General election 2019 latest: are you having a laugh?
The Week’s daily round-up of how the election campaign is unfolding
After three-and-a-half years of Brexit battling that has culminated in yet another general election, the British public is in need of a good laugh.
Thankfully, last night’s leaders’ debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn on ITV provided plenty of amusement.
Johnson’s claim to believe that “truth matters” provoked laughter from the studio audience, who were clearly well aware of the prime minister’s reputation for telling fibs. One mistruth that he repeated last night was that the Tories have plans in place to build 40 new hospitals - a claim that has been proven to be false by fact checkers.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Corbyn also generated titters, by claiming that his position on Brexit was clear. Although the Labour Party’s plans have been outlined - negotiate a new deal within three months and then hold a referendum on it within six - Corbyn has never said which side he would back in a People’s Vote.
But the biggest joke of the night wasn’t all that funny - the Conservative Campaign Headquarters rebranded its Twitter account as “factcheckUK” before firing off a series of anti-Labour posts during the debate. Twitter said the move was “an attempt to mislead people” and warned that “decisive corrective action” would be taken if CCHQ reoffended.
Elsewhere, the Lib Dems have promised to recruit 20,000 new teachers and reverse school cuts with an “emergency cash injection” of £4.6bn next year. During the party’s last term in office, in coalition with the Tories from 2010 to 2015, the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that public spending on education in the UK was falling at the fastest rate since the 1950s.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Why are home insurance prices going up?
Today's Big Question Climate-driven weather events are raising insurers' costs
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'All too often, we get caught up in tunnel vision'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
2024: the year of legacy media failures
In the Spotlight From election criticism to continued layoffs, the media has had it rough in 2024
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
John Prescott: was he Labour's last link to the working class?
Today's Big Quesiton 'A total one-off': tributes have poured in for the former deputy PM and trade unionist
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Last hopes for justice for UK's nuclear test veterans
Under the Radar Thousands of ex-service personnel say their lives have been blighted by aggressive cancers and genetic mutations
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will Donald Trump wreck the Brexit deal?
Today's Big Question President-elect's victory could help UK's reset with the EU, but a free-trade agreement with the US to dodge his threatened tariffs could hinder it
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Why are Democrats suddenly focused on Donald Trump's mental acuity?
Today's Big Question As Election Day looms, Kamala Harris and her allies are mounting a late-stage attack on the former president's mental health — but why now? And will it matter to voters?
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
What is Lammy hoping to achieve in China?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary heads to Beijing as Labour seeks cooperation on global challenges and courts opportunities for trade and investment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Britain about to 'boil over'?
Today's Big Question A message shared across far-right groups listed more than 30 potential targets for violence in the UK today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots
Speed Read The anti-immigrant violence was spurred by false rumors that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an immigrant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published