Latest general election: Tory peer says ‘guaranteed’ majority of party MPs will lose their seats

Rishi Sunak has defended his “bold” plan to reinstate some form of compulsory national service amid a ministerial backlash and Tory confusion over the policy.

The Prime Minister said the policy, which will see 18-year-olds forced to either sign up for the army, the Cyber ​​Defense Force or do community volunteer work, will make society “more cohesive” and strengthen the UK’s defence.

But one serving minister complained he had not been consulted about the £2.5bn policy, and senior Tories have faced questions about whether parents will be liable for fines if their adult children refuse to take part.

“This modern form of national service will mean that young people will get the skills and opportunities they need that will serve them very well in life,” Sunak told reporters during a campaign visit in Buckinghamshire.

“It will foster a culture of service that will be incredibly powerful to make our society more cohesive and, in an even more uncertain and dangerous world, strengthen our country’s security and resilience.

“For all these reasons I think this is the right thing to do. Yes, it’s bold, but that’s the kind of leadership I provide.”

A Conservative Party spokesman confirmed that Telford MP Lucy Allan had been suspended due to her support for the UK Reform candidate.

“Lucy Allan has been suspended from the party with immediate effect,” the spokesman said.

“Telford residents now have the opportunity to vote for a dedicated and hard-working new candidate who will put Telford first.

“A vote for reform is a vote for Keir Starmer.”

On his second campaign stop of the day, Rishi Sunak made a quick visit to a garden center in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire.

There the Prime Minister met with Nigel Gardner, the Conservative Party candidate for the new Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.

Potted plants stacked together on shelves as Mr Gardner commented about the “huge new constituency” he represented.

Mr Sunak exited the garden centre, past the tillers and out onto the high street, where shoppers were surprised to see the Prime Minister in their midst.

Some members of the public can be heard trying to harass him as he walks in the street outside.

Tory peer Zac Goldsmith said it was “certain” that the majority of Tory MPs “will lose their jobs next month”.

Goldsmith refers to the snap election that Rishi Sunak called without first consulting his government.

However, the former minister said the Tory majority was equally to blame for what was happening at Westminster.

He wrote on X: “I understand the anger at Sunak who has damaged the party almost beyond repair and is ensuring that the majority of his MPs will lose their jobs next month.

“But it is difficult to muster much sympathy given that none of this could have happened without the complicity of a majority in the party, and what is unfolding now was entirely predictable – in fact, predictable.”

Sir Keir Starmer hit back at accusations that he lacked the energy for a general election campaign, saying he had been smiling since the start of the year at the prospect of a general vote.

The Conservatives claimed on Sunday that the Labor leader did not have the “stamina” to campaign, saying he was “resting at home”, although images later emerged of Sir Keir meeting voters in Brighton.

Speaking at a campaign event in Lancing, West Sussex, on Monday, Sir Keir denied the claims as “desperate”.

A Tory launch on TikTok has been described as “absolutely pathetic” by an expert who praised Labour’s “savviest” social media team.

Social media has been touted as a key battleground in general elections for many years, but after launching in the UK in August 2018, TikTok was only just getting started during the last poll in December 2019.

The Chinese app is likely to play a bigger role than ever in this election. The Chinese app was banned from government phones in March 2023 due to data security concerns, but both parties have launched profiles in recent days.

Lord Zac Goldsmith, who resigned from Rishi Sunak’s government last year, has criticized the “complicity” of most Tory MPs in allowing the party to descend into complete disarray less than a week after the general election.

The Conservative peer, a friend and ally of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, posted a comment on X (formerly Twitter) warning that most Conservative MPs would lose their seats, but said it was “hard to feel sorry for them”.

Rishi Sunak asked King Charles to dissolve Parliament before telling his government he had called a snap election.

But the final Cabinet meeting at 4pm on Wednesday before the Prime Minister made his announcement to the nation outside Downing Street received very little response.

Rishi Sunak has distanced himself from Tory attacks on Sir Keir Starmer over his age.

The 44-year-old Prime Minister said “it is the substance that matters” after the comments about his 61-year-old rival.

Sunak told reporters: “I’m interested in getting out and about around the country.

“It’s been a few days since we’ve been in the East Midlands, West Midlands, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and here in the south-east today, talking to people – parents – about the future.

“It’s substance that matters in this election, it’s a choice about the future.”

He added: “When it comes to Keir Starmer, that’s the choice on offer – no ideas, no plan, no better future, no change, without those things.”

Rishi Sunak has said his National Service Plan is “absolutely the right thing to do”.

The Prime Minister told reporters: “This modern form of national service will mean that young people will get the skills and opportunities they need that will serve them very well in life.

“It will foster a culture of service that will be incredibly powerful to make our society more cohesive and, in an even more uncertain and dangerous world, strengthen our country’s security and resilience.

“For all these reasons I think this is the right thing to do. Yes, it’s bold, but that’s the kind of leadership I provide.”