i'll probably vote for labour because they're making a difference. it's nice to have a new government , difference. it's nice to have a new government, nice change. they have good policies and they help working class people. >> none of them . nobody. they >> none of them. nobody. they just any of them. they never deliver what they say. they make promises. they never fulfil them. and if they do have something on the go, it takes forever to, you know, to come to light. basically, i don't feel any faith or any trust in any of them, to be quite honest. >> overseas now israeli tanks are advancing on the city of rafah following a night of heavy strikes. people could be seen in the streets carrying their belongings in an attempt to escape the violence. the offensive on gaza's southern

city is pressing ahead, despite international condemnation . international condemnation. israel says it wants to root out hamas fighters in rafah and rescue hostages who are still being held by the terror group . being held by the terror group. and moving portraits of blind and vision impaired d—day veterans will go on show to mark the 80th anniversary of the landings. the portraits capture 16 veterans who served in normandy and are beneficiaries of blind veterans. uk. seven of the portraits are featured in a special exhibition at the national army museum in london, which runs until the 9th of june. for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen, or go to gb news. com slash alerts. now back to tom and . emily. and. emily. >> good afternoon britain. it's 2:07 now. has sir keir starmer

starmer has sir keir starmer finally answered the question of what he stands for in an interview over the weekend , the interview over the weekend, the labour leader described himself as a socialist who always puts country first and party second. >> well, however , given that he >> well, however, given that he claimed to be a centrist just two years ago, just how credible are his claims? >> well, joining us now is paul richards , the labour richards, the labour parliamentary candidate for eastbourne and former labour special adviser. paul, thank you for joining us. i, i find it forjoining us. i, i find it quite difficult to keep up, starmer was once friends with jeremy corbyn, then he was a centrist. now he's a socialist. i mean, do these labels not mean anything ? anything? >> well, the issue is, i suppose, is what you what do you mean by the word socialist? you know, people are using it to try and frighten small children. then that's one version of socialism. but the kind of socialism. but the kind of socialism we're talking about is the kind that's on our party cards . there we are. there's our cards. there we are. there's our membership cards, and it says we are a democratic socialist party. and that's all that sir

keir was talking about. i mean , keir was talking about. i mean, others this morning from the front bench have described themselves as christian socialists or democratic socialists or democratic socialists or democratic socialists or even social democrats. so take your pick. well, that's how rachel reeves described herself as a social democrat rather than a full blown socialist, was starmer wise to come out and say he's a socialist when his own chancellor is saying something a little less , straightforward? little less, straightforward? >> i think it depends what you mean. and if you mean the kinds of policies that labour is putting forward, we can all sign up to those, regardless of the label. and ultimately it is about what you're going to do, not how you describe yourself. >> and you know, well, these words do have meaning. >> i mean, socialism means the pubuc >> i mean, socialism means the public ownership of the means of production, does it not only in one version. >> you see, we have an ethical socialism , which is about socialism, which is about values. and i'm a member of the co—op party, which is nothing to do with public ownership. it's about local ownership and democratic ownership. so there are these different strands. i don't want to get into a

university seminar on this, but there are there are strands of socialism that intertwine into the labour party with very different traditions . and there different traditions. and there are some, of course, the left of the labour party who are the enemies of the labour party, who would call themselves socialists, socialist workers party, not socialist, not workers are not really a party. >> well, it's right for you to, to, to pick up on these different strands of sort of left wing ideas and labour traditions. and there are lots of different ones. and i oppose it leads to this fundamental question that will be nagging at the back of voters minds, particularly in middle england. people who are thinking maybe they don't like the direction of they don't like the direction of the country at the moment. they're thinking perhaps they want to go for the other guys, but they think to those sort of fundamental origins of the labour party, the connections with the trade unions, the idea that, okay, the guy at the top and the way they talk sometimes seems to shift to the centre , seems to shift to the centre, but it seems to always revert back after an election or two to the same old traditional high tax nationalising mindset .

tax nationalising mindset. >> well, i don't think anyone could really accuse of tony, tony blair, for example, of that. and i think, you know, the legacy. >> but you elected tony blair and then gave us gordon brown. >> well, he sorted the country out at a difficult moment. but, you know, at the same time we had the national health service with the highest satisfaction ratings in its history, as gordon brown left office. compared to the mess we have now, if you look at the water companies or the rail companies, i think it was people would say, maybe we'd need a little bit of socialism, we need a bit of state intervention into a market thatis state intervention into a market that is failing, people don't seem to mind the national minimum wage these days, although at the time everyone said, oh, that's socialism. >> i mean, let's be frank, paul, it all feeds. sorry to interrupt, but it all feeds into the idea that we don't know who keir starmer is. that's the point here, not the definition of socialism as as we were discussing it. but people don't know how left wing keir starmer is going to be once he gets into office. that's the question. >> well, i sat in the front row of his speech in lansing a day

or so ago and, you know, he set out for the millionth time his background, his values, where he came from, what he believes in due course will see a labour manifesto being published. they'll be full of ideas. i think this this attack, you know, we don't know what you stand for. for heaven's sake. there's so much out there now. and the missions, the steps, the manifesto, the speeches, it's all there . which is why people all there. which is why people are now making their minds up in these next five weeks about what kind of country they want. >> but these steps and these missions, they sort of say economic stability. it doesn't seem to have much of a plan attached to it. i wonder, paul, if people are right to be confused, because when he stood to be labour leader and yes, circumstances have changed. yes, i can see how some of the expensive policies he promised when he stood to be leader have been ditched. but there are some policies that were nothing to do with money. so, for example, free movement with the eu . he free movement with the eu. he promised that standing to be labour leader and he's ditched it now. >> i mean, we've just had a speech from rachel reeves this morning setting out an economic prospectus in front of business

leaders and others. you know, so you're saying it's stability. what does that mean? well, she's just spent half an hour telling us what it means. you know, the policies are now being fleshed out. there is now meat on these bones. and we'll be in a situation soon where people can make their minds up. and of course, policies have to change and adapt according to circumstance. i mean, that's the there's a kind of socialism called revisionist socialism, which is all about applying values to problems in each new generation rather than getting sort of ossified in one set of answers to a problem from 40 years ago. some of the corbynites, i'm afraid, are still there, aren't they? they're coming up with the same policies from 1968. in 2014. but we're revisionists, so we believe in modernising our approach. and that's why, you know, he gets attacked for having changed his mind. but that's because the circumstances change. >> of course, april 2020 wasn't that long ago. >> it was within this parliament. and he promised to defend free movement with the eu and then conveniently dropped it. i don't know what he believes on free movement with the eu .

the eu. >> well, i think we'll we'll see when the manifesto comes out. but we had we did have the trust budget. since then we've had war in ukraine. we've had the difficulties in the middle east. i mean, you know, it's the world is a fast moving place and policy has to keep up with that . policy has to keep up with that. so that's why you can say, oh, you said this a few years ago, but now you're saying this. well, of course i don't want people in charge of our country who can't change their minds as the circumstances change. that would be a disaster. okay. well thank you very much indeed for your time. paul richards, great to speak to you. labour parliamentary candidate for eastbourne and of course, a former labour special adviser. >> well, should we get the views from the other side of the green benches now, the conservative member of parliament for don valley, nick fletcher, hasn't been elected yet. >> paul richards , what was that? >> paul richards, what was that? >> paul richards, what was that? >> oh, no. he's representing the other side of the green belt. >> he is. yes he is. >>— >> he is. yes he is. >> although perhaps if they if paul richards does get elected, it wouldn't be the other side of benches, if you see what i mean. anyway anyway, nick fletcher, thank you so much for joining us, big, big, policy announcement from the tories

today on pensions. but a question mark over funding. can you really fund this all through going after tax avoidance as well? >> i believe so i believe it's over £6 billion. i think they can find over the next five years. and i think that's right. people should pay the taxes . i people should pay the taxes. i want taxes to be as low as possible. i think that's what a conservative is all about. well, i don't believe people should be avoiding taxes. and if there's money out there, then i think it's a good place to start. >> there's quite a lot of young people, potential voters, who see this as a bit of a slap in the face because of course they have a, a huge tax burden and the younger ones are being asked now to do a national service for the country, is this the right priority ? priority? >> yeah, i definitely think it is. and the people that are working are 2% off their national insurance just after christmas . they've had a further christmas. they've had a further 2. i know most people have had a pay 2. i know most people have had a pay rise come april, and i speak to a lot of people on the street. i'm door knocking today, which is why you've you've caught me in this wonderful town

of crowle on the isle of axholme, and people are genuinely seeing the money in their pockets at the end of end of each week or each month. and so, yeah, there's a definitely positive attitude, especially here. and it's wonderful to see why do you think all these, business chiefs are openly backing labour 120? yeah, hugely surprised with that. i mean, socialism kills most things that it touches . and business people it touches. and business people should realise that if you want a successful business then capitalism is the way forward. i've run a business myself for some 30 years now. the conservative party is always been the party for businesses and people should be careful what they wish for. if labour get in they will be bringing in the unions. in there will be workers rights from day one, and that might sound good for many of the employees out there, but unfortunately what it actually means is zero job. you can see what happens in france. there employment rate is twice ours and what happens is small businesses don't take that first employee on. they don't have

that first step that i did to 28 years ago. and so what happens is you end up with an awful lot of one man bands or no businesses at all, and then you end up with a huge billionaires and it takes away the middle ground. and that's what's so dangerous about having a socialist government. and that's why we cannot afford to have one so important that people really think about what they're doing on july the 4th, and make sure that they vote for conservative members of parliament like myself and many of my colleagues across this wonderful country. >> and yet , across this wonderful country. >> and yet, nick across this wonderful country. >> and yet , nick fletcher, >> and yet, nick fletcher, rachel reeves, the shadow chancellor , who, of course, has chancellor, who, of course, has been speaking with all these business people today, says that she's not a socialist. she says she's not a socialist. she says she's a social democrat . now, she's a social democrat. now, that's of course not what keir starmer says. he says he's a socialist, but, perhaps she is standing in the in the centre ground and is drawing over these business people . business people. >> there's no sense of really you're either a socialist or a capitalist. capitalism put the west in a fantastic place. it

brought more people out of poverty than any other system around everywhere. socialism is in place. it's a disaster. venezuela. it's a disaster. we've seen it in wales. it's a disaster. we've seen it in scotland with the with the scottish nationalist party, which is a socialist movement. and i've lived under socialism in doncaster for some 60 years, and people are tired of socialism in doncaster and they need to see a real change. and the way they get that change is by voting conservative, electing , nick, your thoughts on, lucy allen's decision, your colleague to put her support behind the reform candidate in her area? it's not not the most brilliant vote of confidence for your leader, is it? >> it's not ideal at this moment in time. but obviously, lucy's was leaving parliament anyway, and i just need to make sure that people vote for the conservatives. any vote for reform in doncaster east. and the outcome, unfortunately, will labourin the outcome, unfortunately, will labour in power and we cannot have any more socialism in

doncaster and we don't want it across the country . across the country. >> what if there are people who are looking at the way that the conservative party has behaved in the last few years and seen their taxes go up, seen the amount of state involvement in the economy rise, debt go up to what if people thought hang on sort of feels like the labour party has been in power anyway. >> well, we've spent a half £1 trillion keeping all these businesses open, keeping people's jobs open and looking after the public through covid and then £100 billion was spent on keeping the energy bills low when putin invaded ukraine. so there's obviously been some huge issues.i there's obviously been some huge issues. i mean, i became a member of parliament and within three months we shut the country down. nobody was expecting that. obviously, we've had to have the taxes to try and bring that debt down. but you can see the trajectory of the conservative party now. lower taxes, lower national insurance, lower taxes . national insurance, lower taxes. and as we move forward, creating the opportunities for our young people, which is what we want to do, open up for businesses, then

we'll see taxes come down further. the prime minister says he wants to eradicate national insurance contributions altogether when it allows. that's a bold statement . it's that's a bold statement. it's something i know he wants to work on. we just need to make sure we give the conservative party the opportunity to fulfil these pledges, get the taxes down and get england and the united kingdom on the place where it should be. >> all right, there's your pitch. thank you very much indeed. nick fletcher , indeed. nick fletcher, conservative mp for don valley. great to speak to you. thank you , thank you. >> now, the prime minister's promise to boost state pension payments, as we've just been discussing, discussing this so—called triple lock plus or as we like to call it, the quadruple lock or the quad lock, quadruple lock or the quad lock, quad lock, super duper triple lock, squared , what exactly does lock, squared, what exactly does it mean? good luck. >> what exactly does it mean? and how does rishi sunak plan to pay and how does rishi sunak plan to pay for it? liam halligan will reveal

all. right. it's 224. and the state pension will never be taxed under the tories. says rishi sunak. he's introducing this triple lock plus quad lock, quadruple lock, setting his eyes on all the voters during the election campaign. >> well, labour have called the tories move desperate. but does it add up? gb news economics and business editor liam halligan will be here to tell us all with on the money so, liam, break it down for us. >> strap yourself in, guys. this is a little bit complicated , but is a little bit complicated, but don't worry, we can get through this. what is triple lock plus? crikey! now what the triple lock is, was a policy that exists to this day, brought in by the conservatives and the lib dems in coalition during that 2010, 2015 government and what it

states. and here is the graphic . states. and here is the graphic. it states that each year the state pension goes up by the highest of either inflation or the growth of pay, or 2.5. that's the triple lock. your state pension goes up each year by the highest of those three things. now, this year it went up things. now, this year it went up by things. now, this year it went up by 8.5. the full state pension, if you became a pensioner after 2016 is now £11,502 a year. but the personal tax allowance, the amount of money you can get if you like, before you start paying income tax, that's frozen at £12,570 until 2028, that's a tory decision . rishi sunak and then decision. rishi sunak and then jeremy hunt, the successive chancellors , froze that chancellors, froze that threshold until 2028. and what that means , because the state that means, because the state pension is about 11.5 grand at the moment, and the tax allowance is 12.5 grand over the next few years , up until 2028, next few years, up until 2028, as the state pension goes up.

according to the triple lock, the state pension will become more than the tax allowance and what the tories are saying is if they get back in government, they get back in government, they will move that tax allowance for people getting the bafic allowance for people getting the basic state pension so they don't pay tax. so what the tories are doing is they are saying that an effective tax increase won't now apply to people who receive the basic state pension. i told you it was really granular and complicated, but there it is . broadly but there it is. broadly speaking, it's good news for pensioners , but only because the pensioners, but only because the tories are excluding pensioners from a tax rise through the frozen thresholds that they're imposing on everyone else. you're still with me. yes. >> so it's not it's not extra money. it's not a to pensioners. really exactly. but how much better off will the average pensioner be as a result of this, increase not happening . this, increase not happening. >> it's. you're exactly right, emily. and that's a really good way to put it. it's not a tax

cut. it's a reprieve for some people . all those who receive people. all those who receive the basic state pension from a tax rise that's being imposed on everyone else , that tax rise everyone else, that tax rise through a frozen personal allowance. it's really difficult to say how much this will impact the average pensioner, because of course, pensioners have other incomes that will take them over the personal allowance. they might have rental properties, they might have investments, dividends, a little bit of work here and there, whatever it is. so it's not taking all pensioners out of tax by any means. but the institute for fiscal studies reckons this is going to cost the treasury, if you like, about £25 billion a year by the late 2020s, which, when it comes to the grand scheme of things, it's a rounding error when it's over that many years. but of course, this is the tories trying to make up for the fact that the tax cuts they've done so far have been on national insurance, haven't they? we've talked about that a lot on gb news. and of

course, pensioners don't pay national insurance . so those tax national insurance. so those tax cuts for pensioners worth about £900, the government says ad nauseam a year for the average worker of working age that is off their national insurance pensioners don't get that little boost to their income . and boost to their income. and that's why the tories are doing this so we can have a day of them saying, oh look, we really love pensioners. we're doing this for them. but i have to say this for them. but i have to say this is pretty small beer. this is a slight tweak to a tax rise for the rest of us, rather than any huge pension giveaway. >> and yet there has been a considerable rise in the pension through the triple lock, which is the reason why pensions are now being pushed up beyond that tax bracket. they went up by double digits last year. they're due to go up faster and faster and have been going up ahead of average wages. >> that's right tom, we've had a ten odd percent increase in the

bafic ten odd percent increase in the basic state pension , and now basic state pension, and now we're up for an 8% or so increase in basic state pension . increase in basic state pension. in one case, it was because inflation was very high. in the other case it was because pay growth was very high. but in the round by international standards, by the standards of other advanced industrial economies, if you like , the uk economies, if you like, the uk bafic economies, if you like, the uk basic state pension is still pretty small . it has to be said. pretty small. it has to be said. that's just what the statistics show. i grant you. absolutely and this is the debate that the politicians should be having. if they could focus on policy rather than personalities for more than one second. on the other hand, there have been large increases in the basic state pension. but having said that, it is still quite low by international standards. so that's it. the grey vote is, of course, 11.5 million voters. pensioners tend to vote more than younger people. they tend to get out there and exercise their right at the ballot box on polling day. and that's why all parties will always, as the

phrase goes, suck up to the grey vote because they turn up and vote. and now this liam, just very quickly, one question. >> do you know how many how many pensioners rely solely on the on the state pension for, for their income? >> well, again , it's really hard >> well, again, it's really hard to say because our household level data in this country is not great. it's at least half. so it's at least 5 to 6 million pensioners are relying solely on the basic state pension. and we must say, while tom's completely right, the basic state pension has gone up in recent years. and while means tested benefits for pensioners have also gone up, there is still quite a bit of pensioner poverty in this country and this is the really difficult thing for politicians, not something i say very often. feeling sorry for politicians. on the one hand, there are wealthy pensioners , as you know, wealthy pensioners, as you know, people of your generation. you too, with all respect. you can say, oh, they've got all the houses, they've got all the money. the baby boomers. what about our generation? why should we be paying more tax so they

can have a better retirement? so there are quite a few wealthy pensioners out there with lots of equity in their housing and so on. but there's also quite a lot of pensioner poverty out there. so it's very, very hard to target assistance on the grey vote. if you like , particularly vote. if you like, particularly when you're dealing with a non—means tested benefit, a universal benefit that everyone gets like the basic state pension. it's kind of mad that everyone gets it, whether they're a business tycoon or a person living elderly alone who has to decide between heating and eating. but that is the bafis and eating. but that is the basis of our welfare system. we have universal benefits . that's have universal benefits. that's been the case since william beveridge after world war two, and i'm yet to meet a politician. in my long experience of the world of policy and politics, i've yet to meet a politician who would even dare to think about moving away from that universal benefit model. >> well , model. >> well, perhaps. perhaps it will have to become inevitable

as we get a larger population of people in retirement and a smaller population of people in work funding that retirement, difficult decisions have to be have to be made. but liam halligan, thank you very much for explaining all of that. really appreciate it. as always with on the money. >> yes. well, coming up, the manhunt continues in dorset as police search for a man suspected of murder. we'll be crossing live to bournemouth for the very latest . the very latest. >> good afternoon. it's 232. the top stories from the gb newsroom. the prime minister has suggested that britain's approach to migration is the envy of europe , as he addressed envy of europe, as he addressed a campaign event in staffordshire today. rishi sunak said the conservative plan to deal with small boat arrivals across the channel has faced heavy criticism, but warned a labour government would only bnng labour government would only bring uncertainty. >> that's what you'll get with us. let's just take the topic of

illegal migration, something i know is important to all of you. something jonathan and i speak about a lot, right? it's fundamentally unfair that people j'uinp fundamentally unfair that people jump the queue and come to our country illegally, puts pressure on local services, whether it's hotels here or elsewhere, puts people's lives at risk . it's people's lives at risk. it's simply not right. we've got a bold plan to deal with the boats, right? and when i first announced it or or announced my predecessor and i first got this job, people said, oh, no, this is not the right thing to do. do you know what? now now across europe, the penny has dropped that our approach is the right approach. >> the shadow chancellor is promising to introduce new budget rules aimed at preventing the turmoil seen following liz truss's mini—budget in her first major speech of the election campaign, rachel reeves said the conservative party deserves to be judged on what she called 14 years of chaos and decline. she said average homeowners were paying said average homeowners were paying around £240 more every month due to the mini—budget, while wages remained flat and taxpayers are asked to pay more for less . and reports in italian

for less. and reports in italian media claim that the pope used a highly offensive word to refer to gay men. two of the country's biggest newspapers allege that he used the slur when suggesting that there were too many gay people in priesthood colleges. he has in the past told bishops to carefully vet priests and reject any suspected homosexuals. the vatican has not commented on the allegations. for the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts by scanning the qr code on your screen or go to gb news. carmelites . to gb news. carmelites. >> cheers, britannia wine club proudly sponsors the gb news financial report . financial report. >> here's a quick snapshot of today's markets. the pound will buy you $1.2793 and ,1.1761. the price of gold is £1,845, and

£0.59 per ounce, and the ftse 100 is at 8276 points. >> cheers, britannia wine club proudly sponsors the gb news financial report

>> good afternoon. britain now. martin daubney is up next. he's joining us now, martin, what have you got on your menu for us today ? today? >> well, the tories once again are trying to bribe the pensioners. no election will be complete without the great pension giveaway. £2.4 billion. where's that going to come from? meanwhile, in the labour camp, sir keir starmer claims he's a socialist and the friend of big business reform party got started today. they kicked off in dover . the started today. they kicked off in dover. the bbc has been forced to apologise already and lee anderson has just said asylum seekers should go and

live on a remote scottish island. meanwhile, up the creek without a paddle board, ed davey falls off in lake windermere . falls off in lake windermere. whose idea was that? why give sportswear and sports gear to politicians? rishi sunak can't piay politicians? rishi sunak can't play football ed davey can't paddle. let's stop the madness now. we've got all the fun of day two of the general election campaign and on a serious note, on the on the matter of the oldham child grooming scandal, i'll be speaking to the councillor exclusively. the man who made this his life's work to give the lancashire towns sexual abuse survivors a voice. i'm very, very proud to be speaking to him about 5:00 and also we've got the wettest year in 50 years. what on earth is going on with the weather? >> what on earth is going on with the weather? it sounds like an eclectic mix on your show, martin. very much looking forward to it. >> gosh, yes, lee anderson's comments. he's very much let off the leash, hasn't he? he's been let off the leash, that sounds a fantastic show, martin. we'll be staying tuned for sure. see you in a bit. see you at three. >> now, police are continuing

their search for a suspect after two women were attacked in bournemouth on friday night. the incident left one dead and the other with serious injuries . other with serious injuries. >> us. now dorset police have released cctv images which you can see here, of the hooded murder suspect. now there is a warning that the public should not approach him and they're urging anyone who recognises him to come forward as soon as possible . possible. >> well, joining us from bournemouth now is gb news south west of england reporterjeff west of england reporter jeff moody. and jeff, what do we know about this case? >> well, we know that a 17 year old boy from lancashire had been arrested, but he was released without charge last night. so the hunt is now back to on find out who killed a 34 year old woman who was walking on the beach here in bournemouth, the she's been named today as amy grey. she's been named locally. she's from poole. and she died at the scene here at durley chine beach on friday night. and

another woman who is aged 38, is in hospital with serious injuries and she's receiving treatment today. well, the police have issued a cctv image, as you saw just now , they've as you saw just now, they've urged the public not to approach this person in any shape or form, but to call 999. if you think you know where this person is . well, the detective is. well, the detective superintendent, richard dixie of the major crime investigation team said today the investigation into this tragic incident is progressing, and detectives are dedicated to finding out what happened and ensuring our communities remain safe and secure. we need the public's health help, he says, to identify the suspect in the cctv images. if you recognise him or have any information, no matter how small, that may lead to his identity, please get in touch immediately. but to his identity, please get in touch immediately . but they touch immediately. but they stress once again that if you do recognise the man, do not approach him well. >> jeff moody , thank you very

>> jeff moody, thank you very much for bringing us that. it is a shocking case. you don't expect it in somewhere like bournemouth, it's sad to say, but you might expect it in somewhere like london or or manchester or bristol or any city, glasgow, any big city. but bournemouth is supposed to be sort of idyllic and coastal. >> yeah . well, let's hope the >> yeah. well, let's hope the police get to the bottom of it sharpish , lots of you have been sharpish, lots of you have been getting in touch about, these , getting in touch about, these, state pensions, this quad lock, this quadruple lock , triple lock this quadruple lock, triple lock plus double plus, so , lots of plus double plus, so, lots of people saying that, tom, you don't like the pensioners. >> why ? >> why? >> why? >> well, they just think you don't like the pensioners. but you do like pensioners, don't you? well, yes. >> got a number in my family , >> got a number in my family, but but i don't see i don't see why it's, it's raising the point that there are more people claiming pensions and fewer people funding pensions. that's a ticking time bomb. i mean, philip says that needs to be addressed. >> can't tom stop saying how

good the pension is? it's one of the worst in western europe, there were more, but i've scrolled past them. but yes, tom, people are getting that impression. >> it's a very expensive thing to fund. it is. and the problem is that i wish it was set up in a different way, whereby people actually paid into their own pensions. but sadly, that's not how the treasury economics of it works. and so if we're going to raise it more and there's a big argument because there's still about 20% pensioner poverty in this country, about 18, 18 to 20, it's down from 40% a few years ago. but there's still that level of pensioner poverty. clearly there's an argument for eliminating that entirely. but the question mark is how do you do it and where do you get the money from? >> yes. but if you're solely reliant on the state pension, things are going to be pretty tricky. it's not a lot of money. it's not a lot of money forjust it's not a lot of money for just one year in a year to keep you going, but keep your views in gbnews.com/yoursay coming up some good news. the princess of wales has been spotted out and about with her family as she

undergoes her cancer

right. well, as you might know, george galloway very much wants to unseat angela rayner . and, to unseat angela rayner. and, a video has emerged of angela rayner , the deputy labour rayner, the deputy labour leader, asking the muslim community for votes. shall we have a look? >> i know that people are angry about what's happening in the middle east. and i said, live on tv and i say to this day, if me resigning as an mp now would bnng resigning as an mp now would bring a ceasefire, no , i would bring a ceasefire, no, i would do it. i would do it. >> this just shows how much the issue of gaza and everything that's going on in the middle east is, being weaponized in some of these labour seats, but it also shows it's remarkable to see the deputy leader of a party

thatis see the deputy leader of a party that is 20 points ahead in the polls, sort of begging for votes in that way. >> i mean, it wasn't sort of a normal this is hello. this is this is what i'm going to do. it's sort of almost saying, i'm so sorry that the labour party is saying this. what it comes across in a very, very different way from a normal campaign speech suggesting that if she thought that if she that she would resign, if she thought it would resign, if she thought it would bring a bring a ceasefire, essentially trying to court that muslim vote because, george galloway is very much trying to eat into it, isn't he? >> well, the socialist workers party, he wants to weaponize this as much as possible. >> of course, galloway did win that parliamentary seat in a very unique set of circumstances at the local elections. galloway himself, in, in in his seat didn't take too many council seats. i think he took took 2 or 3, i wonder did the labour party know something the rest of us don't about local polling in oldham, because i would have thought that angela rayner would

be pretty safe there. but but maybe she doesn't think so. >> well, maybe she doesn't think so. and also , we've seen quite so. and also, we've seen quite a few times angela rayner get heckled. she had quite a lot of protests when she's been out about out and about specifically on labour's position on the gaza conflict. so you've got her essentially with the begging bowl. that's what it looks like, doesn't it? >> it's very, very odd because normally you'd want to see, i suppose, a party leader or deputy leader project strength. but it seems like she's sort of in this very odd room surrounded by they're all men. yes, they're all men. >> worth noting . yeah, it just >> worth noting. yeah, it just strikes me as very, very odd . yes. >> and it looks rather uncomfortable, but there you go. we thought you'd bring you that. because that's a clip that's emerged quite recently. i think it was the guido website that leaked that clip. but anyway, let's have some good news, because the princess of wales has reportedly been out and about enjoying days out with her family while she continues to undergo her treatment for cancer. >> cancen >> and buckingham palace says

they have been inundated with tens of thousands of get well soon cards and gifts for the princess. >> yes, i can imagine. so now we're joined by former royal correspondent at the sun, charles rea charles. how do they know she's been out and about with her, with her family, good afternoon, tom and emily, it's interesting. yes. i mean, how do they know that she's been out and about? no pictures of her have been seen of the princess, out and about, and i'm surprised that with all the people who've got camera phones, that if she has been that out and about, that we haven't seen her. but anyway, we have to accept that that she is out and about, she's with her family, and, but the palace are making it quite clear, pointing out that this should not be confused with her returning to work any time soon. they're not even some suggestions that she won't return to work. probably until the autumn. and there's one suggestion that may not even be till next year. so that's slightly, slightly worrying . but slightly, slightly worrying. but all we can do really is wish.

catherine the very best wishes for a recovery, but like her father in law, she's not sitting at home with her feet up watching daytime tv. she is actually working. she's actually doing things, with some of her charities , including, the early charities, including, the early childhood, scenario . so, to get childhood, scenario. so, to get more child care , at offices and more child care, at offices and workplaces, so that, you know, people, for people at work. so she's not just sitting at home. >> and yet this is a difficult time. of course, the royal family to navigate everything , family to navigate everything, the king has cancelled. the princess of wales has cancer, and we're in the middle of a general election campaign where the royal family have to be very, very careful about where they go, what they do, and what they go, what they do, and what they say. >> and as you quite rightly say, tom, i mean, things have had to be cancelled in any case. so dunng be cancelled in any case. so during this next six weeks, we are not going to be seeing any members of the royal family,

doing as much as they possibly can or can do prior to a general election. so it will be very much they're going to be very much they're going to be very much in the, in the background to, to all this until we have a new government, whatever colour thatis new government, whatever colour that is . that is. >> and, charles, how we haven't seen princess catherine for how long now. it's been a very long time. we were told initially that she would be back following the easter period. sadly, she has not returned . and, we have has not returned. and, we have heard from prince william, though, that she's doing well , though, that she's doing well, is there any indication at all from royal sources that we may have a date or anything ? have a date or anything? >> no, there is no date. i don't think we've seen a since she made that that video, you know, which was asking for time, and space, as she carried on fighting this dreadful disease. i mean, the problem with cancer, the problem with cancer is anybody who has got it has got a

huge problem on their hands. some people have a harder battle than others. i'm not suggesting that the catherine has is fighting a harder battle. we just. we just don't know. but clearly, you know, she feels that that she needs a lot more time and space and you're quite right. whenever william is asked about catherine, he is saying she's doing okay and she's, you know, slowly fighting our battle and that's all we've got, and i've not got any objections to that. i mean, this is a private medical matter in any case. and i think we know so much. and of course, we as journalists want to know more. but of course, you've got the trolls on, on social media as well demanding. >> well, absolutely. right. and since she did that, sit down, what would you call it ? she gave what would you call it? she gave us that video. it does seem that the trolls have have quietened down a little bit, and people are being far more respectful. but thank you very much. charles charles rae, former royal correspondent at the sun. great

to chat to you as always. yeah, it does seem like the country is behind her and that can really help when she's got to juggle being a mother, being a princess and being a cancer patient. people have all stopped with all the nasty conspiracy theories. but that's it from us today. we'll be back tomorrow at midday. you on this evening? >> i am on this evening standing in for jacob rees—mogg >> i am on this evening standing in forjacob rees—mogg at state of the nation. from now until the election, pretty much. but, yes, much more to come. don't go anywhere. martin daubney is up next. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on . gb news. >> hello again. here's your latest gb news weather forecast, brought to you in association with the met office. there will be some thundery downpours to watch out for through the next couple of days, but we also have some persistent rain across the uk at the moment in association with a frontal system which is marching its way northeastwards across the country. it's already brought quite a bit of rain to many areas through the morning,

but it is bringing quite a soggy end to the day across parts of scotland and northeast england. that rain will clear away as we go overnight, but then plenty of showers following in behind. we've seen some of these turning heavy and thundery through the daytime, and they could still be a little bit on the heavy side overnight. most places staying quite cloudy, some clear skies, but on the whole temperatures not dropping a huge amount. many places holding up in double digits. so for most it is going to be a mild start to the day tomorrow and quite a cloudy one if we take a closer look and starting off across scotland. quite a cloudy picture here and some outbreaks of showery rain. nothing particularly heavy dunng nothing particularly heavy during the morning, but it is likely to turn a bit heavier and a bit thundery as we go through the day. across northern ireland, a similar story and northern england to some bright or sunny spells perhaps, but on the whole quite a cloudy picture. a bit brighter, sunnier further south. that's because we will have some clear skies overnight here, and so there could be a few pockets of mist and fog first thing, but these should quite quickly clear. otherwise, as we go through the daytime tomorrow and it is going to be quite a showery picture for most the heaviest, most

frequent showers across eastern parts of scotland, and here they are likely to turn thundery. could be some hail, could be some frequent lightning mixed in here, even elsewhere . some here, even elsewhere. some thundery downpours are possible. perhaps a greater chance of staying dry towards the southwest. highs in the low 20s towards the southeast. high teens generally elsewhere. not feeling too bad away from any of those thundery showers . similar those thundery showers. similar picture as we go through the evening. tomorrow though, we should start to see the showers easing a little bit as we go through wednesday night into thursday. that being said, thursday. that being said, thursday still looking like a showery day for many of us, but with high pressure building from the west as we go into the weekend, it is going to start to turn drier for most by by that warm feeling inside from boxt boilers sponsors of weather on gb news as

>> well . >> well. >> well. >> hey. good afternoon to you.

it's 3 pm. and welcome to the martin daubney show on gb news. we're broadcasting live, of course, from the heart of westminster. all across the uk. on today's show, the bbc has been forced to apologise to nigel farage after accusing him of using customary inflammatory language during a live broadcast of his speech at a reform uk event earlier on today in dover. meanwhile, shadow chancellor rachel reeves has said labour is the natural party for british business. in a speech in the east midlands saying she wants to lead the most pro—business treasury our country has ever seen, and vowed to not increase corporation tax. but can we trust labour on the economy? next up, the prime minister doesn't think so and claimed a labour government would run out of money and raise taxes as he announced his triple lock plus pension plan and after years of tirelessly campaigning, an independent councillor has won the battle. finally, for an

inquiry